Tag: banksy

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Banksy in Hastings not considered “graffiti” by city officials

I wasn’t planning to make much mention of Banksy‘s latest work (the above stencil which can be found at a beach in Hastings). As usual though, it seems the story surrounding the art is more interesting than the piece itself: The Hastings graffiti removal squad will be leaving Banksy’s work alone. Not something entirely new from town councils. What I really love about Hastings though is what councilor Jay Kramer has said about the situation:

I think this is great.

I know that we have a zero tolerance policy on graffiti, and that is absolutely right. However, we have to be flexible so on this occasion I have agreed that Banksy can be an exception to our rule and can stay.

So, the town has a zero-tolerance policy on graffiti (and presumably street art too) except in cases where the work is an instant tourist attraction. In those cases, the policy is not so zero-tolerance. That’s a “Banksy-tolerance” policy, and that’s a pretty short-sighted way of doing things.

Via Banksy Prints

Photo by world of emma

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Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine

This week, I read a very different sort of street art book. In fact, I’m not sure it should be considered a “street art book.” Against The Wall by William Parry is a book about the separation walls in being built by Israel. In the street art world, the wall is known for the Banksy-organized Santa’s Ghetto event in 2007 where he and a number of other street artists painted the wall, but, of course, that’s really not what the wall is famous for and there’s a reason that Santa’s Ghetto took place in Bethlehem. As Banksy has said, “The wall is illegal under international law and essentially turns Palestine into the world’s largest open prison.”

In Against The Wall, Parry has revisited the wall after all the world-famous artists have left. Parry documented not only the artwork painted by Banksy and his cohorts, but the mostly-anonymous art and political graffiti that covers much of the wall. The artwork in Against The Wall is of similar historical importance to the art on the Berlin Wall. The art may help to bring the wall down, but when that finally happens, it’s going to disappear and Parry’s photos will remain as probably the best documentation of the art so far.

But this book isn’t just about art. After all, most of the art on the wall isn’t just for the sake of art. So most of the book is actually about the wall and how it has changed the lives of the Palestinians it has been created to oppress. There are probably a dozen better books on this same topic that go into much more detail, but I doubt you can read any of those in an afternoon. Parry tells powerful personal stories and uses photos to tell the collective story of how the wall is affecting the Palestinian people, and he keeps the entire book down to under 200 pages.

If you have a heart, if you think that art can change the world or if you just want to learn more about the struggles of the Palestinian people for basic human rights and dignity, you should get a copy of this book.

Against The Wall is available from Pluto Press for much of the world. Unfortunately, the book isn’t available in the USA yet, but it should be published here by Laurence Hill Books in the spring.

I should add that while, like on most Vandalog posts, I’m allowing comments here, I’m personally not going to get involved in any political debates on this issue. Maybe that’s lazy or one-sided or whatever, but I don’t really care. Internet flame wars have never changed anyone’s mind about this sort of thing. That’s what art and books like Against The Wall are for.

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Supposed Banksy wall from Detriot for sale on eBay (not the one about trees)

You may have seen the above photo on Banksy‘s website. Just another one of his pieces from the recent US tour. Certainly not the best, not even the best piece he painted in Detroit. In fact, I’d say that that this caged bird is one of those pieces that nobody would care about if it weren’t by Banksy. But it is by Banksy, and it was left unprotected in the abandoned and falling apart Packard Plant. That’s the same location as his Trees piece, which was famously removed from the plant earlier this year. Now Caged Bird is for sale on eBay. Well, something looking like Caged Bird is for sale and the wall is missing from the Packard Plant, but that’s no guarantee that the wall on eBay is legit (as was shown back in April when a Banksy wall was removed in LA and a look-alike was on eBay).

So far, Caged Bird has had no bids, but the seller is asking for $75,000. So if you’re looking for an 1,800lb slab on concrete which may have a boring stencil by Banksy on it, now you know where to look. The auction ends in less than 3 days. Just remember that Banksy’s authentication service, Pest Control, doesn’t authenticate street pieces.

For more on this story, check out the Detroit Free Press. Just don’t believe their expert who says “The (canary) piece is like having one of his more substantial works that he’s done.” That’s BS.

Via Animal NY

Photo from Banksy’s website

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The Saga of the Detroit Bansky Mural Theivery Continues

Since RJ is stuck in NYC now with no internet, he charged me with relaying the latest Bansky news to you all. As everyone knows, many Bansky pieces that show up on the street are chiseled out of walls and sold over the internet or through private dealings. In Detroit, one particular work is causing a whole lot of hoopla when the shady 555 Non Profit Studio and Gallery cut a Bansky out of a wall and currently has it in their possession. The company that owned the site that the piece was painted, Biosource Inc., has now sued 555 in hopes of recovering the work from their property that is believed to be valued at $100,000 and upwards. You can read the full story here.

The Souce of Contention

Photo by bealebo

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Viva La Revolucion: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape

I know I mentioned this show in the Invasion of San Diego post, but I figured I would go into a little more depth with it, since it is opening July 18th to the public.

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) will be hosting one of the first street art museum exhibits in the middle of July.  Citing the cultural influence of art in cities, “Viva La Revolucion” brings together some of the most high profile street artists today that have made an impact on city spaces with their socio-political works.  Not only will the exhibit be one of the broadest street art museum displays ever curated, but the city of San Diego will also pay host to several public works created in currently unknown locations by some of the featured artists.  Invader’s pieces are just one of the public works, with more pieces surly to follow by the likes of Shepard Fairey, Os Gemeos, and Blu and David Ellis, and possibly Banksy.  I cannot wait to see what comes of this.

Os Gemeos. Photo by apwbATTACK

Here is a complete list of the artists participating:

Akay
Banksy
Blu
Mark Bradford
William Cordova
Date Farmers
Stephan Doitschinoff
Dr. Lakra
Dzine
David Ellis
FAILE
Shepard Fairey
Invader
JR
Barry McGee
Ryan McGinness
Moris
Os Gemeos
Swoon
Vhils

For more information check out MCASD’s website

Photo by apwbATTACK

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Banksy hits Glastonbury

No official confirmation yet on Banksy’s website, but this sure does look like his work. It appeared at Glastonbury, where Banksy has worked a few times before.

I know there are a lot of people out there who are fed up with all the Banksy-hype and craziness out there. I am too. But after spending just a few weeks not thinking about Banksy at all (besides this post), I’ve gone back and looked at this website. He’s actually kind of clever. With Banksy being so active outdoors lately to promote Exit Through The Gift Shop, some people, myself included, were just sick of him. For me at least, I’ve discovered that I wasn’t so much sick of his work, just the hype. The work on it’s own, that’s as strong as ever. Don’t believe me? Have a look.

Photo by al_green

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The Great Artist Steals? – Banksy and Busk

Photo by ahisgett

One of my favorite new Banksy’s is this thing he did during a recent visit to New York City (is this Banksy’s version of performance art?):

The idea is clever, funny and quintessentially Banksy. Except, Banksy wasn’t the first to have the idea… In fact, Vienna’s Busk did the exact same thing last year at the BLK River Festival. You can check out photos of Busk’s version at the BLK River Festival blog, along with their take on Banksy’s version. Now, I’m not sure if Banksy “stole” this idea from Busk or if they just came to do similar pieces coincidentally (DEFINITELY possible, if not probable). This sort of thing happens all the time. With thousands and thousands of artists out there, creating something entirely original is impossible. The more interesting question is what the BLK River Festival blog asks: “Will Banksy’s portrait earn him another fortune at Sotheby’s next auction or will BUSK be inaugurated to art’s history for being the first to do so?”

For me, Banksy’s portrait is more interesting. I’m much more curious about the identity of Banksy than I am of Busk, and so are a million other people. Banksy’s portrait will be analyzed and picked apart by fans trying to discern his identity and compare it to previous supposed images. And of course, there is the question of if that is even really Banksy or if he just had one of his friends put on the balaclava and pose. Busk, while he may do some more interesting work or not (I’m honestly not too familiar with him besides this portrait and having known that he was involved in that festival), just doesn’t have that power and mystery behind his identity that Banksy does. Busk may have been first (or maybe there were other people doing this before him; surely somebody has gotten one of these portraits done while wearing a Halloween mask), and for that he deserves some credit, but The Cult of Banksy just makes this new version so much more interesting.

Then again, maybe I’m just caught up in the Banksy hype, as can happen with me from time to time. But isn’t that kind of the point of this portrait in the first place?

And let the comments calling me an idiot and a Banksy-whore begin…

Photos from Banksy and ahisgett

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While I was cut off from the world…

BETTEN in NYC. Photo by a friend of the artist.

Since the end of May until a few days ago, I’d been more or less cut off from the street art world. I was driving around Europe with my friends. That’s not particularly important, though I would like to thank Logan Hicks, Ripo, Paulo, C215, Nunca and (especially) Angelo for spending time with us.

Here’s some of the things that I missed while I was away…

  • Penny’s latest piece kicks ass
  • Os Gêmeos have been crazy busy, so here’s one of the things they did: A few paintings at FAME Festival.
  • And Blu has been to FAME recently too.
  • I’m loving a lot of the pieces Skewville’s show Shift Work Disorder at Factory Fresh.
  • Some local residents completely misinterpreted the meaning behind some Shepard Fairey murals and painted them over. Actually a really interesting story. I suppose that when it is a reality of everyday life, people don’t like to be reminded that the police will “kick your ass and get away with it.”
  • Lazarides’ latest show in LA is Eurotrash with Vhils, Micallef and JR. Hi-Fructose has pictures.
  • Alison Young’s book Street Studio had a launch party in Melbourne.
  • High Roller Society has a massive group print show on right now. I stopped by on Saturday. If you like affordable prints and drawings, check this one out.
  • Daily Mail reports that Banksy has painted some pub in Primrose Hill. Reality: It’s a PR stunt by the pub’s owner, but at least now they have some artwork on their walls.
  • The New Grand Tour, a group show including Jose Parla, Rey Parla and Rostarr, is open now at Bryce Wolkowitz in New York City.
  • Kathy Grayson and Meghan Coleman, former gallery directors at Deitch Projects, have started up their own gallery in NYC called Hole. I’m not exactly sure how much street art or graffiti you’ll be able to find at the Hole when it opens later this month, but they sent me a press release, so presumably they haven’t ditched street art entirely. The Wall Street Journal has more.
  • Hrag Vartanian has started an interesting discussion on Hyperallergic about a new piece by Mark Jenkins which could easily be mistaken for trash. And by the way, if you don’t already read Hyperallergic, you should start. It’s perhaps my favorite art blog at the moment.
  • Armsrock has a solo show on right now at Signal Gallery. I’m going to check it out tomorrow, but based on the photos on Arrested Motion, I couldn’t be more excited. Armsrock is massively talented and just keeps getting better.

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Booked – Group Exhibition and Book Day at Carmichael Gallery

It’s been a long time since Seth and I have had a group show this big at Carmichael Gallery – there will be over 35 artists represented on the walls when we open “Booked” on Saturday, June 5th! Some of the artists we’ve worked with for several years and others we’ll be showing for the first time. We’re also going to have lots of great art books and magazines from publishers like Drago, Gingko, Studiocromie (I really enjoyed opening up the box of Blu and Sam3 books!) and VNA. Books and art are two of the best things in the world, in my opinion, so it should be a fun event! We will be open from 12-8pm on Saturday for Culver City Art Walk (make sure to visit all the other galleries on the block if you come by; there will be lots of cool things to see) and the reception itself is from 6-8pm.

Here are some of the pieces in the show.

Martha Cooper

Escif

SpY

Anthony Lister

Lucas Price (aka Cyclops)

Bumblebee

Brad Downey

Here’s the full line up of artists and publishers:

Aiko, Banksy, Beejoir, Blek le Rat, Boxi, Bumblebee, C215, Henry Chalfant, Martha Cooper, D*Face, Brad Downey, Eine, Ericailcane, Escif, Faile, Shepard Fairey, Stelios Faitakis, Gaia, Hush, Mark Jenkins, Dave Kinsey, Know Hope, Labrona, Anthony Lister, Lucy McLauchlan, Aakash Nihalani, Walter Nomura (a.k.a. Tinho), Other, Steve Powers (a.k.a. ESPO), Lucas Price (a.k.a. Cyclops), Retna, Saber, Sam3, Sixeart, Slinkachu, SpY, Judith Supine, Titi Freak, Nick Walker, Dan Witz and WK Interact

Drago, Gingko Press, Murphy Design, Prestel, Rojo, SCB Distributors, Studiocromie, Very Nearly Almost, Zupi

The show runs from June 5 – July 3. Drop in to say hi if you’re in LA!

– Elisa