Tuesday, October 30, 2012
banksy at home
Monday, October 29, 2012
The Battle in Pictures
For anyone that is interested, this blog has more photos detailing the war between Robbo, Team Robbo and Banksy. Enjoy
http://twistedsifter.com/2012/01/banksy-vs-robbo-war-in-pictures/
http://twistedsifter.com/2012/01/banksy-vs-robbo-war-in-pictures/
Graffiti Art vs Street Art: The Battle Closes
When we left off, the battle lines had been drawn between
Street and Graffiti Art. Its representatives, Banksy and King Robbo, battle
with spray paint and vastly differing ideologies. King Robbo is making
statements about the male ego of Grafitti art, trying to prove his superiority.
While Banksy focused more on the thought provoking messages of his stenciled
work, less on the individual ego of the artist. However, this is just the
beginning of the war between Street and Graffiti Art. Through the ongoing artistic
battle, we can further understand the ideological differences expressed, but we
can also comprehend some of their inherent similarities.
After the move by Robbo to incorporate Banksy into his tag,
Banksy adds a childish Fuc in front of Robbo’s name, which is subsequently
removed. The bickering continues between these two artists, when all of a
sudden, the battle goes dark. Someone covers the battleground in black paint.
In the film Grafitti Wars, Robbo
takes this opportunity to create a stenciled work of his own. Top Cat leans
against the gravestone of Banksy’s career. This is a little different from his
usual work and it shows how Robbo is starting to evolve outside of his normal
comfort zone. Robbo also does this to illustrate how easy stenciling is and
that it doesn’t require any particular talent or artistry.[i]
This shift is documented in Graffiti Wars,
where Robbo actually begins to make the transition from Graffiti Artist to Street
Artist. He brings his work inside gallery shows and starts becoming a famous
name again. Maybe the Top Cat piece is also making a statement that he will
take out Banksy in the gallery as well as the street. Macnaughton makes the
point that ethics also separate Graffiti and Street art.[ii]
When someone moves inside of a gallery and gets the chance to profit from their
work, it is now street art.
Whatever the statement about his own rise in the artistic
community, Robbo is silenced as, once again, the wall goes black. This time Banksy comes back with a
rather strange work that no one can seem to make heads or tails of. It’s a
chalk living room with a three dimensional chair and stenciled elements. It is noted that Banksy often pays back
to his influences in his own way.[iii] Many find
Banksy has taken ideas from Blek le Rat and other stencil and Street Artists.
However, this particular piece recalls an experimental time for another street
artist, Keith Haring. On his website it states, “…he noticed the unused
advertising panels covered with matte black paper in a subway station. He began
to create drawings in white chalk upon these blank paper panels throughout the
subway system.”[iv] That sounds
very similar to what Banksy has done here.
Why would Banksy create a throwback to another artist? We
may never know the answer, but Banksy sees himself as a liberator and he likes
to remind his audience that art is a democratic exercise. He believes that the
individual’s opinion regarding a work is as important as anybody else’s.[v]
This may have been his way of taking the battle away from a petty feud and
going back to inspiring the usual thought concerning his work. A scene as
perplexing as this living room will definitely inspire plenty of though
regarding its meaning.
This would be the last move in the war between Robbo and
Banksy. Shortly after, King Robbo tragically suffered a head injury and remains
in a coma. Banksy added one last note to Robbo by recreating his original tag
with a torch lit spray can to act as a memorial flame. However, despite the seeming
end of the war of Street and Graffiti Art, Team Robbo, who were followers of
King Robbo, kept the battle alive. They would go out and vandalize or adorn
Banksy’s work in other areas. They would change the content or add anti-Banksy
messages.
This continued battle extended beyond the tunnel in Camden
to other urban areas. In doing so they both perpetuate a basic ideology that
Street and Graffiti Art share. Banksy and Team Robbo achieve the goal of using
free public art to reclaim pieces of the urban environment that would otherwise
be used for advertisements.[vi] Potter makes
the argument that, “The Thing about street art is, it all comes down to
property…Street art, like graffiti before it, regardless of what the content of
the image may be, is a criticism of the idea of property itself. If it was not
illegal, it would not be street art. Therefore its illegality is what defines
it. Take it out of that context and you are left with ‘art’.”[vii
Street and Graffiti art are born from the same mother. They both struggle with the definition of legality and property. Who owns what and what gives them the right to own it. They want to take back the streets to make statements. They may be personal statements about themselves. Graffiti Art is all about the male ego and proving yourself with your tag. While Street Art is intended to make a nice image that provokes thought in the viewer. However, both street and graffiti art can agree that they are an anti establishment movement that would not mean anything if they weren’t’ illegal. They may have extreme ideological differences, but at the end of the day, they are more closely linked than most realize.
[i] Channel 4, “Graffiti
Wars,” Street Art News video, 46:47,
August 15, 2011, http://www.streetartnews.net/2011/08/robbo-vs-banksy-graffiti-wars-full.html.
[ii] Alex
Macnaughton, London Street Art Anthology (New
York: Prestel USA, 2009), 2.
[iii] Gary Shove
and Patrick Potter, Bansy: You Are and
Acceptable Level of Threat (Darlington: Carpet Bombing Culture, 2012), Belly
of the Beast.
[iv] Keith Haring,
“Keith Haring Foundation,” Online [home page on-line]; available from http://www.haring.com/!/;
Internet; accessed 24 October 2012.
[v] Gary Shove
and Patrick Potter, Bansy: You Are and
Acceptable Level of Threat, 9.
[vi] Ethel Seno, ed., Carlo
Mccormick, Marc Schiller, and Sara Schiller, Tresspass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art. (China: Taschen
GmbH, 2010), 10.
[vii] Gary Shove
and Patrick Potter, Bansy: You Are and
Acceptable Level of Threat, Any Last Words.
Street Art: The Power of Location (second post)
When street art began to rise in popularity, it became a new
vehicle to communicate to the public.
Advertising agencies and corporations viewed it as an opportunity to
push their brand and increase sales and/or awareness. Corporate strategy and the tactful
placement of street art hold similar purposes across multiple channels. In this post, I will discuss how street
art is used in advertising and how the location of the street art speaks for
the brand.
Zevs is an anonymous French street artist that is known for
painting the outlines of shadows that objects make on the street during the
night. In an interview with South China Morning Post (SCMP), Zevs said, “By
outlining the shadows I make it more visible in the night and it keeps a trace
of these shadows during the day.” [1] By painting the shadows of the night,
Zevs is freezing a moment in time and placing that moment into different
context during the day. The use of location for Zevs has to do with the
location of the shadow at the particular time that it was painted. The shadow
is continuously moving, but by freezing that moment the artist is telling the
viewer to look at that moment at a different perspective.
Houtlust, now known as Osocia, is
a non-profit advertising and marketing agency that focuses on social issues. In
2005, Houtlust and the Auckland Regional Council New Zealand painted shadows of
trees, as part of the Big Clean Up Campaign, to freeze a moment in time where a
tree once existed. The shadow of the tree connected the viewer to a pole that
read, “Nothing Can Replace a Tree. Plant More Native.” [2] This is a good
example of how the change in perspective that Zevs created in his street art of
painting shadows of objects on the street has transcended into communicating a
specific message for a non-profit organization. In both works, the location of
the shadow is most important because it holds a position of something that
existed and has now passed.
The tagging of street artists and
corporate branding are a lot in common. The tag, the alias name of the street
artist, and the logos of the brands that make up our consumer economy share the
same purpose of creating recognition. In the book, Trespass: A History of
Uncommissioned Urban Art, the
author states, “One of the most salient features of graffiti is approximation
of branding. At its most basic level, the tag mimics the ideographic
compression, repetition, and saturation that we would expect of corporate logos
and marketing campaigns. As a matter of practicality and artist’s tag must be
fluent, fluid, flexible enough to be put up anywhere, quickly, under any
conditions, and maintain the most primary of marketing directives: instant
recognition.” [3] Just like a tag, a logo of a company must share similar
qualities.
Shepard Fairey is a well-known
street artist from the west coast that used a tag to create recognition of an
iconic wrestler from the 1970s called, Andre the Giant. In the documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, the narrator
states, “Shepards experiment with the power of repetition went back to 1989 and
an image based on cult ‘70s wrestler Andre the Giant. Combining Andres face
with a command to obey, Shepard had already clocked up over a million hits
around the world.” [4] Using a familiar image, like Andre the Giant, and using
the power of repetition is a tactic commonly seen in advertising. Andre the
Giant as a tag has the same
purpose as a logo for a company brand. Fairey would place his tag all over the
country in areas of high traffic that would be seen by a large quantity of
people. It became worldwide
propaganda.
In corporate branding and in
street art the location of what is being viewed to the public has a direct
relationship with recognition and popularity. The location of the work, whether
it is placed in a location with a high traffic of people to view or if it is
placed in a location that creates a new context or perspective of the work, embodies
the purpose. In the article, Tagging as a
Social Literacy Practice, the author states, “Tagging is not simply an act
of vandalism or violence; it is a social practice with its own rules and codes
– a literacy practice imbued with intent and meaning.” [5] The location of the
tag plays a large role in the context and message that the street artist is
communication with the public.
Joshua Allen Harris is a New York
Street artist that uses trash bags as a medium to create installation street
art. In 2009, he created a work called Airbear
and Cub that was placed on a city subway vent. When the subway passes
through the location underground, the air pushes the trash bags up displaying
an air filled installation of a bear and cub. When the subway is not passing
by, the installation simply looks like a trash bag on the street. The artist
uses the location of the subway air vent to put his work into new context and to
change the perspective of what someone would normally see as trash. He is taking something that already
exists on the street and using it as part of his work. Advertising installation
on the street go by the same practice. Ogilvy & Mather is a large advertising
agency with offices worldwide. In 2005 out of the Malaysia office, they placed
an image of Duracell batteries at the bottom of an escalator in a local
shopping mall. Escalators keep going and going and so do Duracell batteries. The advertisement is similar to Harris’
Airbear and Cub installation work in
New York because they are using the locations environment to create a new
perspective to the viewers. Each
one of the works has a tag that creates an identity. The tag Harris has is the
use of trash bags on the street, which creates instant recognition of the
artist. The tag used in the installation piece for Duracell is the company
logo, the shape and functionality of the product. [6]
A street artist, that goes by the
name, Slinkachu, is famous for his miniature installations placed in an urban
environment. In 2007, Tower Hill, London, England, Slinkachu installed one of
his works called, After the Storm. After a rainstorm, he placed a miniature
rescue boat and a drowned victim in a puddle on the sidewalk of a common
street. The context of the puddle changes once the rescue boat and victim are
placed in it. There is a change in perspective to scale as the puddle mimics
the idea of a lake. Slinkachu is taking something that was already present on
the street and sending a new message by changing the context of the puddle.
Similar to advertising street installations, agencies will take ordinary
objects and transform them in something new that creates a new way of thinking
towards that object. Grey Worldwide, a large creative advertising agency,
produced a sidewalk installation in Italy for Mr. Clean cleaning supplies. They
made all the lines of a crosswalk dirty except for one that was bright white.
This displayed the functionality of the product, while integrating a streets
common crosswalk. Just like Slinkachu, Grey Worldwide and Mr. Clean used a
specific location to display their work because it was the elements present in
the location that brought new context to the miniatures and the product. [7] [8]
Whether it is for a corporate
brand or for a famous street artist, the location and the elements of the
surrounding environment play an important role in communicating a message. It
becomes familiar, yet surprising because new context is placed into a space
that might otherwise seem ordinary. Street artist and advertising agencies
share a common ground, which is to create instant recognition. In integrating a
familiar space, object or image with the work grasps the attention of the
viewer with the willingness to absorb the message intended by the artist.
[1] SCMP – South China Morning Post, “A Profile of Artist
ZEVS Before His Arrest in Hong Kong”, SCMP Youtube; available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8BG8v4sZnk
> (accessed 21 October 2012)
[2] Wooster Collective, “Plant More Native”, Wooster
Collective online; available from http://www.woostercollective.com/post/plant-more-native
> (accessed 26 October 2012)
[3] Carlo McCormick, Trespass:
A History of Uncommissioned Art (Los Angeles, CA: Taschen Publishing,
2010), 51.
[4] Banksy. Exit Through the Gift Shop. DVD. Directed by Banksy.
USA : Producers Distribution Agency (PDA), 2010.
[5] Laurie MacGillivray and Margaret Sauceda Curwen, “Tagging as a Social Literacy Practice”, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
(2007): [Journal on-line]; available from JSTOR digital library, < http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/40015478?searchUrl=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DTagging%2Bas%2Ba%2BSocial%2BLiteracy%2BPractice%26acc%3Doff%26wc%3Don&Search=yes&uid=3739616&uid=2134&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21101214763483>
(accessed October 2012). 354.
[6] Joshua Allen Harris, “Airbear and Cub”, Joshua Allen
Harris online: Behance Network (2012); available from < http://joshuaallenharris.com/19211/537354/joshuaallenharrismecom/air-bear
> (accessed October 2012)
[7] Slinkachu, “Little People”, Slinkachu online (2012);
available from < http://slinkachu.com/little-people
> (accessed October 2012)
[8] Carlo McCormick, Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Art (Los Angeles, CA: Taschen Publishing, 2010), 225.
[8] Carlo McCormick, Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Art (Los Angeles, CA: Taschen Publishing, 2010), 225.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Street/Chalk Art - David Zinn
David Zinn is a street artist who uses chalk to create his lovable imaginative street art. Chalk is certainly the least permanent of all street art media, but certainly if you can catch the art before it's walked on or washed away, it can leave an impression on you. I'm sure everyone is familiar with street chalk art, as many of the images circulate through forwarded emails. But David Zinn's characters I think create their own stories by being imbedded in our world in a unique way. Check out the link for more of his works. They are worth taking a look at! Below is a Halloween themed image of David Zinn's. Enjoy!
http://www.streetartutopia.com/?p=10258
http://www.streetartutopia.com/?p=10258
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Graffiti animation to promote French AIDS awareness
Great concept of using the graffiti you would see in a bathroom stall to create awareness of AIDS for the French AIDS awareness organization. It was created by TBWA\Paris. The message: Protect yourself with a condom.
More street Art in Advertising
Here are some more examples of how street art can be used in advertising to promote a product: Feel free to comment on any of them or tell everyone which one is your favorite. In the second half of my thesis I will mention a coupe of these and its relativity to location.
Street Art in Advertising
This is an example of street art being used to promote Durex condoms:
Above: Promoting Durex condoms with knobs in Belguim. Americans refer to this product as
"studded" condoms....A slight difference in condom culture.
Above: To promote Durex condoms with ribs in Belgium. Americans refer to this product as Durex "Her Sensation" condoms. Another slight difference in condom culture.
Some Unique and Cool Street Art
Here is a really cool street artist that found a way to use subway exhaust to create art.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Myth and Street Art
Here are some of the art works I specifically reference:
Space Invader, Unknown title, Unknown place.
Space Invader, Unknown title, Unknown place.
Banksy, Follow Your Dreams: Cancelled, London.
Banksy, Sorry! The lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock, Unknown place.
Myth and Street Art
“Myth and Street Art”
Before
we get into how myth applies to street art let's take a look at myth and what
it means for people. Myth is something that captures us; something that we
believe in. [1] Myths come in many forms: written stories, art, and theater. We
continually tell these stories or phrases in many forms, because for people,
telling stories is a way for us to come to terms with our lives and the world
around us. [2] The story or myth is a way for us to codify our activities in
our lives. [3] These activities that make their way into myth are the things
that all of us, human beings, have in common. They are the stories that are
repeated over and over in our society and we recognize this through myth. We
all need the story of our lives told in order for us to understand the mystery
of life and to figure out who we are in this big wide world. [4] Street art
creates a particular presence for itself, and by subtracting the artist and
their identity, the artwork and artist can be viewed as a mythical presence
that helps people understand themselves within the world.
Street
art becomes mythical through its imagery and content. Using example artists
Invader and Banksy we will take a look at their work. Invader uses ceramic
tiles cemented together to create various alien creatures that look like the
8-bit video game, Space Invaders. The placement of the aliens on the walls
of the buildings varies from looking like they have touched ground to still
flying down ready to abduct you. Despite the video game coming out in the late
70s early 80s, alien's invading from space has been depicted in the movies
since the early 50s. The aliens in those movies were portrayed as creatures
from another planet coming to invade, in search of abducting people, taking
natural resources, or looking to replace human life with their own. This was
actually a direct response to World War II and the fear that what happened in
Europe could happen elsewhere. [5] The myth of the space invader coming to take
you still exists through the street artist Invader's artwork.
Reading
into the meaning more currently, as far as what alien's mean today, Invader is
also quoted for saying that he likes that his images invade our physical space.
[6] And other street artists have felt that advertisers are invading our
physical space, bombarding us with ads, so why not invade people's space with
art. [7] This can lead to the conclusion that Invader is merely alluding to
current invading aliens, companies, and branding. His artwork is a physical
interpretation that helps us understand what is going on today and hopefully
keeps us warned about the invasion of our minds from advertisers or other
forces.
Banksy
is an artist whose imagery focuses on the social, political, and even just
imaginative imagery. Let's start by looking at his street art piece, Sorry! The Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently
Out of Stock, which is a stenciled phrase left on what looks like an
abandoned building. He is obviously making a reference to online shopping, the
job market, and the promise of a wonderful and glamorous life, but in reality
they end up with not what they were offered. This particular imagery also deals
with stages of life and passing from childhood to adulthood. There are
mythological rites and passages we go through in our lives especially from
changing from child to adult. [8] Banksy is enlightening us through the rites of
passage myth; the passage of coming to realize our reality from our childhood
dreams. Another example of this same myth within Banksy's artwork is the piece
where he shows a man who had just posted CANCELLED
over a sentence that says FOLLOW YOUR
DREAMS. This is a common theme is stories and mythology and Banksy proves
his artwork as current myth in our society.
Something
these artists have in common is their anonymity in society. By being anonymous
they create a myth around themselves and induces an even more sacred feeling
around their art work. Leaving us with feelings like, “When is the next time I
will see one of their art works? Will they make another in this area?” For
example, when watching a movie, the stars of the picture gain a mythical presence
because they demonstrate multiple presences and make themselves representatives
for our lives. [9] Banksy and Invader do the same thing. When looking at their
art work we know that when they made the artwork they were “Banksy” or
“Invader.” As soon as they leave their mark they turn and become whoever they
are on their identification card. They represent the everyday person,
particularly you and me, and tell the story of you and me through their art
work.
Too
many people see street art as vandalism. Looking at the placement of most
street art, it is either covering over an advertisement or on an abandoned
building. Do either of these instances not make you cheer inside? [10] Does the
message of the artwork resonant within you? By altering a space you can
transform your consciousness and presence of mind. [11] If we surrounded
ourselves with more artwork that made us think about everyone and their needs,
the myths of our lives, opposed to advertisements that make us think about
ourselves and our wants, what would the world be like? Myths are the clues.
They are symbols that we should internalize in order to find meaning within our
lives. [12] By taking the time to view street art, we recognize street art as a
new form of mythology and storytelling of the people, for the people, and by
the people. This hopefully enriches our lives and helps us to find the meaning
of ourselves within the world.
[1] Harwood, Frances. “Myth, Memory, and the Oral Tradition:
Cicero in the Trobriands,” American Anthropologist, New Series, vol. 78,
no. 4 (December 1976): 783-796.
[2] Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth (New
York: Anchor Books, 1981), 2.
[3] Harwood, Frances. “Myth, Memory, and the Oral Tradition:
Cicero in the Trobriands,” American Anthropologist, New Series, vol. 78,
no. 4 (December 1976): 783-796.
[4] Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth (New
York: Anchor Books, 1981), 4.
[5] Johns Gill, Jens Hoffmann, Gilane Tawadros, Alien Nation (London:
Institute of Contemporary Arts, 2006), 33.
[6] Francesca Gavin, Street Renegades: New underground Art
(London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2007), 56.
[7] Ethel Seno, ed., Carlo Mccormick, Marc Schiller, and
Sara Schiller, Tresspass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art. (China:
Taschen GmbH, 2010), 10-11.
[8] Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth (New
York: Anchor Books, 1981), 14.
[9] Ibid., 20.
[10] Ethel Seno, ed., Carlo Mccormick, Marc Schiller, and
Sara Schiller, Tresspass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art. (China:
Taschen GmbH, 2010),11.
[11] Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth
(New York: Anchor Books, 1981), 19.
[12] Ibid., 5.
(This page was
edited on November 12, 2012).
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Political Street Art Images
JR at the Tate Modern in London, 2008
JR, Women Are Heros, Kenya, 2008-2010
JR, Face 2 Face, Palestine and Israel, 2007
JR, Face 2 Face, Palestine and Israel, 2007
Political Street Art Continued
Street art has a wide array of subject matter. Some street
artists, such as Andre and Barry McGee, focus on putting goofy, animated
characters on the walls of buildings. Other street artists like the Toasters,
Shepard Fairey, Invader, etc. put multiples of the same images up all over
cities almost like marking their territory. Roadsworth is a street artist that
spray paints images on the road that might make a drive around town a little
more entertaining. With the
exception of Shepard Fairey, and perhaps Invader, none of these street artists
are widely known; they are known well enough to get in a book but are not as
prominent as JR or Banksy. Both street artists incorporate a little bit of
politics into their art. Perhaps the public simply likes JR’s and Banksy’s styles
or maybe these street artists are so well known because of the messages behind
their art.
JR began when he found a camera in
the Paris Metro and started taking pictures. Since he found the camera in a
public place he felt that it was fitting to put his photographs in a public
place.[i]
When JR started his photographed images were small, he had to use a six by four
inch format.[ii]
However, JR figured out how to enlarge his photographed images to cover the
side of a building. JR’s work
would clearly be hard to ignore. Imagine walking down the street and seeing a
black and white image of someone pointing a gun covering the side of a
building, that would be pretty difficult to miss.
JR’s work is meant to provoke; he
wants to touch people. He humbly admits that his work cannot change the world
but “…it can only make a
difference to how a few people look at the world.”[iii]
JR has achieved this through his travels to slums, shanty towns, and troubled
places. In Kibera, Kenya, JR used waterproof materials to paint the roofs of
houses. He painted portraits of people, a subject matter he tends to stick
with, focusing on eyes and mouths. He chose to use waterproof materials to give
to the community. He said that Kenyans do not understand art for art’s sake; they
focus on essential needs. By using waterproof materials he made their roofs
waterproof and therefore his art developed a practical purpose.[iv]
JR decided to tackle possibly one
of the largest political issues of today’s world in his Face 2 Face project. In an interview JR said he was discussing the
issue of the Middle East with some friends and he asked if anyone one knew any
Israelis or Palestinians. Clearly no one did and JR decided that he wanted to
go to the Middle East to find out for himself. He was under the impression that
Israelis see Palestinians as terrorists attacking marketplaces where women and
children are as well as men. And Palestinians see Israelis as humiliating,
occupational soldiers who shoot children and ambulances. When JR went to the
Middle East he realized that a Palestinian taxi driver is pretty much the same
as an Israeli taxi driver. That is when he pasted a humorous image of the
Rabbi, the Priest, and the Imam.[v]
While JR was working on his Face 2 Face project people would come up
to him and ask what he was doing. JR would tell them that he was working on an
art project and the particular part he was painting was “two taxi driver…one is
Israeli and one is Palestinian.”[vi] The person who
came up to him would be taken aback because “…the enemy was in one of those
portraits.” JR would then ask if they could tell which portrait was of the
Israeli and which was of the Palestinian and of course the person would be so
sure they knew their “own brother” but they would always guess wrong then laugh
about it. A special “moment” was unintentionally created between the people who
came up to JR and JR himself. JR admits that the idea of how similar
Palestinians and Israelis are might have only momentarily been impressed onto
some of the people who came up to him, but maybe it is a moment that will last
as long as the people who shared it are alive.
Banksy has also traveled to troubled places to do art. In
order to draw attention to the slow recovery of New Orleans after Katrina, Banksy
paid a visit and give his support to NOLA Rising, an art activist group started
by Rex Dingler. NOLA Rising was started to lift the morale of New Orleans.[vii]
Banksy’s focus is not to go to slums and troubled area like JR. Banksy has a
different agenda; he focuses on opposing war, Big Brother, corporate
capitalism, and hypocrisy.[viii]
Supposedly Banksy believes that the
United States is the “belly of the beast” as far as war, corporate capitalism,
and hypocrisy goes.[ix] Images of
Charlie Brown smoking a cigarette and tipping over a gas can express his
distaste. A young innocent American boy, Charlie Brown, has been corrupted by
American culture. In another attempt to deface American culture, Banksy
“tagged” a billboard of a woman with a bra and jeans on. He added two Disney-like
mice; the male mouse was drunkenly grabbing the woman’s chest, and the girl
mouse was wigging out on cocaine.[x] How this
politically attacks America has yet to be determined, but Banksy could be
making a statement on exploiting women in America.
Banksy did travel to Bethlehem, Palestine.
Instead of trying to show how
similar Palestinians and Israelis are like JR, Banksy paints an image of a
soldier feeding a Donkey. The donkey could be a symbol of Mary and Joseph’s
trip to Bethlehem, as the bible tells it.
Here the religious donkey is being hand fed by a soldier. Banksy did not
see anything wrong with putting up his street art on the wall. He asks a pretty
interesting question, “how illegal is it to vandalize a wall, if the wall
itself has been deemed unlawful by the International Court of Justice?”[xi]
Banksy did manage to make this place that is thought of to be so incredibly
dangerous appear a little less terrorized and a little more “Bandalized,” if
you will.
Street art that is frequently
looked down upon, and maybe the authorities have a right to think badly of
street art. However it street art might look, it has done good things. Banksy
has captivated millions with his witty attacks on government. JR has literally
helped suffering communities with his art. Shepard Fairey has helped prove how
influential street art can be. Street Art itself has given artists a voice that
is hard for the public to ignore especially when the art deals with political
issues and the public now has the opportunity to look at art for free at any
time. Street art can be a really positive influence, if it is looked at in the
right way.
[i] Eleanor
Mathieson and Xavier A. Tapies, Street
Artists: The Complete Guide (London: Graffito, 2012), 108.
[ii] (JR,
interview by Kristie Lou Stout,
News, CNN International, October 5, 2012), www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic
(accessed October 20, 2012).
[iii] Eleanor
Mathieson and Xavier A. Tapies, (108).
[iv] Ibid.
[v] (JR,
interview by Kristie Lou Stout).
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] Banksy: You Are an Acceptable Level of
Threat (Great Britain: Carpet
Bombing Culture, 2012), NOLA Rising.
[viii] Ibid,
Belly Of The Beast.
[ix] Ibid.
[x] Ibid,
Banecdotes #6.
[xi] Ibid, Oh
Little Town.
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