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I’m the Accidental Owner of a Banksy

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Re: I’m the Accidental Owner of a Banksy

#11

Post by mhurron »

iamben wrote: post #7

Mayor Bloomberg's reaction is interesting - I'm curious to know when a person transitions from vandal to artist. I don't think anyone could argue that Banksy hasn't cemented a place in the 'history of art' and the books our children read that cover this period will feature his work. In the UK a lot of people are genuinely gutted when a Banksy gets removed or covered - like something (a gift?) has been removed from th…

> 'm curious to know when a person transitions from vandal to artist.

When they stop vandalizing.

Re: I’m the Accidental Owner of a Banksy

#13

Post by dbond »

yetanotherphd wrote: post #3

It took ten minutes of reading articles and comments to convince myself this was real and not a joke. You can't make this stuff up: "A scuffle broke out at the scene of Banksy's latest piece in Williamsburg as a building manager and bystanders manhandled a vandal who tagged over the piece [of graffiti]." "The building manager grabbed him and threw him down and was calling the cops, but the guy bolted"

Banksy most likely doesn't care about them being vandalised, he still gets to make his point and picks up the publicity beforehand. The interesting part is that by tagging over them others could actually be hurting new york, Banksy pieces have been known to attract visitors (as with the one in east new york) and may even increase property values (though never proven).

On the other hand, the residents may just appreciate the artwork and not consider it to be vandalism, but some guy scribbling over it because "this is his turf" is. Usually pieces tend to remain intact for quite a bit longer but ny vandals seem to have taken a dislike to him. If they actually responded with art (King Robbo[0] as an example) I'd call fair game, but scribbling a quick tag is just vandalism.

[0] http://twistedsifter.com/2012/01/banksy-vs-robbo-war-in-pict...

Re: I’m the Accidental Owner of a Banksy

#14

Post by alwaysinshade »

yetanotherphd wrote: post #6
fennecfoxen wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, Banksy put up something good-looking, and the vandal put up his tag. If you caught someone putting the latter anywhere , grabbed him and called the cops, I'd say you're probably on the right track. It's got more in common with "graffiti on a tasteful outdoor mural" than with typical graffiti-on-graffiti.

I'm just going to quote from the comments section of [1]: theoddfather: Already dissed? Jesus, why are people so ghetto? bronxflash: how is that 'ghetto?' theoddfather: Tagging is ghetto bullshit with no redeeming social or artistic value. It's garbage and obviously in this case was meant to simply deface something that clearly has a great deal of value to many people. bronxflash: while i appreciate the fact that you…

"banksy wouldn't even exist without what filtered out of upper manhattan and the southern bronx and was known as 'tagging.'"

Fair, but we've reached the point where we can discern the difference between something that conveys a message, and what is merely a trademark. A tag is territorial and self serving - a trademark. It might have been what gave birth to other forms of street art, but its value is intrinsically less than something that exists to conjure discussion and consideration, even if the public sentiment towards it is negative.

Re: I’m the Accidental Owner of a Banksy

#15

Post by ianstormtaylor »

mhurron wrote: post #11
iamben wrote: post #7

Mayor Bloomberg's reaction is interesting - I'm curious to know when a person transitions from vandal to artist. I don't think anyone could argue that Banksy hasn't cemented a place in the 'history of art' and the books our children read that cover this period will feature his work. In the UK a lot of people are genuinely gutted when a Banksy gets removed or covered - like something (a gift?) has been removed from th…

> 'm curious to know when a person transitions from vandal to artist. When they stop vandalizing.

Nah, they aren't mutually exclusive.

Re: I’m the Accidental Owner of a Banksy

#17

Post by Millennium »

iamben wrote: post #7

Mayor Bloomberg's reaction is interesting - I'm curious to know when a person transitions from vandal to artist. I don't think anyone could argue that Banksy hasn't cemented a place in the 'history of art' and the books our children read that cover this period will feature his work. In the UK a lot of people are genuinely gutted when a Banksy gets removed or covered - like something (a gift?) has been removed from th…

> I'm curious to know when a person transitions from vandal to artist.

When they start asking for permission before painting other people's stuff.

Re: I’m the Accidental Owner of a Banksy

#19

Post by pippy »

iamben wrote: post #7

Mayor Bloomberg's reaction is interesting - I'm curious to know when a person transitions from vandal to artist. I don't think anyone could argue that Banksy hasn't cemented a place in the 'history of art' and the books our children read that cover this period will feature his work. In the UK a lot of people are genuinely gutted when a Banksy gets removed or covered - like something (a gift?) has been removed from th…

The line to me is clear - tagging is vandalism, but if it exists to send a message it's art. A high level of skill is required to make art, either aesthetically or emotionally. Of course there is the grey area where a tag can be so well done you're questioning if it should be in a gallery, but by then the artist has built up a large repertoire of skills.

Re: I’m the Accidental Owner of a Banksy

#20

Post by theoh »

iamben wrote: post #7

Mayor Bloomberg's reaction is interesting - I'm curious to know when a person transitions from vandal to artist. I don't think anyone could argue that Banksy hasn't cemented a place in the 'history of art' and the books our children read that cover this period will feature his work. In the UK a lot of people are genuinely gutted when a Banksy gets removed or covered - like something (a gift?) has been removed from th…

Well, most art critics don't take Banksy seriously, so I wouldn't count on him having a place in the history books any more than a novelty musician like Weird Al, for example. In fact that comparison makes Banksy sound more important than he is. David Blaine, maybe? http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/20...
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