Graffiti artist Banksy was at it again over the weekend, painting an indictment of closed circuit TV in central London. Despite the presence of a CCTV camera, he erected a three-story scaffolding and a plastic cover under which he painted his masterpiece. Not only can the real cameras be seen just to the right of the graffiti, a policeman with a camera is part of the artwork. Link -via Fark
- its not about taste, its about public space and the ownership of the visual environment. what banksy does the equivalent of a mammal rubbing his scent glands up against trees. before he did this piece, that wall was a neutral surface which didn't jostle for space (either visually or politically), and in a city as cluttered as london, that can be important. now its a big bit of 'banksyworld' and i don't care for it. i feel the same way about many billboards, all tv screens on buses, on the underground and so on.
and of course everyone's part of the system - it's just some of us have different ways of expressing our opposition to it (or not) in more nuanced ways. have a look at joseph beuys's 7000 oaks for another approach, and for how to get things done. i know he's a different sort of artist by the way, but banksy's stock is very high and he could be doing much more imaginitive stuff.
i would lay a weeks wages on banksy having shopped in tescos, used cashpoints (he has to put all that money in a bank somewhere) and he'd certainly be up for the police using CCTV evidence if he was mugged on oxford street. all stuff he uses in his work.
i don't have a problem with his stance, but i do have a problem with his double standards, and his work being such one-liners, with a touch of cynicism for good measure...