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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

#251

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

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.

> The idea that Banksy's identity is unknown is a complete myth perpuated by the popular press.

I know saying RTFA is supposed to be against the HN guidelines, but it takes an amazing amount of confidently ignorant chutzpah to declare something "a complete myth perpetuated by the popular press" when the subtitle of this article literally states:

> less than two months after a journalism investigation into Banksy’s true identity was published

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

#252

Post by gopperl »

ninjagoo wrote: post #244

It's an interesting piece. Makes one think about all those folks that have a lot of pride and vanity for a place that they had no control over being born in. The luck of the draw. And very likely had very little to do with the current state of the place. Pride at age 21? Meaningless vanity, like being proud of being born with a silver spoon. Pride at age 80? Sure, if it was a life well-lived.

[flagged]

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

#253

Post by squigz »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #245
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.

Strong disagree. First, like many of the other comments mention, Banksy is known for being clever and witty, but not particularly subtle. But more to the point, while you may think the meaning is a bit obvious, the fact that the flag is unadorned (which/whose flag is it?), and the man is unknown, makes me think this statue could be the ultimate Rorschach test. I'm sure there are tons of people thinking "Ha ha, this i…

The ambiguity - that this could apply to anyone, that people are so caught up in their belief of choice - is part of the obviousness, at least to me. I would expect more people to be aware of this, than to actually believe that it's talking about, say, Americans in particular.

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

#254

Post by kiney »

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.

all his work is slop. No difference here...

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

#255

Post by tolerance »

vscode-rest wrote: post #36
tolerance wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The actual headline is more coherent but I'm not too fond of it either. You really don't see any good ol' fashioned short and sweet headlines that read best to the ear in a Mid-Atlantic accent anymore.

Banksy erects central London statue of man blinded by flag, maybe?

"BANKSY'S NO PATRIOT—SO SAYS NEW STATUE"

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

#257

Post by esjeon »

ninjagoo wrote: post #247
ggm wrote: post #2

The point is not just that he's blinded by the flag: He's boldly marching into the void, confident. "wrapped in the flag" is a great saying.

> He's boldly marching into the void into the void, or off the edge? "off the edge" is a clear interpretation of the statue. "into the void" is a bit more of a stretch. IMHO. But that's art for you. Everyone has their own take on it.

I guess “void” here is a bit more like a place you can’t even see (because of the flag).

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

#258

Post by throwaway894345 »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #245
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.

Strong disagree. First, like many of the other comments mention, Banksy is known for being clever and witty, but not particularly subtle. But more to the point, while you may think the meaning is a bit obvious, the fact that the flag is unadorned (which/whose flag is it?), and the man is unknown, makes me think this statue could be the ultimate Rorschach test. I'm sure there are tons of people thinking "Ha ha, this i…

I'm guessing most would assume this is about nationalists, and I don't think even the nationalists would imagine Banksy is on their side?

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

#260

Post by nephihaha »

actionfromafar wrote: post #222
nephihaha wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every criticism levelled at the St. George's Cross can be levelled at the Union Jack. It is time people in England had a healthier relationship with their flag, more like Scotland and Wales, and less like Northern Ireland.

St. George's Cross is football brawls and "England uber alles". Union Jack is stiff upper lip and kicking nazis out of Europe.

It was the flag of the British Empire with all that entails. It is to be found all over the loyalist areas of Northern Ireland and on Orange Marches. It has appeared in umpteen far right demos, and in fact if you look at 1970s far right footage you can see it is the flag they most commonly carry in the UK not the St. George's Cross.

Oh, and you'll find it at plenty of football matches, notably Glasgow Rangers, who fly it while singing songs about wanting to be "up to our knees in Fenian blood".

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