Banksy 'may abandon commercial art'

[cronus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24464663

Banksy 'may abandon commercial art'

Graffiti artist Banksy, who recently began a month-long unofficial residency painting the streets of New York, has suggested he may abandon art galleries.

"I started painting on the street because it was the only venue that would give me a show," the British artist told the Village Voice.

"Now I have to keep painting on the street to prove to myself it wasn't a cynical plan," he said.

"Commercial success is a mark of failure for a graffiti artist."

"We're not supposed to be embraced in that way."

In a rare interview with the New York publication conducted via email, the self-styled guerilla artist - whose identity remains a secret - appears to regret his commercial success, which has seen celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie paying millions of dollars for his artwork.

"Obviously people need to get paid - otherwise you'd only get vandalism made by part-timers and trust-fund kids," said Banksy, who is believed to be former public schoolboy Robin Gunningham.

"But it's complicated, it feels like as soon as you profit from an image you've put on the street, it magically transforms that piece into advertising."

"When graffiti isn't criminal, it loses most of its innocence."

The premise of his new project is to create a new piece of art on the streets of New York, for each day in October.

Entitled Better Out Than In, the public art show promised "elaborate graffiti, large scale street sculpture, video installations and substandard performance art".

"I know street art can feel increasingly like the marketing wing of an art career, so I wanted to make some art without the price tag attached."

"There is no gallery show or book or film. It's pointless," he said. "Which hopefully means something."

However, in some quarters at least, his work appears to have been met with hostility. His first piece - entitled The Street Is In Play - which depicted two boys reaching for a spray can inside an official Graffiti is a Crime sign was defaced and painted over in less than 24 hours.

His second and third efforts were met with a similar fate: "I used to think other graffiti writers hated me because I used stencils, but they just hate me."

(continued)

[Audley Strange]

Yep they just hate you Banksy. Fuck off now, you've had your moment.

[cronus]

Yep they just hate you Banksy. Fuck off now, you've had your moment.

He can afford art for arts sake now he's made his money. If he really meant it he'd do the KLF thing and I'm sure he'd be welcomed back into the street graffiti tribe with open spray cans.

[Audley Strange]

Yep they just hate you Banksy. Fuck off now, you've had your moment.

He can afford art for arts sake now he's made his money. If he really meant it he'd do the KLF thing and I'm sure he'd be welcomed back into the street graffiti tribe with open spray cans.

He started with ars gratia artis, then he did it for money. The JAMMS and later The KLF were Discordians. They used the money they made from Doctorin the Tardis to make their elaborate culture jams. Did they burn that million? Who knows, that's the point. However knowing something about Bill Drummond's behaviour I doubt it, but then again, seeing him on something recently gives the the suspicion that they did and now really fucking regret it.

Banksy is at best, alright. And Orson Welles did a better version of his movie decades before.

[Animavore]

And Orson Welles did a better version of his movie decades before.

Que?

[Audley Strange]

And Orson Welles did a better version of his movie decades before.

Que?

Exit Through the Gift Shop is in essence about are forgery and fakery. Even the movie may be faked.

In the early 70's Orson Welles made a movie called F For Fake. Which may be a fake movie about Clifford Irving (a notorious faker) who was writing about a art forger called Elmyr, who may or may not have faked many of the great paintings of the Western Canon. However the movie is edited from many scenes taken out of context and spliced together and in the beginning Welles plays a magician who does a magic trick before cutting to him in the editing studio editing the movie.

Here...