ok so im guessing many of you will have heard of or at least some of his work, i am talking bout banksy the great graffiti/stencil artist. well ive just seen a few images that he has been working on recentlt and thought they may be of interest to you guys. http://www.banksy.co.uk/news/index.html he's been at it again,what do you think of them?? love peace and smiles jx
they are really clever... did you see the one with the policeman kissing and "at any time accept sundays"...
Just a side note everyone. if you DONT know banksy hes a BIG political artist and do me a favour and read the manefesto bit of his site... it seriously is thought provoking.
I think Banksy is an example of a great contemporary artist... it doesn't matter to me whether his medium is graf art or whatever... I find it really interesting and thought provoking stuff... Fly...
I totally agree. If you see some of his side comments along with those particular images one that got me was " old man: you paint on our wall, you make it look beautiful" Banksy: "Thank you" Old man: "We dont want it to be beautiful, we hate this wall. Go home" i dunno why but that got me.
interesting feature on his stuff the other day in the paper - i didn't realise he sneaks his artwork into gallerys and hangs them up alongside the classics! he put up his version of the mona lisa with the acid smiley face in the italian grand masters room in luvre! have you seen the art he did on the palestinian side of the israel seperation wall? risking being shot at to do them, thats dedication! and a little crazy sorry it won't let me post them all as images http://www.banksy.co.uk/news/images/palestine/beachboys.jpg http://www.banksy.co.uk/news/images/palestine/balloongirl.jpg http://www.banksy.co.uk/news/images/palestine/rockboy.jpg http://www.banksy.co.uk/news/images/palestine/windowseat.jpg http://www.woostercollective.com/images2/banskywest3.jpg http://www.woostercollective.com/images2/banskywest5.jpg http://www.woostercollective.com/images2/banskywest7.jpg quote from the paper "you could stick all my shit in tate modern and have tony blair and kate moss on rollerblades handing out vol-au-vents and it wouldn't be as exciting as when you go out and paint something big where you shouldn't do" wheres my spray paints
yeah that was what the link was for if you scrol through you can see the collection plus the interaction with locals and soldiers documented
i'd checked the site the other day but didn't realise that news bit was a link :& i only found the pics from links on another site, but couldn't find them on his site ... and i've been making web sites since '97 ... you'd think i could find my way round a web site by now :& thanks, good to read the text along with the pics
I had a look around that site... I'm not a huge fan of graf art but there are some interesting pieces there... mostly done by s-u-k-g... however, there are some others that just strike me as pointless... the whole tagging thing... what's the point of spraying your name in big convuluted letters?... yeah, it makes interesting aesthetic shapes but has fuck all political or social commentary really... yeah, I know you can argue that the act of spraying is in itself a politicla act because it disregards the laws of property... well, if you want to make that big a stand against property then I want to see you spraying at 2.00 in the afternoon... and don't just put up some hiphop id... spray your name, address and telephone number... tagging is just seeking fame by association whilst enjoying an adrenaline thrill of the remote possibility of prosecution... Errrrrrrrr... just felt I needed to say that... Fly...
I will totally agree with you. The use of spray can's to create an art piece is fantastic, and the use of public space to get accross a political view again is great (though this can depend on how many people are offended by the view.. but thats tackling the opinions of free speach) HOWEVER even in london there are gang wars of 'tagers' who claim areas with their 'tag'. i aleways thought this wa sa big american joke untill i actually spoke to someone who said he was a tagger. He pointed out a specific tag on a train and was boasting baout how they are the hardest tag gang and to mess with them is stupid. You have to INITIATE into their gang and PROOVE yourself... just so as you can write their 3 letters. Thats not art, thats bullying. However it brings a smile to my face when i see grafiti art which is clearly art, imagry, characters and ESPECIALLY if its a political message. Banksy is a witty artist with a lot of views which i support. Even seeing graff in brighton which is no more than "faluja protest" with the date and place on it to tell you where to go. that was graf'd in about 4 places in the city... that had a point (though it could have been done more.... attractivly i will admit) however the graff of "I LOVE YOU SHAZZA LOVE RON" whih was also graffed in about 20 places along the same road ... somehow doesnt appeal to me as much.
Hi all, I've introduced myself on the main pages and have found my way with the guidance of some friendly UK members to here. So, a little aout me... I'm 27 and live in NE Lincolnshire. I have spent the last 3 years working and living in Taunton, Somerset but then quit to go backpacking in India. I had a great time and can't wait to continue travelling and will be off again soon. This country drives me nuts with it's insane politics and peoples materialistic obsessions...don't get me started! Life's great when you have your walking boots on and are miles away from anywwhere. But it's even better when you have a friendly camp to share stories with at the end ) So that's me, I think. I look forward to meeting some like minded folk here, I've had little luck elsewhere in this small-minded, racist town I reside in at the moment! Happy day, M
