New Banksy stunt dodges CCTV

Banksy, banksy, banksy... I keep waiting for him to sell out like Shepherd Fairy... Hasn't yet, keep up the good work.

This really isn't art though guys, c'mon. I'm not even sure if its cleaver enough to be irony.!

Not art?

"Art refers to a diverse range of human activities and artifacts, and may be used to cover all or any of the arts, including music, literature and other forms. It is most often used to refer specifically to the visual arts, including media such as painting, sculpture, and printmaking. However it can also be applied to forms of art that stimulate the other senses, such as music, an auditory art. Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy which considers art."

"Generally art is a (product of) human activity, made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the human mind; by transmitting emotions and/or ideas. Beyond this description, there is no general agreed-upon definition of art. Art is also able to illustrate abstract thought and its expressions can elicit previously hidden emotions in its audience."(wikipedia)

This guy is a frikkin' genius....you may not agree with his art, but trying to claim it's NOT art?!?!

Here's his website http://www.banksy.co.uk/menu.html

I think this guy is one of the best social commentators since George Carlin.

in your face jon brooks. And its brilliant. well done banksy; he always manages to bring out the ignorance in stupid people.

I think its definitely 'art', but I agree with jonbrooks its not very clever. Banksy's a bit of a one trick pony and because the media push his stuff to over saturation his simplistic messages just repeat themselves in slightly different guises. I'm not saying these statements were never clever, just that theres only so many times you can make them. I think he will have a limited shelf life now he is the poster boy of the anti art press.

As for selling out, when Banksy holds gallery openings attended by the likes of Jamie Oliver and Jude Law then I think its safe to say that ship sailed some time ago. I dont want to be too negative though, he has got a lot of people talking about art who maybe wouldn't have before and raised acceptance of street art in general.

I would LOVE to have one of these on the side of my house.

wow, Banksy is always pushing people's buttons and making them think. Back at Christmas time he pulled a stunt at the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, which looked like Santa had partied too hard!!

What is art, jonbrooks?

Why can't artists make money (or have rich people at their openings) without being called sell-outs, frauds, or worse? Come on. Isn't the idea here to sell your art to collectors? Am I missing out on some kind of new world order where you're supposed to be constantly creating but not selling your work?

artists can make money...and they're called sellouts.

and sellouts don't go to the partition wall in the west bank to sell t-shirts:

http://adbusters.org/the_magazine/76/Banksy_Bombs.html

Banksy: The Modern Spartacus.

So, if I as a viewer really connect with an artist but can't afford to purchase his work it is unacceptable to purchase a t-shirt or a lunch box with her/his work on it? Can you clarify? I like art but I don't have a partition wall to display a Banksy!!

Banksy got my attention...Need more! His work is so provocative..and all these responses seem to be exactly that.

that's the cool thing about banksy - you don't need to drop money for a shirt...you can just make yourself.

at the end of the day, i don't think he's passing a cool logo or a brand, he's selling ideas and that stir the pot...

check out this piece of work he sold:

http://www.picturesonwalls.com/Art_Artists.asp?Artist=B...

thank-you for the find! Can't wait to show my sister who's a freak about Wizard of Oz!!!

jonbrooks, didn't we have this argument/conversation at the pub? I still maintain, like the majority here it seems, that it is indeed art. Like it or don't, but it is art.

Banksy is one of my heroes. I bought his book last week and what he says, and what he does is so inspiring. I agree that giant adverts getting us to buy cr@p we dont even want are way uglier than graffitti could every be. Banksy's an amazing artist and does it for what he believes, his pieces have meaning, which makes it proper art.

"Imagine a city where graffiti wasnt illegal, a city where everybody could draw wherever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at the bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like that and stop leaning against the wall - it's wet." - Banksy

We cant have that, we're in a democracy. People want to make money from fun stuff, we have to be able to scare people, blame people for ruining society and get anal about little things, such as writing on someones wall. Why cant we have freedom :/

Taking art out of the galleries. And then putting it back in again.

BIG Brother is good for you..

he strikes again!

Near the close of the war at the death camp Bergen-Belsen, the British Red Cross arrived and delivered a large quantity of lipstick. There were women in bed with no sheets or nightie, but with scarlet red lips. Women would walk around the camp with just a blanket on their shoulders, and scarlet red lips. At last someone had given them back a chance for them individuals, they were someone. No longer were they just the number tatooed on their arm. They could again take an interest in their appearance. At last, someone had given them back their humanity.


Its not meant to be 'clever'. Its inspiring, its about passion and thought. It doesnt matter what you like. Its art, and its friggin good idea.

well jonbrooks, i did dare to read that article, and i dont agree with him. you both seem foolish because you throw it in others faces that you do not like his work.

Also to say its art for morons is an ignorant statement because there is no clear all culture judgment for what art is. you can hate it all you want, but do not throw it into peoples faces that they are morons just because you dont agree with the statement.

aside from that, i do like banksy's work. he still is not my favorite street artist, but he is good.

Maybe I'll find out where he lives and paint a massive cock and balls on the side of his house. Hey, it's art, it's amazing! I'm sure he'd see the funny side!

Hey Simon_S,
he might appreicate your art work, probably not like it. Im sure he wouldnt mind painting over it if he didnt like it, instead of bitching about it =]

He would bitch about though. He'd probably say. "God, some complete idiot has painted a massive cock and balls on the side of my house. Why would someone do that?"

Actually, scratch that, I might just write "toy" in little letters underneath his latest work.

my my....ol' jonbrooks and simon s sure did get caught up by an artist they can't stand..... are you two artists? would love to see YOUR work...or maybe what YOU'RE doing to get people to question their current paradigm...then we can create a story on Current and let people vote to see who's the more effective artist...i'm sure Banksy, just like every other artist (including myself), would love the fact that he's gotten the two of you to think and discuss. that last little bit on the end of that last sentence there is a period

I also don't like Frasier very much but I'm not going to write a script for a sitcom about a radio talk show host who lives in Seattle.

I agree, that may be the single good thing about his work. Whether you consider it graffiti, vandalism, art, sell out, lame, brilliant, etc - at least it provokes discussion. The worst kind of art (IMHO) is bland art.

I might have written 'Your Mum' on a toilet wall when I was younger. I'm sure this made some question their thought patterns in the epistemological context of their mothers.

also tatuaje, you have a really small face!

35 comments here and countless ones following the article you clipped, jonbrooks, all debating whether or not Banksy is an artist. He qualifies by that fact alone, does he not?

blah, blah, blah !

yes...yes i do....but i have a REALLY big... chin

Ha! Banksy... fine job as always my man. Everyone else, ha, just keep doing what you're doing...

respect to the chin!

The UK is the most watched nation in the world, by political hypocrits, it seems Banksy is the most watched artist in the world, by Art Nazis.