So Banksy is on the cover of Time Out London this week, which is pretty awesome of Time Out, and Banksy seems to be acknowledging that he has been embraced by the most gentrified segments of society, which is pretty honest of Banksy.
The real treat is inside the magazine though. Banksy has been interviewed by Ossian Ward, the editor of Time Out London’s art section. The full interview has been posted online, and here are some excerpts:
What’s this battle with Robbo and Drax all about, then?
‘I didn’t deliberately start a battle with Robbo – have you seen the size of him? In the ’90s him and Drax were infamous enough that we’d even heard about them in Bristol. The truth is I didn’t paint over a piece that said ìRobboî, I painted over a piece that said “nrkjfgrekuh”. But either way, I don’t buy into the idea a wall “belongs” to a certain writer, or anyone else for that matter.
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Can street art ever be shown in a gallery?
‘I don’t know if street art ever really works indoors. If you domesticate an animal, it goes from being wild and free to sterile, fat and sleepy. So maybe the art should stay outside. Then again, some old people get a lot of comfort from having a pet around the house.
‘It’s hard to capture the adrenaline of street painting when you’re in a nicely lit studio with the kettle on. Maybe the people who steal graffiti off walls are on to something – the edge is still there. But those people are funny – they ask me for a letter of authentication saying I painted a certain piece, but that’s basically a signed confession on headed notepaper.’
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What do you make of the financial value of your works? Do you mind people trading them like property or luxury goods?
‘My lawyer’s opinion is that the cops might not actually be able to charge me with criminal damage any more – because theoretically my graffiti actually increases the value of property rather than decreasing it. That’s his theory, but then my lawyer also believes wearing novelty cartoon ties is a good look.’
Read the rest on Time Out’s website…
Time Out have also contacted a number of street art bloggers (including Vandalog) for the locations of the best street art in London and Ian Cox has put together a selection of some of his favorite photos.