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New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#171

Post by noosphr »

brookst wrote: post #149
ignoramous wrote: post #134

Despite the denials, the answer is most likely this was all coordinated with LEAs. Some artists have questioned if Banksy, once considered anti-establishment, now enjoys special treatment from Britain's powers that be. In 2014, Vice Media asked: 'Why Is Banksy the Only Person Allowed to Vandalize Britain’s Walls?' The story quoted David Speed, a street artist who ran a British graffiti collective. "It's very much one…

Not sure I agree it’s “most likely” when the linked article presents no evidence of LEA awareness or complicity, just one person speculating. I know firsthand what can be done with a hardhat, clipboard, and high-viz vest. IMO it is far more likely that Banksy is just really good at social engineering in ways that other street artists are not.

The difference is that you'd get a police visit and your artwork torn down if you're not Banksy.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#173

Post by analog8374 »

bogdan wrote: post #165
EnPissant wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I have no idea what you're on about

He's suggesting that there are several flavors of blindness going around so if we're going to point fingers then we might start with ourselves.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#175

Post by runarberg »

Simulacra wrote: post #112
metalman wrote: post #3

Statue of a man in a suit walking off a precipice while blinding himself with the flag he is carrying. https://banksy.co.uk/index.html

I can't get over the flag itself… It's a black flag. Not a British flag, not a white flag,… A BLACK flag. Historically, the black flag is strongly associated with anarchism, anti-state politics, revolt, and rejection of national authority. Had he colored it in the union jack, then I would've said it was nationalism, and the person is blinded by nationalism. But. This is Banksy, black-and-white Banksy, so there may be…

Black flags are never depicted being wielded in this way. The stance and the clothes of the person carrying the flag are two more artistic shorthands that makes it very clear that this is a national flag, not a black flag of solidarity.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#176

Post by nephihaha »

drcongo wrote: post #120

This statue might be the best thing he's ever done. I love it.

Is it? The flag is black, so could be a variety of things, not necessarily even a national flag. Just a flag in a march. (Anarchism uses a black flag.)

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#177

Post by mindslight »

Ancapistani wrote: post #169
mindslight wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's about being slightly more subtle than a frontal attack on a specific flag. But from an American perspective a guy wearing a suit while carrying an "anarchist" flag wouldn't be inappropriate, either.

Why not? We anarchists with careers do in fact exist. There are probably dozens of us outside of tech, even!

How would you say your numbers compare to the amount of business leaders who are marketing themselves with messages of liberation, but actually want to usher in an era of unfettered corporate authoritarianism? I was not saying an anarchist wearing a suit cannot exist. Rather I was pointing out the current pop culture abuse of the concepts of anarchism/libertarianism.

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#178

Post by BoggleOhYeah »

forgotusername6 wrote: post #4

I think it's a reasonable statue. But does anyone else think it's a bit obvious, more so than his other work? Like there is no doubt on the meaning at all, it's all right there on the surface level.

Have you seen the state of the world? Why would you go through the trouble of being subtle nowadays?

Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag

#180

Post by parpfish »

everfrustrated wrote: post #174

The idea that Banksy's identity is unknown is a complete myth perpuated by the popular press. The guy is well known and very much part of the establishment.

so why don't you share who it is with the rest of the class? why help perpetuate his (her?) secret identity mystique
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