A very quick post from London where I'm visiting English relatives and catching the chance to have a look at some street art. Banksy of course is the best known--though ironically he's of course the enigmatic incognito artist whose real identity nobody knows(or so they say). And he also happens to be the one most influenced by the classic French street artists(he's cited Blek le Rat as probably his greatest influence). He is very cool, a sharp eye and fine wit and mostly with lots of social and/or political engagement, but not always obvious. Sometimes like with the kids with the no-ball sign, it's just joyous and poetic. Always, it's cocking a snook at dull and dulling authority and pompous little napoleons and empecheurs-de-tourner-en-rond, as we say in France!
Banksy's website: http://www.banksy.co.uk
I must say though that while I really love a lot of what he does and he's very clever and imaginative, there's a certain slickness about the way he operates which is sort of different to how the Paris street artists operate. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing but there's a lot more hype around him than there is say around Nemo or even Blek le Rat, there's a lot more commercial razzmatazz which is maybe not of his manufacturing but I can't help feeling it goes against the grain of street art. Or maybe I'm just biased cos the Paris street artists are my first and true love!
No comments:
Post a Comment