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"Banksy Unmasked"

Started by JJJJH, August 08, 2004, 08:10:29 PM

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JJJJH

EDIT: Ta for finding the news link Rubbish Monkey!

http://www.thisisbristol.com/displayNode.jsp?command=newPage&nodeId=144912&contentPK=10726718

Today's Weekend Post has 'Banksy Unmasked' plastered across the front page, along with a photo of "Banksy" kneeling next to a spray can. Apparently Banksy was in Jamaica, and got into a spat with Jamaican photographer Peter Rickards, who found him "really rude and arrogant", which he obviously thinks justify his actions.

"Banksy was not available to comment last night, but his agent, Steve Lazarides, has admitted that the graffiti artist did visit Jamaica. However, he claims the man in the picture is not him."

Anyway, something that's been driving me berserk as I read this is the way people can't seem to be able to comprehend the idea that Banksy might be an artist and a criminal at the same time. Apparently those terms must be mutually exclusive. This ignorance is further compounded by the opinion column on page 8 with the title 'Banksy: Artist or criminal?'.

Is Peter Rickards a mean prick for doing this to Banksy? I'm finding it difficult to completely decide, but swaying for the most part towards yes.

chand

In today's Sunday Express, Kilroy has a good old go at graffiti, blaming Christina Aguilera and also Greenpeace, who use 'graffiti vandal Banksy' in some of their campaigns.

But yeah, it seems to me that Banksy is both an artist and technically a criminal, though I don't consider his crimes to be of any great importance.


Rubbish Monkey

Article :  BANKSY, THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK  here

Quote....unmasked by a photographer he was allegedly rude to. From behind his trademark balaclava emerges a smiling, bespectacled man who once described himself as a "professional vandal".

photos on this page *

* I think thay they may be the photos from that jamacan fella Evening Standard Article scan from 30th July (also from that site)



personally I like his work and his fancy pants website

Santa's Boyfriend

I have a friend who knows Banksy, so I'll be able to find out if it's him or not.

EDIT:  Although I'm not sure I'll post the answer...  :)

notnotnatnats

Everyone in Bristol either knows him, or has a friend who does.

Quote from: "notnotnatnats"Everyone in Bristol either knows him, or has a friend who does.

Yeah, that'll be Bristol for ya.  I'm in with the in-crowd. I go where the in-crowd goes. I know what the in-crowd knows.

king mob

Quote from: "The Man With Brass Eyes"
Quote from: "notnotnatnats"Everyone in Bristol either knows him, or has a friend who does.

Yeah, that'll be Bristol for ya.  I'm in with the in-crowd. I go where the in-crowd goes. I know what the in-crowd knows.

No you don't, i've seen you beg for beer in the streets.

Morrisfan82

Quote from: "The Man With Brass Eyes"Yeah, that'll be Bristol for ya.  I'm in with the in-crowd. I go where the in-crowd goes. I know what the in-crowd knows.
In that case that can't be Banksy, look, his van's not colourful.

notnotnatnats

Whenever I see Adam & Joe doing their 'Media Chaos Collective' complete with wonderful Bristolian accents, I think of Banksy and his shittiness and smile.

Ok, I lied. I don't smile

mrpants

I always imagined he would look like Mike Skinner from The Streets for some reason.

Silver SurferGhost

Quote from: "chand"Kilroy has a good old go at graffiti
Now is it just me or is that phrase hilarious in and of itself?
.

Jet Set Willy

For some reason I always assumed he looked like that anyway...

terminallyrelaxed

I always assumed he was short and bald - got the glasses right though...

Goldentony

so thats where elvis costello's got to

id have just left the guy with his anonimity
its a bit twatty to go round with shit like "we expose the REAL banksy, have that you big twat"

fanny splendid

He looks a bit like Gazeuse...

terminallyrelaxed

It is twatty, but ultimately it was always going to happen, after all much of the population opens wide for endless Heat covers detailing how Britney looks when she's got a morning head, or what Rachael Weizszszsczs wears to the corner shop, no privacy is sacred. Banksy's mysterious underground image by its nature makes him something the gutter press would want to expose and bring into the mainstream. I think we've all got some counter-culture art inside us and it would be ace to be able to express it successfully (i.e. a lot of people see it) with anonymity, but I think we all know they'd get us in the end.
It would be great if  there were be people like the part-time cripple in Dark Angel telling us how it is and waking us to the emptiness in our lives (man), exposing and ridiculing The Man (Pinball would be good at this) - as it is these days they just get a recording contract and some money to tone it down for the kids, although granted its not quite a totalitarian police state yet.
Fair play to Banksy to staying underground, but he was never going to remian faceless forever.

slim

I think it's sad that he's been unmasked purely because now he has to conform or face fines and/or prison.

I know this discussion took place elsewhere but I think it's pertinent to state here also that graffiti is a good medium for protest. I certainly felt some kinship/affection towards Banksy as we seemed to share some political beliefs. I thought he, although unable to change things, spoke for a lot of people in a manner modern democracy, with it's business-orientated agenda, doesn't allow.

So now Banksy's voice, I presume, has been effectively neutered - I doubt the public will take note of a statue representing justice as a whore in a gallery the same way they do when it's secretly planted in public. The romance is gone.

Anyway, I'm wittering. I just think the photographer could have laid aside his disagreement and at least offered to sell Banksy the photos before publishing them. Tantamount to blackmail I know, but at least he'd be able to carry on doing what he did.

mrpants

Has that little yellow warning sign on Banksy's main index page always been there?  If you click on it, it says that Banksy is a fictional character.  Is he attempting to create a loop hole if he is arrested?  I've never noticed it before.

Quote from: "mrpants"it says that Banksy is a fictional character.  Is he attempting to create a loop hole if he is arrested?  I've never noticed it before.

ha!  I never knew that.  Maybe Banksy is an organisation of people, rather than one person. The myth has never been too important to me. I just love his artwork.  I think the message is great and I love the humour of it all.
Stencil artists have tried to mimic it but have never really captured the whole mood of what makes the artwork really great and poignant.

slim

Quote from: "mrpants"Has that little yellow warning sign on Banksy's main index page always been there?  If you click on it, it says that Banksy is a fictional character.  Is he attempting to create a loop hole if he is arrested?  I've never noticed it before.

I'm pretty sure that wasn't there last time I was there. I would imagine he's trying to cover his back...

mrpants

Quote from: "The Man With Brass Eyes"
Stencil artists have tried to mimic it but have never really captured the whole mood of what makes the artwork really great and poignant.

I don't know about mimic - inspired by I would say.  If you look at the people over at //www.stencilrevolution.com you have some pseudo-political stuff like Banksy's stuff but then you also get some incredible art which just happens to have been made with stencils.

The Plaque Goblin

Old Banksy looks like he might have done a bit of boxing in his time.

I like his stuff, his style and humour, but it doesn't seem to be saying anything in particular. It only seems to be vaguely anti-authoritarian

Yeah, Banksy's great. I love graffiti actually...probably the best  example I've seen is on the trainline to Charing Cross, on the side of the tracks, in big bright white letters, reads the immortal words: "GET TO WORK YOU LOSERS".

I remember reading an article in the G2 about one of Banksy's statues being stolen by self-styled "terrorists" who demanded a ransom. I think Banksy offered them a quid for it, or told them to burn it themselves.

chand

There was a thing in the local paper the other day, somewhere in Manchester someone has done some Space Invaders on a wall using tiles.



There's a rumour it's illegal advertising, but typically (in another paper I read), people were complaining about vandalism, as if that fucking wall was a beautiful part of the city's heritage which has been ruined by these horrible thugs.

mr rou-rou

reminds me of this,



perhaps we are being invaded!

glitch

Quote from: "chand"There was a thing in the local paper the other day, somewhere in Manchester someone has done some Space Invaders on a wall using tiles.



There's a rumour it's illegal advertising, but typically (in another paper I read), people were complaining about vandalism, as if that fucking wall was a beautiful part of the city's heritage which has been ruined by these horrible thugs.

It's not advertising, it's the work of one man (or a collective) - regardless, it's global and I love it.

More: http://www.space-invaders.com/

chand

Quote from: "xerode"It's not advertising, it's the work of one man (or a collective) - regardless, it's global and I love it.


More: http://www.space-invaders.com/

Yeah, just after I posted it I followed some comments on the article I got the pic from and someone had put this URL there. I don't understand how anyone could get upset. If they were putting them on war memorials or ancient buildings maybe, but that's just a boring wall in town which now looks interesting. Good on 'em.

Ciarán2

Bump

He's in the news again, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to say I really really like Banksy. I think his work is simple, funny, and surprising. (You don't get so much of that type of thing over here, but you're probably bored stiff of it in London.) Mind you, has Banksy been in Cork? It looks like it doesn't it?



Anyway, back to the news. Bansky has been replacing Paris Hilton CDs in record shops across the land with his own versions containing his artwork. He's got a naked pic of Paris and stuck a dog's head on. He's retitled tracks things like "Why Am I Famous?" and "What Am I For?". I like that kind of art, everyday, anyone-can-do-it type art. Here's the story...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5310416.stm

On a similar note - did anyone see The Guardian on Friday? They gave away a centrespread of the latest work by Damien Hirst. It's a kind of dot-matrix board print, the whole point being that no two dots are exactly the same colour. (He's a bit tiresome isn't he, Damien Hirst?) Anyway, The Guardian, in their wisdom, decided to reproduce the painting in glorious black and white! So if you feel like marvelling over some grey dots, get last Friday's Guardian.

Suttonpubcrawl

Quote from: "Ciarán"Anyway, back to the news. Bansky has been replacing Paris Hilton CDs in record shops across the land with his own versions containing his artwork. He's got a naked pic of Paris and stuck a dog's head on. He's retitled tracks things like "Why Am I Famous?" and "What Am I For?". I like that kind of art, everyday, anyone-can-do-it type art. Here's the story...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5310416.stm

The funniest thing about that isn't the act itself, but the way the spokespeople from the shops are pretty much saying "fair enough, it is a pretty shit album, good on him".