Banksy

[Revolucija]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy
http://www.banksy.co.uk/

I have just found out video clips! :wub:

[luxemburg89]

Banksy is great. I love the fading mural of Che Guevara he did in Camden, to demonstrate that the more his image is used the more the idea disappears. The man is a total genius.

[which doctor]

He's losing his edge as he becomes increasingly commodified and embraced by the "art world."

[RedStaredRevolution]

I do love Banksy's art and think he is a genius but I kinda have to agree with FoB some. Businessmen are taking advantage of Banksy's popularity to make money and it seems that Banksy is going along with it (or rather he's not doing anything to stop them). He's starting to slip but I really do hope he doesn't go over the edge.

[Pawn Power]

Originally posted by [email protected] 21, 2007 07:45 pm
He's losing his edge as he becomes increasingly commodified and embraced by the "art world."
yeah... its really too bad. he is still quite good though

[ahab]

Originally posted by [email protected] 21, 2007 11:32 am


I have just found out video clips! :wub:
did you see the one he did at disneyland? fucking great

[which doctor]

Originally posted by Pawn Power+October 24, 2007 08:25 pm--> (Pawn Power @ October 24, 2007 08:25 pm)
[email protected] 21, 2007 07:45 pm
He's losing his edge as he becomes increasingly commodified and embraced by the "art world."
yeah... its really too bad. he is still quite good though [/b]
Yeah, I do admit he is very talented and was very subversive in the beginning, but now I think it's against the law to deface some of his art in some places in England. I doubt that's what Banksy wants.

[Vicarious]

I wish I had the spirit he does

[Bilan]

Originally posted by FoB+October 25, 2007 12:42 pm--> (FoB @ October 25, 2007 12:42 pm)
Originally posted by Pawn [email protected] 24, 2007 08:25 pm

[email protected] 21, 2007 07:45 pm
He's losing his edge as he becomes increasingly commodified and embraced by the "art world."
yeah... its really too bad. he is still quite good though
Yeah, I do admit he is very talented and was very subversive in the beginning, but now I think it's against the law to deface some of his art in some places in England. I doubt that's what Banksy wants. [/b]
Yeah, I was reading a paper clipping on his site about it, and apparently some cats got fined because they painted over one of his artworks.
I think it was the one of the two cops kissing.

[Red October]

Originally posted by Proper Tea is Theft+November 05, 2007 04:09 am--> (Proper Tea is Theft @ November 05, 2007 04:09 am)
Originally posted by [email protected] 25, 2007 12:42 pm

Originally posted by Pawn [email protected] 24, 2007 08:25 pm

[email protected] 21, 2007 07:45 pm
He's losing his edge as he becomes increasingly commodified and embraced by the "art world."
yeah... its really too bad. he is still quite good though
Yeah, I do admit he is very talented and was very subversive in the beginning, but now I think it's against the law to deface some of his art in some places in England. I doubt that's what Banksy wants.
Yeah, I was reading a paper clipping on his site about it, and apparently some cats got fined because they painted over one of his artworks.
I think it was the one of the two cops kissing. [/b]
That's weak shit. I hope he finds some way of staying fresh and not becoming part of the institution he was supposed to be fighting.

[holly]

http://www.blavish.com/angelina-jolie-buys-up-banksy-works/

At the guerilla artist Banksy’s L.A. show this week, Angelina Jolie went banksy on Banksy. Jolie spent nearly $400,000 on three pieces of his work.

i'm not entirely sure he's on our side any more..

i'd like to think that by selling himself to the rich and famous he is in fact mocking them subtly for paying such ridiculously high prices for what used to be considered 'vandalism'. however i have a feeling it's probably not that. if i were in his position i would sell some stencilled canvas for an extortionate price to a gullible a-lister, wait maybe a week and then use the same stencil to make 1000 more identical canvasses, rendering their acquisition considerably less valuable.:P

if we go for the 'taking the piss' angle, it's also quite absurd that jolie spent $400,000 on a picture about fatal poverty, rather than using that money to make any difference to starving children in africa. ah well. women will have their trinkets.

anyway i can't talk: i bought his book.

[Bilan]

Originally posted by Red October+November 11, 2007 12:24 am--> (Red October @ November 11, 2007 12:24 am)
Originally posted by Proper Tea is [email protected] 05, 2007 04:09 am

Originally posted by [email protected] 25, 2007 12:42 pm

Originally posted by Pawn [email protected] 24, 2007 08:25 pm

[email protected] 21, 2007 07:45 pm
He's losing his edge as he becomes increasingly commodified and embraced by the "art world."
yeah... its really too bad. he is still quite good though
Yeah, I do admit he is very talented and was very subversive in the beginning, but now I think it's against the law to deface some of his art in some places in England. I doubt that's what Banksy wants.
Yeah, I was reading a paper clipping on his site about it, and apparently some cats got fined because they painted over one of his artworks.
I think it was the one of the two cops kissing.
That's weak shit. I hope he finds some way of staying fresh and not becoming part of the institution he was supposed to be fighting. [/b]
I doubt he will. Well, at least hope not. That would be tragic. He's such an inspiration, it'd be a shame if he sold out. :(

[Red October]

If I were him I might just stop doing what he's doing right now and start all over with a new thing. I really hope the money and fame hasn't gone to his head. Has he released any statements addressing the accusations of hypocrisy against him?

[Sugar Hill Kevis]

I read in an interview (with the telegraph or some artsy website, can't remember which) and he said he's gonna stop doing the commercial work as even his cheap prints people sell for thousands on eBay and he's just pissed off with the whole situation...

Obviously maybe take that with a pinch of salt, but fair play to him if he sticks to it...

[which doctor]

Didn't he also do some promotional graffiti for Puma or some other company?

[Bilan]

Interesting article on Banksy. Or rather, "The Banksy Effect".


Two things seem to be clear:

First. That change is inevitable.
And second. That change polarizes people.

They say that things take five years to fully come into their own. And with the street art movement, we see that exactly to be the case. In truth, it wasn't until last week's trip to London that we fully understood how significant the changes have been in the street art scene. It wasn't until last week that it fully hit us how much the movement has finally come into its own on so many different levels.

And one thing is clear - this has polarized a lot of people.

Coming back from London, we started explaining it to our friends as:

"The Banksy Effect"

While we've always been unabashed (and unapologetic) fans of Banksy, we now see Banksy as the single greatest thing that has happened not only to the street/urban art movement, but to contemporary art in general.

We know that that's a sweepingly broad statement that is likely to get us in trouble, but let us explain.

Most people need entry points to become comfortable with things that are new.

And for millions of people, Banksy is the entry point they need in not only seeing art in a new way, but in accepting art as a part of their daily lives.

Like Andy Warhol before him, Banksy has almost single handedly redefined what art is to a lot of people who probably never felt they appreciated art before. By being an iconoclast, and in the process becoming a mythic hero for a lot of people, Banksy has become an incredible icon in our society. One that we think, when things are said and done, will be at the level of Warhol.

The fact that Banksy's book "Wall and Piece" is in every bookstore imaginable, including Urban Outfitters, is a statement unto itself.

The fact that Banksy's work is now selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars at Sotheby's is a statement unto itself.

And we know that both of these things polarize a lot of people.

But for us, we think that this is the best thing that could have ever happened to the street art movement.

Why?

Because what Banksy (and Steve Lazarides) have done is to create a market for an entire category of art that until now has not been recognized at the level that it is now being recognized at.

And for this we should all be grateful.

If you're one of those people who are calling Banksy a sellout for selling his work for exorbitant prices, but are interested in making money yourself from your own art, then you should perhaps rethink your views a bit.

Here's what we see happening.

There are now a lot of people that have money and want to spend it on art. Their entry point into buying "urban art" is now Banksy. They read about Banksy selling his work at Sothebys and they want to be in on the action.

But not many can now afford to buy a Banksy piece any more.

This is actually a good thing for artists who are talented and want to make money from their art because those people who can't afford "a Banksy" are now learning more and searching out and buying work from other talented artists who are part of the movement.

One of the best things that we did last week was to go to the opening of a fantastic exhibition at the Elms Lesters Painting Studios. The show featured great work by Phil Frost, Adam Neate, WK, and Anthony Lister. All four of them are incredibly talented and have been working their asses of for years. All four of them deserve everything they receive, including selling their work at prices most of us can't afford. (We think that they deserve to make as much money as they want.)

Would the work have sold without Banksy?

Sure.

Would the show have commanded the prices it did without "the Banksy Effect"? Would the show have sold out without the "Banksy Effect"?

Some will say yes, but we don't think so.

Of course there was a market for this movement before Banksy started selling at Sothebys. Gallerists like Jonathan Levine, Merry Karnowsky, and others have been selling art from these artists for years.

But never at the level it is selling at now.

Another sign of the Banksy effect: Prints from places like Pictures On Walls, Faile.net, and others have never sold out faster. This is allowing more artists to make a living from their art.

For us...

... Shepard Fairey created the movement.

....Banksy created the market.

And even if you don't agree with anything we've just written, we do think that both of these two guys deserve the full recognition and respect for what they have done.

We think that 10 years from now, the "Banksy Effect" will be recognized as one of the most significant moments in the contemporary art market.

UPDATE: Turns out we're not the only ones who are calling it "the Banksy Effect" Just found this CNN clip from Santa's Ghetto here.

Wooster Collective (http://www.woostercollective.com/art/)