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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

#281

Post by ericmay »

dreambuffer wrote: post #170

England 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…

England has gotten more liberal over time, not less. I'm not following your logic here. It seems you're wanting to criticize the government of the UK for being authoritarian and ratcheting up the surveillance state, but simultaneously criticize nationalists and link them to this government, but nationalists and right-leaning groups haven't really been in charge of the UK.

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

#282

Post by aaron695 »

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.

[dead]

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

#283

Post by mootothemax »

gerdesj wrote: post #264
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 flag is unadorned and I think you can extend your interpretation to include the proliferation of flags which have a minimal "history". Banksy is from Bris'l which is sort of north Somerset (Somerset keeps on morphing faster than a sci-fi shapeshifter). Cornwall has had a white cross on a black flag since 18something. Devon decided to adopt a black edged white cross on a green flag. I remember seeing Devon flag ca…

> what is Avon?

Welsh for river.

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

#284

Post by SamBam »

seydor wrote: post #7

Anyone else leaving up a huge statue in the middle of the park would be arrested

Presumably Banksy and associates would have been arrested too if they had been caught. This whole thing relies on doing it in a way that people don't question it while it's happening.

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

#285

Post by dijksterhuis »

analog8374 wrote: post #272
danparsonson wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...which is a blatant false equivalence, to be clear.

I think it's a pretty good equivalence, actually. And pretty good advice. Passionate certainty should raise a red flag.

i find that passionate certainty can be a good thing in some cases, especially when someone really does know what they are talking about.

but fanaticism is more often a problem than not. fanatics tend to not really understand what they're talking about, or twist it to fit what they want it to be about.

> Fanaticism: Excessive enthusiasm, unreasoning zeal, or wild and extravagant notions, on any subject, especially religion, politics or ideology; religious frenzy.

note -- not talking about any particular "thing" here. just commenting about passion vs. fanaticism in general.

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

#286

Post by ninjagoo »

xyzelement wrote: post #273
ninjagoo wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It took me a minute to figure out why I think it's lame. > Maybe a more powerful piece of art would have that self reflection effect across the board. As is it feels about as nuanced as "fuck trump" and similar. If you already agree you already agree, if not then you just think it's stupid. So close. Based on your own statement, it appears that you disagree with the proposed thesis by this piece of art. > So ultima…

"calls me out"?

> "calls me out"?

i.e., as a member of the group of people represented by the statue?

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

#287

Post by gopperl »

ninjagoo wrote: post #271
gopperl wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> There's no luck involved in the fact that you were born to your parents, as they were to theirs. Are you claiming to have controlled where and to whom you were born? You did not choose your parents, country, ancestry, class, era, genes, language, or inherited institutions. You may be inseparable from those facts, but you did not earn them. > There's no luck involved in the fact that you were born to your parents >…

[flagged]

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

#288

Post by chroma »

overfeed wrote: post #243
pirate787 wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK the establishment is generally unsettled by the display of the English flag. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/29/uk/st-george-flag-england...

Regional chauvinism is never good for a healthy union. Even if it were the Union Jack, flag-shaggers are almost always blood and soil zealots.

I think a small level of it is fine. It’s like sports teams. You can be a Giants fan and I can be a Yankees fan, and we’ll bicker & make fun of each other for supporting a different team. But we can still work together & be civil when it comes to lots of other stuff.

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

#289

Post by rexpop »

ungreased0675 wrote: post #147
pippy wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The irony is that the statue is being guarded by the London police.

That’s not irony. It’s a pro-establishment piece. If it was a piece about migrants raping British women Banksy would be in jail right now.

[flagged]

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

#290

Post by gkoberger »

throwaway894345 wrote: post #258
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I think you'd be surprised. People interpret art how they want.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicians_who_oppose_Donald_Tr...

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