Banksy this and Banksy that, yes yes, I know, I’m losing interest too. So, not to beat a dead horse or anything, but I think a serious questioning of the value of his work could be worth the effort:

Banksy’s work now reportedly changes hands for millions. But he puts up his street art for free. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you got your hands on one of these? Does it mean you’ve found a winning lottery ticket or just scraped some worthless crap off a wall?

via OGH

Link

Two days ago it was revealed that someone was ebaying the identity of Banksy, but then the auction went down and we forgot about it, thinking it probably wasn’t legit. But hey, it’s back up now, skirting eBay’s tangibility requirement by now offering a “piece of paper” with his name on it, allegedly of course.

If you win this auction I will mail you a piece of paper revealing the true identity of “Banksy”.

I have uncovered his identity by matching up the prices of his sold pieces to corresponding tax records. I will reveal no more details.

The winner of this auction is the only person I will ever share this information with. The piece of paper will say his name, nothing more.

I give you 100% assurance that it is most certainly the full name of the street artist known as “Banksy”.

Ebay previously ended this auction because I was selling something that was not “tangible”.
It is now tangible.

speaking of Banksy

via x via

A left over segment from the Banksy film. When the ominous talking surveillance camera speaks and states “this is private property”, it got me wondering, who owns the sign? A quick hivemind search reveals this:

Land in the vicinity of the sign remains privately owned. Much of it was owned by the estate of Howard Hughes, who had once planned a hilltop mansion at Cahuenga Peak; part of that tract was sold in 2002,[13] and the new owners are interested in exploiting a route for a road to access the property granted in 1945 by the Los Angeles City Department of Water and Power. These owners are also interested in building four luxury mansions along the ridgeline.[14] As a result, the City of Los Angeles considered buying the property, possibly by raising money from celebrities as was done for the 1978 restoration.[15]

Environmentalists and preservationists were also concerned about the possible real estate development in the area. On February 11, 2010, as part of a campaign to help raise money to buy and protect the 138 acres (0.56 km2) next to the sign, The Trust for Public Land, with the full blessing of both the city and the Hollywood Sign Trust, covered the sign with a large banner reading “SAVE THE PEAK”.[16][14] By April 26, The Trust for Public Land announced it had raised enough money, with Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner stepping forward to donate the final $900,000 toward the total $12.5 million needed.[13][17]

via @rafikam, wooster

Finally caught this documentary last night in NYC. Pretty good introduction to people unfamiliar with the street art scene with spotlights on the likes of Shepard Fairey, Invader and, of course, Banksy among others. The film follows the video camera of Thierry Guetta as he documents a variety of street artists bombing different walls in the US and the UK. Along the way, we see his transformation from a documentarian of street art culture to a so-called artist himself, eventually making millions overnight. With Exit Through The Gift Shop, I believe Banksy attempts to draw attention to the problem of mainstream culture’s infiltration on a previously lesser known artform (in this case, street art) for its own monetary gain, leaving the pioneers high and dry. As Banksy states in the film, it ain’t about the money. It’s about the bastardization of a culture by those who proclaim to love it but will be quick to jump to the next cash cow when it suits them. It’s about the ridiculous notion of commodifying and selling art when it should be free to the world. But I digress. It appears Banksy sees this going down in the art world. And if you’re a Hip-Hop head in any sense of the word, you definitely see it in Hip-Hop culture as well.

If you have the chance to see this documentary before it leaves theaters, I suggest you do so. Now. Further incentive to get off your ass is that the film is wonderfully scored by Geoff Barrow, the man behind the music for Portishead. link

link

Exit Through the Gift Shop, the first film by renowned graffiti artist Banksy, became the hottest ticket at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival where it made its world debut. Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post—hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner with spectacular results. The film contains exclusive footage of Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Invader and many of the worlds most infamous graffiti artists at work, on walls and in interview. As Banksy describes it, Its basically the story of how one man set out to film the un—filmable. And failed.

Not sure how I feel about this movie really. On one hand, I’m happy whenever an artist I enjoy gets some more publicity. On the other hand, I wish a movie about Banksy would focus more on his art e.g. motivations, favorite pieces, etc. rather than about people trying to see what he looks like or buying his work to pay their mortgage as one character in the trailer so eloquently stated. Meh. I guess I do know how I feel about it. link

I was considering going to check out that pre-fab installation at MOMA this weekend but I think I might have to switch plans. Open daily from 10am to midnight until Halloween over @ 89 7th Avenue between West 4th and Bleeker Street in the West Village of New York City. via wooster, by way of full clip

“A clear departure form last year’s behemoth show in Los Angeles, Banksy’s first ever show in New York City (the others have been fakes) is being held in a tiny storefront that’s less than 300 square feet and can’t hold more than 20 people at any one time.

One of our favorite things about what Banksy has done is that the entire show is completely visible to the public both day and night through the store front windows. And unless you’re a hard core Banksy fan, or until someone like us tells you, it’s absolutely impossible to know that the work has been done by Banksy. There are no paintings or graffiti in the entire space.”

I’ve seen articles about this incident popping up. People’s comments tend to focus on the short-sightedness of the red can sprayer, because of the potential monetization opportunities the building owner had. For me, it just serves as a reminder of the fleeting nature of true graf and its vandalistic roots.

via towleroad, by way of murketing

via Wooster Collective, by way of Rock The Dub

previously:
Banksy Hits Up New Orleans
Banksy Unmasked? Besides What Tabloids Might Have You Think, Middle Class Upbringing Is Not A Disappointment

Courtesy of Wooster Collective. More pictures after the jump. Parts 1 + 2

British tabloid Daily Mail tries to take a negative spin on this story, but I don’t see how his “middle class” upbringing could be in any way characterized as a disappointment. Link (via Time Magazine, by way of What Is The What)

But now, after an exhaustive year-long investigation in which we have spoken to dozens of friends, former colleagues, enemies, flatmates and members of Banksy’s close family, The Mail on Sunday has come as close as anyone possibly can to revealing his identity.

And far from being a radical tearaway from an inner-city council estate, the man we have identified as Banksy is, perhaps all too predictably, a former public schoolboy brought up in middle-class suburbia.

via illroots

I’ve always been a big fan of his work, especially after buying the Wall And Piece book. A lot of amazing stuff in there. I’m gonna be hitting this up as soon as possible i.e. today or tomorrow. link

banksy.co.uk

Laughing all the way to the Banksy. Think you haven’t heard of Banksy? Think you don’t know who he is? Let us remind you; whilst others spray their names, Banksy paints pictures, pictures that have made Banksy a household name. He is the most controversial and downright interesting graffiti artist at large in the UK today and the chances are that you have already heard of, or seen some of his work, smiled and moved on. Variously described as a “guerrilla artist”, an “art terrorist” or – by those of a more prosaic turn of phrase – as a “prankster” Banksy is someone for whom celebrity is anathema. So much so that he has never let the world know his real name – and he has never even posed for a photograph. And yet everybody is talking about him…he is unknown but his work is unmistakable.

He’s the maniac who got on the news for managing to smuggle one of his pieces of art into Tate Britain and embarrassed everyone because nobody seemed to notice…He’s the wit behind the stencilled “Mind the Crap” writing that appeared overnight on the steps to Tate Modern. He is the prankster who smuggled 500 alternative copies of the Paris Hilton CD into record stores. He is the subversive who placed a life-size replica of a Guantanamo Bay detainee in Disneyland. He’s the jester who gave LA a
painted elephant. He is the trickster whose hoax cave painting of a man pushing a supermarket trolley sat in the British Museum unnoticed for three days. He is the infiltrator who disguised as a pensioner hung his perfectly framed pieces in the Metropolitan, MOMA, Brooklyn Museum and his “dead beetle with glued on sidewinder missiles and satellite dish” had pride of place in the Museum of Natural History NYC. Get the picture, get this. Banksy images are even being used to sell 900k condos in
Williamsburg.

Is Banksy the new Warhol? Following record auction sales of both Warhol and Banksy, critics have examined the similarities in both aesthetic and content between the two artists, their interest in celebrity culture, and their examination of social values. Like Warhol, Banksy has become a darling of the stars, with his works gracing the homes of Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Jude Law, Damien Hirst, Kate Moss, Robbie Williams. Banksy is undoubtedly a major player in terms of advancing the envelope of what art is with the result that over the past several years, his art has escalated in value faster than pretty much any substance known to man.
He is a visionary, the leader of a new artistic movement and the anonymous poster boy for free speech. Come and see what all the fuss is about.

Vanina Holasek Gallery
502 West 27th Street
New York, NY 10001

Tuesday through Friday 10am-6pm and Saturdays 11am-6pm

Some thoughts on advertising, by Banksy. via the newly invigorated Hip-Hop Ads.

From the post:

The daily grind tends to eat away at the best of us. It’s all too easy to lose perspective; we in the world of advertising and marketing buy and sell culture on such a regular basis… that we forget that we comprise the culture.

It always makes me whince when I hear of young professionals giving up DJing or MCing because of the daily grind. If only there were more hours in a day. No one should have to drop culture (hip hop and otherwise) in order to assimilate into Corporate America.

The above quote (among other things) inspired me to start blogging again, in spite of the sometimes-ridiculous hours I put into my ad agency job. Yes, I just suggested that blogging is an art form.

Blogging requires inspiration, dedication, and it’s all about self-expression. So why not?

Keep grinding.

Banksy auctioned off this piece for £288,000, breaking his previous record of £102,000. Surprising to see demand on the rise for graf positioned as authentic even while the art form is being co-opted by big business. Link

Visit the online shop for free hi-res images to do with as you please. Link

Download Hi-Res Image of “Bombed Village”

Serving suggestion:
Prints look best when done on gloss paper using the company printer ink when everyone else is at lunch.