Banksy at it again.

[boomnoise]

[joseph-j]

banksy's a knob. exhibit a:

a piece of artwork by renegade graffiti artist Banksy, who has defaced a wall in Chalk Farm with a picture of a hotel maid. It's called Sweeping It Under the Carpet and "can be seen as a metaphor for the west's reluctance to tackle issues such as Aids in Africa" - or another example of Banksy's tireless self-promotion; take your pick. Banksy says the maid in question "cleaned my room in a Los Angeles motel ... she was quite a feisty lady". Presumably his next portrait will depict some poor minimum-wage sod, cleaning graffiti off a wall in Chalk Farm. Provided they're "feisty" enough to appeal to him.

Eh? So Banksy's a nob because someone else thinks he's a nob? Steel logic.

[joseph-j]

AH-HA, AH-HA!

Beep boop, boop beep!

Etc.

[ufo over easy]

'Abandon Hope (9am-5pm)'

Don't think those are Banksy. They're all over the place though.

Hell of a lot of anger and bitterness in this thread towards a guy who's just a good self publicist and been very lucky.

Why is he famous? What has he done? He draws pictures of things. Like lots of other famous people.

[rachel]

banksy's a knob. exhibit a:

a piece of artwork by renegade graffiti artist Banksy, who has defaced a wall in Chalk Farm with a picture of a hotel maid. It's called Sweeping It Under the Carpet and "can be seen as a metaphor for the west's reluctance to tackle issues such as Aids in Africa" - or another example of Banksy's tireless self-promotion; take your pick. Banksy says the maid in question "cleaned my room in a Los Angeles motel ... she was quite a feisty lady". Presumably his next portrait will depict some poor minimum-wage sod, cleaning graffiti off a wall in Chalk Farm. Provided they're "feisty" enough to appeal to him.

Eh? So Banksy's a nob because someone else thinks he's a nob? Steel logic.

nope - banksy's a nob and sum1 else put it quite well.

[superisk]

Banksy just takes the piss, he doesnt make pretentious art bullshit, and he has never been a graff writer, piss take stencils maybe...

Ofcourse the mans guna be in the media, he gained alot more hype from his stencil days than most would have expected and he could be making BIG money, far more than he does from his books etc....instead he's still sneaking around doing whatever he wants...

Respect to the piss taker

[ufo over easy]

Ofcourse the mans guna be in the media, he gained alot more hype from his stencil days than most would have expected and he could be making BIG money, far more than he does from his books etc....instead he's still sneaking around doing whatever he wants...

Indeed. He's one of the lucky ones, and is taking advantage of the money he makes from book sales etc to have a bit of a laugh.. fair play. All these conspiracy theories are kind of funny.

I liked his stencil work anyway, some of them look pretty cool.

[joseph-j]

banksy's a knob. exhibit a:

a piece of artwork by renegade graffiti artist Banksy, who has defaced a wall in Chalk Farm with a picture of a hotel maid. It's called Sweeping It Under the Carpet and "can be seen as a metaphor for the west's reluctance to tackle issues such as Aids in Africa" - or another example of Banksy's tireless self-promotion; take your pick. Banksy says the maid in question "cleaned my room in a Los Angeles motel ... she was quite a feisty lady". Presumably his next portrait will depict some poor minimum-wage sod, cleaning graffiti off a wall in Chalk Farm. Provided they're "feisty" enough to appeal to him.

Eh? So Banksy's a nob because someone else thinks he's a nob? Steel logic.

nope - banksy's a nob and sum1 else put it quite well.

But surely he's in a lose/lose situation? His work has to be "self-promoted" as some of it costs money (and a lot of it) to produce. But I still can't see how you can label it as "self-promotion", when he blatantly has such little ego about it. He's popular because people like his work - its not like he's on the front cover of Hello every week like some of the media hungry slags we have in this country.

And his point about some people wanting to live in a more beautiful city are bang on.

[rachel]

Ofcourse the mans guna be in the media, he gained alot more hype from his stencil days than most would have expected and he could be making BIG money, far more than he does from his books etc....instead he's still sneaking around doing whatever he wants...

Indeed. He's one of the lucky ones, and is taking advantage of the money he makes from book sales etc to have a bit of a laugh.. fair play. All these conspiracy theories are kind of funny.

I liked his stencil work anyway, some of them look pretty cool.

what conspiracy theories?

stencils are all well and good. clumsy politics is not. showing up and painting shit on the security wall in the palestinian territories??? oh SO clever. pats himself on back and fucks off back to east london, doubtless to be slapped on back sum more by arty mates/assorted media types, whilst my man in the west bank carries on trying to live with the damn thing. if i met him i'd punch him. straight up. stencil that, init.

[forensix (mcr)]

stencils are all well and good. clumsy politics is not. showing up and painting shit on the security wall in the palestinian territories??? oh SO clever. pats himself on back and fucks off back to east london, doubtless to be slapped on back sum more by arty mates/assorted media types, whilst my man in the west bank carries on trying to live with the damn thing.

couldnt agree more, i wouldnt punch him tho

[rachel]

stencils are all well and good. clumsy politics is not. showing up and painting shit on the security wall in the palestinian territories??? oh SO clever. pats himself on back and fucks off back to east london, doubtless to be slapped on back sum more by arty mates/assorted media types, whilst my man in the west bank carries on trying to live with the damn thing.

couldnt agree more, i wouldnt punch him tho

neither would i really. all mout/no trousers, get me...

[ufo over easy]

what conspiracy theories?

Well I was talking about people saying it's all a big plot orchestrated by Banksy and HMV and even Paris Hilton, to get some extra publicity and cash... but I could just as well be referring to -

showing up and painting shit on the security wall in the palestinian territories??? oh SO clever. pats himself on back and fucks off back to east london, doubtless to be slapped on back sum more by arty mates/assorted media types

You don't know any of that. You've never met him. You've never spoken to him. You've probably never even spoken to anyone that knows him. That security wall thing was a bit silly yes, and it probably didn't do anything to help, but you're so fucking angry and I don't understand why.

He's just a famous bloke.

[superisk]

Painting the security wall wasnt very tactful true, but all his stencils have always taken the piss out of how he sees the world and shit like that, but he did it in the same banksy style he has done every other stencil, UK or not. He didnt do it differently to please anyone, and guaranteed he aims to piss people off....Definately not the kinda attitude a media whore would have...

Plus he probably wants you to think hes a nob.

[rachel]

what conspiracy theories?

Well I was talking about people saying it's all a big plot orchestrated by Banksy and HMV and even Paris Hilton, to get some extra publicity and cash... but I could just as well be referring to -

showing up and painting shit on the security wall in the palestinian territories??? oh SO clever. pats himself on back and fucks off back to east london, doubtless to be slapped on back sum more by arty mates/assorted media types

You don't know any of that. You've never met him. You've never spoken to him. You've probably never even spoken to anyone that knows him. That security wall thing was a bit silly yes, and it probably didn't do anything to help, but you're so fucking angry and I don't understand why.

He's just a famous bloke.

that's not a conspiracy theory. anyways it's not necessary to have checked out someone's motives directly in order to criticise. and if the point is unclear that's entirely his problem - from the ltd amount he's shown me, he makes good, witty stencils, but is a clueless colonial sort when it comes to making social/political statements.

[rachel]

Plus he probably wants you to think hes a nob.

he's on a winner then

[joseph-j]

I don't think I've ever seen anything by him which is "cluelessly colonial".

[ufo over easy]

and if the point is unclear that's entirely his problem

Welcome to the wonderful world of 21st century art

[rachel]

and if the point is unclear that's entirely his problem

Welcome to the wonderful world of 21st century art

thanks so much. you're 2 kind

[superisk]

I don't think I've ever seen anything by him which is "cluelessly colonial".

Everything ive seen is the harsh truth, it always means something...

And surely cluelessly colonial is reference to him taking the piss out of the worst side of his society? Or you think the man is actually clueless?

[alex bk-bk]

ben i think its simplifying things to say he 'draws pictures'

its his content that tends to fuck me right off. like going to palestine and drawing patronising 'witty' little murals on the wall keeping palistinians out of israel. really really in bad taste. As for his other stuff, i dont really see the difference between his shallow images that beg subversivity and Che Guevara merchandise