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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

#501

Post by tim333 »

encom wrote: post #486
snowwrestler wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 2nd level of Banksy’s pranks is how angry they make self-appointed arbiters of what is counter-culture or cringe.

Banksy is the Taylor Swift of art. Mainstream and banal, but with mass market appeal. Both have talent, obviously, but do not create anything profound or original. I'm aware of both through cultural osmosis, but mostly indifferent towards both - I'm not sure how you read anger from my post.

I buy the Taylor Swift comparison but both are quite original. Who did a guerilla blinded by the flag statue before? Who wrote "Got a long list of ex-lovers They'll tell you I'm insane" before?

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

#502

Post by kaiwn »

manesioz wrote: post #490

Banksy is peak redditor. Masquerading as a free-thinking activist who happens to agree with every talking point of the established media and global bureaucratic regime.

Every anti-establishment person is the same nowadays. Turns out they didn’t hate the power, they hated not having it. I think it’s human nature.

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

#503

Post by folgoris »

wand3r wrote: post #9
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.

Certainly in America but all over the west, people are significantly less capable of media literacy. Sometimes the obvious needs to be said.

This is the stupidest, most isolationist thing I've ever read on here.

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

#504

Post by spprashant »

manesioz wrote: post #490

Banksy is peak redditor. Masquerading as a free-thinking activist who happens to agree with every talking point of the established media and global bureaucratic regime.

Can you elaborate? I happen to know nothing about Banksy's political views beyond perhaps he is slightly leaning to the left, maybe anti-capitalist?

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

#505

Post by TehCorwiz »

miketery wrote: post #68
TehCorwiz wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Blinded by nationalism" I don't know, seems like a clear concise message that has relevance in today's world.

Why nationalism? A flag can represent more than a nation. Can be blinded by any "flag" / ideology.

It's a monument style sculpture. The kind raised with public money. I think that carries part of the meaning with it versus graffiti or some other medium. It's also depicting the blinded walking off the edge, making the comment based on both the figure and the form of the statue.

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

#506

Post by tim333 »

tristanj wrote: post #224

I wish Banksy put the statue a block away at the roundabout at the end of Pall Mall instead. The current spot he picked already has several other statues there. The roundabout at the end of Pall Mall is empty, presently rather dull, and would look much nicer with a statue. This is the better spot: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6EmX2jPiaKRNtNtr8 51°30'19.0"N 0°08'16.0"W

Maybe it's not too late? You could suggest that to the council.

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

#507

Post by arrrg »

seydor wrote: post #429
arrrg wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, and that is precisely the point. This contradiction at the heart of it does a lot of work and is a very valuable part of the art. This contradiction has led me to think a lot about rules and their role in society and to what extent pure strict rules based societies are a worthwhile goal and on the other hand what it means of we make exceptions.

This is a joke right? If elon musk had done the same thing (which he obviously could) i don't understand what is the value

If Elon Musk did this because he wanted to (not make a statement, just to achieve some other goal he has) then that‘s not really art. If he did it to make a statement about how different rules apply to billionaires and he wanted to point that out then that to me would be an interesting artistic expression, sure (though he probably wouldn’t do that).

For well more than a century artists like Duchamp (e.g. Fountain from 1917) have been playing around with what turns something into art and makes it valued and where then line between art/not art is and what that has to do with explicit and implicit rules.

To me graffiti in its contemporary form in general but also specifically Banksy is a pretty natural continuation from that discourse that fits right in. That to me has always been the additional layer to any work by Banksy, whatever other (often obvious) statement the artwork might make.

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

#508

Post by gib444 »

monooso wrote: post #492
declan_roberts wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's on display in downtown London dude. Also who do you think paid for it?

It was erected surreptitiously in the dead of night. That does not imply state approval. As for who paid for it, I don't know, possibly the extremely successful and wealthy artist who created it. If you have any evidence to the contrary, by all means present it.

It not being taken down yet implies state approval (4 days now?). It's on Pall Mall ffs, right near a statue of a King

It's not like the wealthiest city in the UK is lacking in resources to do something about it.

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

#509

Post by gryfft »

manesioz wrote: post #490

Banksy is peak redditor. Masquerading as a free-thinking activist who happens to agree with every talking point of the established media and global bureaucratic regime.

> who happens to agree with every talking point of the established media and global bureaucratic regime

Can you point me to where he expressed agreement with the global bureaucratic regime? Interested to educate myself.

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

#510

Post by datsci_est_2015 »

boxed wrote: post #481
datsci_est_2015 wrote: post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can’t help but notice the difference in sentiment between the flag that represents a people and a flag that represents a nation, especially historically.

Hmm? Which is which? Is this one of those British things people from normal countries don't understand? Like the difference between United Kingdom and Great Britain.

Glad you asked!

Perhaps I should have used the term “sovereign state”, as that’s more precise, even though when most people use the colloquial term “nation” (as in “nationalism”) they’re referring to a sovereign state.

A sovereign state has borders they can enforce to their own discretion (political gridlock notwithstanding), a stable and well-defined (non-transient) population, a single recognized government (both internally and externally), and ability to conduct foreign relations without being stopped by force or decree.

So, with that more precise definition out of the way, you can recognize that the flags in your links do not represent sovereign states, but rather peoples - who, coincidentally, are often fighting for their rights and freedoms.

Elsewhere in the thread are mentions of nation flags, like the Union Jack, which represent a sovereign state, and are instead often associated with national identity, xenophobia and oppression.

Hope that helps!

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