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.
He also ripped his style off Blek le Rat and the political element to his work is jejune.
New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
231–240 of 615 posts
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#232England has a long history producing artwork against some institution, only for that institution to get worse over time. George Orwell wrote about the dangers of authoritarianism and surveillance, and since then the UK government has only ratcheted up their surveillance and authority. They also made a movie called This is England which straightforwardly depicts young English nationalists ruining their lives with nati…
This is such an odd comment. People in arts and letters warning about some element of society or culture and then that element growing in strength is something that can be found in most countries, and doesn't seem more prevalent in England than elsewhere.
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#233The 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.
He also ripped his style off Blek le Rat and the political element to his work is jejune.
Would you say that it's shallow and pedantic?
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#234He definitely got a permit for that which makes the whole thing even more laughable
There's no definitely about that at all. The city of Westminster issued a statement that seems fairly clear that they were as surprised as everybody else but are taking steps to protect it.
Yeah, one of my distant friends is a councillor in a borough where Banksy did a mural years back and it was definitely much more about ensuring the standing "Send in workers to paint over any graffiti" reaction doesn't happen than some sort of "That's nice, the committee which issued the permit for this didn't tell me when it would happen". So far as she told me she heard about it the same way most people did, it was on the local news that morning.
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#235It's kind of cheap. Obviously saying "Reform bad." without addressing why so many people think it's not bad. Banksy forgets that humans are humans and do human things.
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#236I have a hardhat, high viz vest, lanyard, and $600 toolbelt because I'm an industrial electrician, but they get me into a lot. My face becomes invisible; I become "The Electrician".
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#237I doubt Banksy is a single person fwiw.
He is, but like most artists at his level the work and execution is primarily produced by others. He's a brand manager at this point.
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#238Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#239Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
It's styled after other bronze statues that are all one colour because of the material. Given the context in which he put this up, it's a pretty clear commentary on nationalism in general, so using a specific country's flag wouldn't work.
I get the unifying color, but I still think there's a hidden meaning
Re: New statue in London, attributed to Banksy, of a suited man, blinded by a flag
#240It's kind of cheap. Obviously saying "Reform bad." without addressing why so many people think it's not bad. Banksy forgets that humans are humans and do human things.
My takeaway is "blind nationalism is idiotic and self defeating", but I'm not British. Is that about Reform (the party)?