<![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck - Gawker Comments]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck - Gawker Comments]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Two or three years ago it was quite thrilling to be careening around London's nether parts and run into his brilliant stencil art on an obscure wall or billboard. Very anonymous and cool and, in the beginning, not commercially oriented too much. But Grannies knitting Thugs Forever sweaters is just too precious and not like his original stuff at all. Boo on you now, Banksy--wasn't it enough to be loved and impoverished? It is for me.

Tattertotter

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> The guy has a marketing staff and managers and they either work for him or he works for them and their IS a direct connection between management, manufacturer and profit. Banksy is further from "Tha Street" than Gawker.

RevHalofan

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @hypocriteoath: Always here to help.

Calraigh

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Not involved doesn't mean he doesn't profit. Not that there's anything wrong with profiting.

squeakel

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> I have an opinion about Banksy's art.

gawkimo

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Banksy has stated before that he is in no way involved in the selling of his art, he doesn't endorse any of these sales, and he doesn't do what he does to make money. He has stated this publicly several times.

Azazel024

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> I don't care what he makes or doesn't make; the dollars are irrelevant to the quality of the art. Which is high.

Banksy may do something that looks deceptively easy, but the fact is, he does it very, very well. So well that people have made laws against him. He disturbs the powers that be; he worries them. And he still goes out with his spraypaint at midnight and decorates an overpass or two without having his agent follow with a chainsaw.

raincoaster

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> I like him okay, but he does the same thing over and over. Juxtaposes the sweet/innocent/old fashioned with the modern/harsh/violent. 95% if his stuff falls into that category.

squeakel

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> People can criticize him if they want, but I bet he laughs all the way to the Banksy.

famousauthor

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @riskybusiness: Wow, COST and REVS...hadn't thought about them for years. Did anyone here read Juxtapoz? Is that rag still in print?

SybilDisobedience

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> His work is the rapping granny schtick of the art world. In a street context it's sometimes interesting but in an "Oh, that's clever. Moving on." kind of way.

And there is NOTHING original about his "guerilla" approach to art. He is not the first artist to do this shit. He isn't even the first dude to sneak and install work in a museum or gallery without permission.

Banksy: Not bad but ridiculously overrated.

ambitious

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @skahammer: it's a criticism when you're specifically comparing him to the crappy internet-only versions of such! though in all fairness i actually found several pieces of art that i thought were better/funnier/cleverer/more WHAT than anything banksy's shown me while researching my ultimate worst t-shirt link posted above. i mean, doggy stardust! wow!

allyzay

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> I like lots of T-shirt art, graphic design, music-mag covers, comic books, punk rock, and other things. Many people do.

Saying Banksy is comparable to certain achievements in those fields does not strike me as the criticism that I'm sure is intended.

This is why sometimes it's great to be uncultured.

(Oh, is that the time? I'll miss the last bus back to Dogpatch! Bye!)

skahammer

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Art is completely subjective and my opinion doesn't mean squat to anyone but me.

But I surely did love the Paris Hilton CD swap he did...

Elle Menopi

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Until Banksy does abortion art, I don't buy it.

lothario

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> I just like his athestic and where it takes him; it's appreciation for the wit and witticisms he embodies.

You know, elephants in rooms...

Tenno

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @Hamilton Nolan: "Either that or people just don't like this entire type of art, period."

YA THINK?

i mean, have some of you just never seen [www.threadless.com?]

allyzay

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @DonPardoCalrissian: I agree. I walked thru a nursing home the other day, and every other old lady was stitching "Thug Life."

famousauthor

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @iplaudius: That's pretty much how I feel about it - in context it's cute and sometimes even something of a statement. In terms of the formal aspects.. it's generic. Once it's taken out of the context of "street graffiti" it's bland graphic design for me. Wouldn't put it on my wall.

malvones

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @social_crimer: I don't think I can explain my opposition any further. His slogans and juxtapositions are of a piece with those that have been a staple of punk-inflected culture for 35 years (and longer in previous incarnations). It's nice he sometimes does them big in public, gets lots of attention, and people pay him tons, but it's just not anything so very special. At it's best it's Holiday in Cambodia (or Holidays in the Sun, for that matter) without the music. Just sort of meh. Not quite feh but certainly not yeh.

Then there's an old lady stitching "thug life," which you must admit is hackneyed and throwaway.

DonPardoCalrissian

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> In other news, Banksy not an artist, sucks.

IntoAshes

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @TempleDrake: I don't really see him using the formal ideas of painting, largely because he's stenciling rather than painting, and his source materials seem to be largely commercial in nature.

(Well, Banksy does use trompe-l'œil quite a lot, but that's nearly as rooted in "mere" interior decoration as it is "painting.")

Dickdogfood

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Where is the Jesus or the cross in his paintings? Where is his American flag lapel pin? Have the terrorists won?

famousauthor

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @Calraigh: correct. I don't. thanks.

hypocriteoath

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> I love Banksy's work. At the very least, his work is often hilarious (especially the museum installations). And I've never understood why he shouldn't make money off his art.

BadUncle

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> This stuff means more to me as “graffiti-art” found unexpectedly in the (usually urban) outdoors. Framing it as high art in an expensive gallery cheapens it for me. Probably just my innate American obsession with authenticity. Or something.

iplaudius

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @hypocriteoath:You mean you don't.

@TempleDrake:
I like everything about Banksy's work.I like the images he creates but more intersting to me is his method.Before he was making millions, he was the original 'guerilla' artist if you will of the 21st century,making art on his own terms and for his own intents.I don't find his political slant jaded or 'ham-fisted' for a start.His motivations may be overt and in your face but there is nothing inelegant about them.I like the fact that his work is carried out in secret and regarded in public.That it exists alongside all the mundane things that people pass by every day, like lampposts and roadmarkings.That by him insisting on his canvas being his immediate environment you're forced to engage with his aesthetic, whether you agree with it or not.It provokes reaction because you didn't choose to see it, he chose to make his mark where you didn't.

@social_crimer:
No probs.

Calraigh

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> I like his sister, who is also an artist. Her name is Skanksy. She says love is art and when she does it with a dude, she tapes it. Bam, art. Skanksy.

CodePink

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @allyzay: I'm actually kinda stunned that last one's not a t-shirt.

DorothyMantooth

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @Dickdogfood: I don't know- that's kind of an argument FOR this work in a way. He is using the formal ideas of painting (which are rooted in class) in a way that denies the social implications that come with high craft. It's a pretty transparent argument- how do you delineate between "fine art" and an illustration on the cover of Maximum Rock n Roll? essentially, this is done through the commodification of the object within the vacuum of the art market. I just think other artists have made this argument in a much more interesting way.

TempleDrake

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @Botswana Meat Commission FC: I can't fully agree with the claim that he "took graffiti art one step further." I really think that he bit a large part of his style off of Cost & Revs.

I don't think he's all that original and I don't buy the whole "I'll get more attention by staying anonymous" schtick.

The name of the graffiti game is fame. Anybody who tries to telly ou different needs to check themselves.

riskybusiness

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> I think his stuff is glorified t shirt graphics and a few publicity stunt openings, but I'll give him credit for creating a mystique that has generated value. Kudos to him for laughing at everyone who pays for his art.

maevemealone

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> I mean, if his stuff was on the cover of Maximum Rock'n'Roll instead of out in the open, nobody'd care except a small circle of friends.

Dickdogfood

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @social_crimer:
Agreed. The guy took graffiti art one step further, integrating it into everyday surroundings in a completely new way, all the while staying totally anonymous (until fairly recently) while his fame grew.

I could be mistaken, but I'm fairly sure his identity was kept a complete secret until one of the British papers finally caught up to him.

Botswana Meat Commission FC

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @social_crimer: a cloaked figure with scythe and an ironic smiley face perched upon a clock is not obvious?

cops = bad + clever line

capitalism's not super awesome to everybody + ironic caption

Somehow I'm still thinking obvious is an accurate assesment of banksy's hand.

Claystil

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @Dfkdave: Kinkade is the Monet of today.

brechtgirl

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @allyzay: What she said. His ironies are just really, really time-worn.

Dickdogfood

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @social_crimer: True, putting on now.

I guarantee if Banksy was still some underground guy putting up the exact same pieces in the street, everybody would love him. Either that or people just don't like this entire type of art, period.

Hamilton Nolan

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Least ye forget his smuggled works at the Met and The Louvre.

That is his genius! Plus he's got the technical skill to have them sit there for days unnoticed.

luciluce666

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> It's good. . .a little bit TOO good if you know what I mean.

businesspearl

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Apologies, Calraigh, for the misspell.

Social Crimer

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @DonPardoCalrissian: He is not obvious -- he is good at coming up with things that make so much sense they SHOULD be obvious, but they aren't.

But you know what is obvious? Gawker commenters hating on something more clever than they could ever do/make/say/think. (This is not directed at you specifically, DPC, just the Commenterati as a whole.)

Sure, Banksy's no ImprovEverywhere, but I'm with Calreigh, Chicken Jungle and HamNo: he should be tagged "Things We Actually Like."

Social Crimer

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @Calraigh: I'm curious about what exactly you find "incisive" about this work..... To me this is an artist who simply has exploited the concept of subcultural capital in a way that's not terribly interesting- the politcal overtones seem incredibly cheap and ham-fisted, the techniques are pretty monolithic.... I really want to know what you like about it- not in a nasty way or anything....

TempleDrake

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Banksy is as good as his name is not-annoying.

SarahMcL

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Such depth. Such subtlety.

Claystil

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Page view ploy?

Knucklehead Babylon

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @Hamilton Nolan: no. you don't. that's how he made his millions: street cred. therfore in order to keep making millions he has to keep up his rep. it's like rappers making a few million then still claiming to carry a gun even though they live in gated communities and play golf. it's all posing to keep the general public interested.

hypocriteoath

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> You guys are awfully cranksy today.

TedSez

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> @Calraigh: people regard it all right... just not highly.

hypocriteoath

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Banksy?! Unless he's deliberately getting himself pregnant and then deliberately having a miscarriage all over his work, I'm not buying it.

ginger rant

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> I really liked that one painting of his... you know, the one my dog peed on.

Ha Ha Sound

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> You gotta ALSO give Banksy props for still being out doing pieces in the streets even after making millions. How can you not give credit for some this like this, his newest one in the UK:

[www.telegraph.co.uk]

Hamilton Nolan

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Gawker is the only place in the world where I've encountered people that don't regard Banksy.That worries me because his work is so incredibly incisive that this is exactly the place where I imagined he would be lauded.Or at least mentioned in Things We Actually Like.

Calraigh

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> I like Banksy.

Ya know, I sell my artworks on the street (in SoHo) sometimes. Last summer, some rap artist dude-- sorry, not sure which one, but he did have a huge entourage with a very cute girl who called herself his "assistant" and requested my business card on his behalf--

Anyways, he said he really liked my work, and then his friend added, "It's like Banksy!"
The dude replied, "Fuck that, it's BETTER than Banksy!"

True story. Swear to gawd.

I'm just sayin.

chickenjungle

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> the first one is pretty good for comic book art... the rest. more meh than good. cutting and pasting ideas is fun, I'm sure but to call it good art? questionable even with differing opinions. it's like modern day warhol/basquiat colabos... nothing amazing.

hypocriteoath

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> FIRST to say no, really, he sucks.

Man this will be the most intelligent thoughtful sensitive thread EVER.

Nick Douglas

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> they just look like shit you'd see on a t-shirt in an edgy internet-only store, dude.

allyzay

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> "...a few examples of Banksy's art that you could buy at this show, if you were quite wealthy."
Right. A non-commercial guerrilla artist.

I've always maintained that if I lived near any of these "anonymously" placed pieces, I'd splatter them with blood. That's art.

On the other hand, have you seen the new Kinkades? Breathtaking!

Dfkdave

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> Meh. Good on him for making tons of money off of obvious (though at times affecting) stuff but I think "not suck" is a bit strong.

DonPardoCalrissian

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> He kind of bugs.

Nic Fit

]]> <![CDATA[Banksy: An Artist That Does Not Suck]]> i like it. unless he/she turns out to be jeff koons or moby then it sucks again.

meechybee

]]>