David Choe on the beauty of Banksy’s anonymity

Banksy's work in Bristol
Banksy’s work in Bristol

“Are you an asshole?”

That’s the question David Choe asked last week in an essay (which is very NSFW) on his blog. The piece, Why Saving Banksy Means Saving Yourself, is a must-read. David Choe is generally not the best arbiter of who is or is not an asshole, but in this instance, he’s spot on: No good comes from trying to reveal Banksy’s identity, or wondering who Banksy is.

Whenever a news story comes out saying “We’ve finally proven that Banksy is X,” or, “Banksy’s married and his partner is Y,” or “Banksy is a woman,” or whatever story about Banksy’s identity the media wants to promote this week, I have two reactions. My first reaction is to laugh. Something about the search feels ridiculous to me. It misses the point of Banksy, like watching a magic show from side stage while someone whispers in your ear how every trick is done. But then I get sad, because one TMZ-quality reporter desperate for clicks could ruin something for the entire world. Those journalists, whether their claims are right or wrong, are no better than the drunk mall Santa who spill the beans to little kids.

The next time an article comes out claiming to reveal Banksy’s identity, don’t be an asshole. Don’t click. Instead, read David Choe’s thoughts on the matter.

Photo by Walt Jabsco

Aryz, David Choe and Retna in LA

Vandalog_TimHans709
Aryz and David Choe

These pieces, on two buildings at 7th and Mateo in Los Angeles, were painted last week by three of the biggest names in street art and graffiti: David Choe, Retna and Aryz.

I want to give special thanks to Tim Hans for going out and shooting these photos for us, since this isn’t his usual work with Vandalog.

David Choe
Mostly David Choe
Aryz
Mostly Aryz
Aryz
Aryz, David Choe and Retna
Aryz
Aryz, David Choe and Retna
Retna
Retna and David Choe
David Choe
David Choe
Aryz
Aryz and David Choe

Photos by Tim Hans

Weekend link-o-rama

"The American Cousins" by Cekis in Fleury-Les Aubrais, France
“The American Cousins” by Cekis in Fleury-Les Aubrais, France

So as finals exams and essays begin to creep up on me (70-ish pages to write in the next month), these link-o-rama posts are going to become essential until the school year is up, so you know, I encourage you to read them closely.

Photo courtesy of Ville de Fleury-les-Aubrais

Weekend link-o-rama

Troy Lovegates

Link-o-rama. ‘Nuff said.

Photo by Troy Lovegates

Belated link-o-rama

El Decertor

Thanks to spending the weekend in NYC for Skewville’s show at Factory Fresh (on now and great), I am late with this week’s link-o-rama. Nonetheless, here it is:

Photo by El Decertor

David Choe and DVS1

While David Choe and his collaborator DVS1’s contributions to Nuart 2011 were mentioned a couple of months ago, Nuart has just posted this video of all the work coming together. It’s cool to see these two talented guys at work, plus be reminded of what a great installation they put together for Nuart.

Nuart 2011

David Choe and DVS-1

This year, Vandalog hasn’t been covering the Nuart festival in Norway nearly as closely as we should. Some great work has gone up by a bunch of artists over the last few weeks. Between Nuart’s flickr page and the coverage at Arrested Motion though, the festival has been covered extensively elsewhere. Check out Arrested Motion for Nuart contributions by Lucy McLauchlan, Dan Witz, Phlegm, Herakut, Vhils (including what may be my new favorite piece by him), Escif, David Choe and DVS-1 and Nuart’s flickr set for even more images.

Photo by CF Salicath

Weekend link-o-rama

1010 and Other aka Troy Lovegates

Had about 4 days away from a computer and it’s taken me nearly as long to catch up on emails. This post should help to finish that task. Here’s what I missed while I was away:

Photo by Other

Coming in October: Nuart 2011

Vhils for Nuart 2010

With fall approaching (hopefully quickly after all the time I’ve been spending in 100 degree weather), another edition of Stavanger, Norway’s Nuart festival is just around the corner. This year, Nuart will break away from the murals that its become known for in favor of an event more like The Underbelly Project or Hell’s Half Acre: While there will still be some walls painted around the city, most of the festival will be indoors where artists will focus on painting directly on the walls of “seven abandoned 17x5x5 meter tunnels [and] a 50meter long access tunnel with an entrance hall equal in size to the cities largest gallery.”

And here’s this year’s artist line up… Dan Witz, David Choe, Herakut, Herbert Baglione, Escif, Hyuro, Tellas, Lucy McLauchlan, Dolk, Phlegm and Vhils.

Photo by kalevkevad