RJ Rushmore has been involved in contemporary art as a writer, curator, photographer, arts administrator, and fan since 2008. With a focus on street art, graffiti, and public art, RJ facilitates and promotes catalytic and ambitious art outdoors, in galleries, and online. He founded the street art blog Vandalog and has worked at The L.I.S.A. Project NYC, Mural Arts Philadelphia, and Creative Time. Currently, RJ is Co-Curator of Art in Ad Places.
This week’s issue of The Sunday Times Magazine has a really nice cover designed by Banksy. The magazine also includes an article on the artist and an interview.
The article covers such a wide range of topics from his identity and personal life to the art market to why CCTVs are irritating, so I’m not even going to try and pick out my favorite bits. The article is a good read though, and if you’re not completely sick of Banksy-mania, it’s worth reading. You can find it online here.
On a related noted, The Times had an article on Saturday about Mr. Brainwash and Exit Through The Gift Shop. It’s probably the best article I’ve read so far to look at Mr. Brainwash as a person and artist in an unbiased and thought-provoking manner. They even speak to MBW himself and get his take on the film, which definitely strays from the official story. You can read that article here.
I’ve been seeing some interesting paste-ups around London recently by an artist called PS. All the pieces are the same tear-drop shape, but the content differs greatly. Here are a few photos:
Photo by invisiblemadevisiblePhoto by invisiblemadevisiblePhoto by unusualimage
Eelus‘ solo show, The Colour Out of Space, opened on Thursday night at Blackall Studios in London. It’s a really interesting show. While the images could be hit and miss, what you can’t argue with is Eelu’s technical ability. He’s not one of those lazy “artists” who figure that anybody who can afford a can of spray paint and an exacto-knife should try to cut crappy stencils and sell the resulting canvases for £1000. Eelus’ stencils are flawlessly cut and painted.
There were plenty of prints and originals, but Eelus also painted two large walls in the gallery.
While some of the work was classic Eelus, the best pieces showed a new direction for him. He’s using more color and geometric shapes.
Next week’s issue of Time Out London will feature a cover designed by Banksy. The full cover image hasn’t been released yet, but the above teaser is interesting. Time Out says “This photo shoot, a mixture of self-portraiture and his trademark use of spraypaint, is unlike anything he’s ever done for a magazine before and may never be repeated.”
In addition to the cover, Time Out has an interview with Banksy.
Because this issue is sure to be popular with art fans, Time Out are also selling a version of the magazine without the Time Out logo on it and that includes a 68 x 51 cm poster of the cover art for £12.99. That’s for sale at their online shop.
Yes, I realize that I sound like a press release, but I figure this is pretty cool if you’re not worried about Banksy becoming too mainstream. And if you are worried about that, read the Hank Willis Thomas interview in the latest issue of Juxtapoz.
On Tuesday evening, I had the chance to see Banksy’s film Exit Through The Gift Shop (in cinemas March 5th) at the pop-up cinema he has put together in the tunnels next to Leake Street (where he held Cans Festival). It was an experience that I’ll never forget.
Outside the entrance, Banksy has painted a red carpet onto the street. Inside, it’s like a mini-exhibition. A mix of new and old works, the highlight for me was the “Paranoid Pictures” logo which has been stenciled onto one of the walls. Or maybe it was the animatronics from Banksy’s Pet Store show. It’s tough to say. But the art got everybody in the mood to watch what we’d been invited there for: something that involved Banksy, a video camera and Mr. Brainwash. Beyond that, most of us were in the dark as to what exactly was going to be shown.
Here’s the spoiler-free review:
Exit Through The Gift Shop is not going to be the Subway Art of street art (Beautiful Losers and Bomb It have already attempted that anyways…), and it’s not trying to be. It’s not “The Banksy Movie” either. And I think that’s going to disappoint a few people. But if you’re a regular reader of Vandalog, you probably like street art, not just Banksy. Exit Through The Gift Shop is a film that you’ll enjoy.
The film is a documentary that comes across as a mockumentary. I’ve heard people plenty of people compare it to Spinal Tap or Borat. But everything in Exit Through The Gift Shop is more or less true. Of course, I’m sure certain half-truths are told, but it’s about as factual as you can get when it comes to talking about anonymous artists. The important thing here is that all the characters are real people, and the events on film actually happened and were unscripted, so that seems real enough to me.
There’s a line every five minutes that might be quoted by street art fans for years to come: Some of them are funny, some are poignant and some are depressing. The whole film is mixture of comedy, drama and tragedy, but every angle will be compelling to street art fans.
The big problem though, is that I just can’t imagine telling my friends who don’t like art or film to check out the movie. It’s not like Spellbound or (in my opinion, not that of my friends who stopped talking to me after a certain movie night…) Helvetica; if you don’t like street art (or at least art or documentary films in general), you may just be left confused and bewildered by the whole thing. I suppose that’s the point, but last time I checked, Banksy’s work isn’t supposed to confuse people, it’s meant to be clear, direct, funny and hopefully provocative.
And where the film could have most interested audiences outside the street art world, examining how money and marketing plays a role in the art market, Exit Through The Gift Shop hints at these issues, but falls short of actually confronting the subject head on, leaving the audience to consider the consequences. While people certainly are smart enough to see what’s going on and figure these things out for themselves, I think Banksy could have been a bit more direct about the whole thing.
Perhaps the film’s greatest flaw is that it ends on more of a decidedly bleak pop than a spectacular bang or even just a hopeful note of any sort.
Minor issues aside, most street art fans will absolutely love this film. It is hilarious, has behind-the-scenes footage of Banksy and other great street artists at work and tells a story that needs to be told. I can’t say much more without spoiling the plot.
Lydia Fong, aka Barry McGee, and HuskMitNavn have a two-man show opening on March 25th at the ALICE Contemporary Art Centre in Brussels called The Last Night. Should be awesome. I think that’s about all I need to say. Hopefully I’ll take a train over for the opening and take lots of photos.
It looks like Team Robbo isn’t done with Banksy just yet. If you don’t know the story, you catch up with this video from a couple of weeks ago. And here’s the latest action by Team Robbo:
Alison from Images To Live By has posted an insightful essay on Jenny Holzer, after seeing Holzer speak at an event recently. Lucky her. Holzer is one of the most often ignored street artists, because her early illegal posters have been largely overshadowed by her more recent works which fall more into the realms of fine art and public art.
The World’s Best Ever has taken photos of a copy of Hoss, an exhibition catalog for a Barry McGee show from 1999.
