r/pics•
micro01

The way Banksy likes to recondition rides for children

The way Banksy likes to recondition rides for children

Posted Sep 1, 2010, 8:12 AM UTC

934121
TheThirdWheel•

I like some of his stuff, like this would be funny if he went out and added the oil barrel and net to a ride installed a Wal-Mart, but seeing it in a warehouse like this takes away that edge and makes it boring.

22
kirstead•

...he probably stole it and took a picture before he put it back.

13
dclowd9901•

I agree. A couple of the reasons Banksy has always been compelling to me are 1) the depth of some of his work, and 2) his utter disregard for the public medium in/on which he chooses to display it. This hits neither of those notes. If I didn't know any better, I'd think this was a piece by a first year art student.

-12
Banksy2•

No one ever gives me credit for helping.

I guess I'll always be number 2...

12
Skitrel•

Pity upvote

2
DoppelFrog•

Why do you say that this is a Banksy piece?

11
Carpeabnocto•

The youtube video was posted yesterday. It's by banksyfilm.

26
dclowd9901•

Produced, written and directed by banksy.

5
science_diction•

Well, the warehouse looks identical to the one in Exit Through The Gift Shop, for one.

3
catfightonahotdog•
10
STEVEHOLT27•

"Snorky...speak...man..." <cough cough> "I'm sorry, let me start over."

9
northzilla•

I love with the spanish accent it's "eSnorky".

3
herpasaurus•

I think calling him a genius isn't overstating anything.

8
GuerrillaPacifist•

Banksy has got to be a team of artist, right? Who's actually seen "him?" it's hard for me to accept a single dude is able to produce such a steady stream of brilliance for such a long time.

3
science_diction•

Its one guy. See the film "Exit Through The Gift Shop". It is produced by Banksy and includes interviews with him.

14
blkcsr•

Banksy is indeed one guy who develops the concepts behind the pieces. However, he has a team of people working with/for him to help build them. At least this seems true for the installation type pieces. The painted works seem to be him executing them on his own.

24
CptAJ•

A lot of the great rennaisance geniuses we all know also used assistants for a lot of the work.

6
Skitrel•

This is slightly untrue, he's worked with other artists on many of his stealth pieces.

For obvious reasons it's incredibly difficult to do a wall size piece in under 5 minutes on your own, getting caught is not high on his agenda. What he does is still mostly illegal.

1
shinyperson•

If he is a collective, one of the members could be elected to represent him in the interviews (where his face and voice are hidden at all times).

It's been a while since I saw it, but didn't the guy who was switching paintings in the Louvre look more than a little like Mr. Brainwash?

9
ChocoJesus•

I don't think Mr Brainwash would have been smooth enough to pull that off.

6
Nutritionisawesome•

I don't reall think Mr. Brainwash was real. I'm pretty sure Banksy made him up or Mr. Brainwash is indeed Banksy. The movie was less documentary and more F*** You to the art world. Like, Banksy made this film to show off that you don't need talent just money and prestige to make it in the art world.

2
STEVEHOLT27•

Hmm, I never heard of Banksy from the rock I've been living under. Any other pieces I should look at?

EDIT: Haha, WTF? Downvotes? Really reddit? Was it the self-depricating humor, me posing a question or the fact that I openly admitted I didn't know who was being talking about?

4
edgarde•

Short answer: No. Get back to work.

Longer answer:

6
ImJustLooking•

I actually bought Wall and Piece for my brother for x-mas last year. I didn't want to give it up to him.

3
STEVEHOLT27•

Short answer reply: No! You first!

Longer answer reply: Thanks, this will keep me non-productive for hours. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure he's mentioned in Stuff White People Like. Thanks again

2
nancyjew•

If it's on video, it's gotta be real.

0
superwomble•

He's a friend of a friend, and yes, his stream of somewhat trite but high-profile and relatively high-achieving work does come from one man. If you don't believe me, tough t!tty - I have no reason to lie.

1
corcodell•

that is utterly irrelevant!

0
videogamesizzle•

Banksy's just this guy, you know?

-1
Nutritionisawesome•

Yeah. Listen, I'm Banksy, my father was Banksy the Second, my grandfather Banksy the Third...

2
nancyjew•

It really is a group. I laugh at people who don't know that.

-2
Hides-His-Eyes•

What, you mean like everyone that has worked with him who says it's just one guy, or what?

3
cowinabadplace•

Ha ha ha, wake up sheeple. Banksy is the Illuminati.

8
sakri•

From another angle you can see that he gave the dolphins eyes the look of disapproval! ಠ_ಠ

2
BovingdonBug•

Let me get this straight. There was an oil spill, and Banksy has made a ride look like an oil spill. Is that it?

I've never been sure whether there was more depth to Banksy's work than the obvious.

More examples:

  • A painting of a starving African child, while a Western family nearby eat a picnic. Because the West has food, and some Africans don't.

  • There is a phrase 'elephant in the room' meaning a large issue being ignored. Banksy paints a real elephant with a wallpaper pattern, and puts it in a room, just like the phrase.

Could someone please explain if I'm missing something here.

1
Hides-His-Eyes•

No, I don't think so. However, his work tends to be fairly 'witty' in quite a physical way (visual puns, etc). Also, art is allowed to just be visually appealing without being some deep critique of modern society.

9
BovingdonBug•

Thanks for the reply, as opposed to blindly downvoting. I genuinely like his style, but I think a lot of the acclaim is down to the medium; that his graffiti has more of a message, however simplistic, than just a scribbled tag that you would normally expect to see in a similar situation.

6
Hides-His-Eyes•

And like someone said above, that's why most of his appeal comes from "Step 0: Do this before anybody else"

Michaelangelo's david doesn't look like much as a photo: medium is a vital part of any artistic endeavour. (Not trying to imply you disagree with this: just how I feel)

5
jamesbondq•

I think the point here is that we let our self bond emotionally with the animals that we see in disney films swimming in crystal clear waters. He's just replacing the smiley faced dolphin 'n pals type ride that you would usually see with a more realistic reminder of what the lives of these creatures is actually like. The ride in public

1
derpghanistan•

There are a few reasons why Banksy has taken off as the guerrilla art world's hero. Most obviously is that his art is easy to understand, both in its aesthetics and message. Bold colors, stencils, and large, obvious ironies that are obvious even to a layman walking down the street. Secondly is that there's an element of danger and civil disobedience inherent in the act of graffiti, where you could be arrested if caught while perpetrating it. These two things are like populist catnip if you're already in Banksy's political camp.

The third thing that has aided his notoriety is rather genius, I think: his art comes with an expiration date. It will be torn down, sandblasted away, or simply painted over. The art intelligentsia eat that sort of stuff up, which is why galleries fall all over themselves trying to buy walls with Banksy art on them. He grew his fan base with the people first, and parlayed it into critical success (because no critic wants to be seen as less than avant garde).

I agree with you that there's not a lot of depth going on with Banksy, seeing as all of his work is basically bumper sticker slogans translated into stencil, but the guy has a large amount of cunning and was in the right place at the right time.

1
[deleted]•

I'm not sure how much of his stuff you've seen, but this for example is something of depth in my eyes:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4748063.stm

Sending a message like that, on that particular wall, while being watched by soldiers who aren't supposed to let you do anything...I don't know, just sort of struck a chord with me.

edit: for spelling fail :(

-1
salt44•

chord

2
nancyjew•

All of his shit is very hackneyed. Usually idiots fawn over him. There's absolutely no subtlety to his work. It's incredibly hamfisted. I once went around spraypainting with some friends, and we mimicked his art, and the newspaper said "Banksy Visits Town." Point made. We just stenciled the stupidest shit we could think of.

-9
[deleted]•

[deleted]

0
roastedbeef•

I fucking love Banksy. The man's my hero.

1
Barksley•

ooh how original, nice one banksy....

1
celphtitled•

I fucking love this guy.

1
US_expat•

Banksy is awesome, but he's got the old logo.

0
[deleted]•

TEAM ROBBO!

0
matty8888•

I always wished that someone would find his house and paint all over it and call it art.

0
ilmmad•

If it was painted as well as his graffiti is, I'm sure he'd like it.

In some cases, the owners of property Banksy has graffiti'd have done their best to preserve his work.

6
RamenStein•

If it was painted as well as his graffiti is,

You do know he is using spray cans and stencils right?

1
cjdaniel•

Why are you excluding a particular set of tools from being able to produce quality work?

1
RamenStein•

I'm just saying that painting with stencils doesn't really compare with producing an epic masterpiece with oils.

For comparison: banksy

sistine fucking chapel

1
ilmmad•

Yes. I do.

I think painted works there as a catch-all past-tense verb. Seeing as spray cans spray paint.

1
RamenStein•

So all forms of painting are good then? What about finger painting, or painting with poo.

1
cjdaniel•

In some cases, the owners of property Banksy has graffiti'd have done their best to preserve his work.

Which is pretty cool, really -- but I hate it when they move the work, even when it is to protect it. It was likely created to live where it is. Moving it loses some of the work's original intent, in my opinion.

1
columbine•

I'd paint over it as soon as possible. Unless of course he asks permission before defacing others' property...?

-3
Shroomsoup•

He does not, it would definitely lack the bohemian charm of graffiti if that was the case. If you did paint over it, you would be probably be losing thousands of dollars worth of art.

1
unkyduck•

Brilliant. Moving.

0
Backatchababy•

This makes me want a Banksy theme park.

-2
nancyjew•

How to be Banksy

  1. Take something popular

  2. Add an obvious message

  3. Make it into an art project

  4. Profit

-5
krues8dr•

You missed the most important point:

  1. Think of it before everyone else.

Unless you can do that, you're just bitching and jealous.

14
rdm81•

Really that's 90% of art. Its all about the idea.

5
saralk•

Art = I could've done that + Yeah, but you didn't

4
geon•

How to be Pollock

  1. Splat paint in canvas
  2. Profit
5
WelcomeToEarf•

How to be Pollack

  1. Put screen doors on submarine
  2. Get invaded
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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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[deleted]•

Pro-tip: It's not advisable to mention when you upvote something.

2
Anandfulness•

I mean I don't give a fuck about my own karma. It's just a comment. But what I don't understand is this; when you say you like something, people will upvote your comment. But mentioning that you upvoted them, people will downvote you? Seems ridiculous to me.

Anyway, I'm just glad this post got enough upvotes. That's all I really care about, that the good posts get it to the front page somehow.

1
[deleted]•

You and are the same in that regard, karma is really just for e-penis bragging rights, it doesn't mean anything. It's the content of the website that matters.

1
[deleted]•

The internet : OH YEAH BANKSY fapfapfapfapfap

-20
JackSaundersDesign•

carambar: OH YEA SOMEONES POPULAR: i will out cool everyone by hatin' on someone just because other people like them, thus making me king of cool.

20
koolkid005•

aka 90% of reddit with Justin Beiber, Twilight, Ke$ha, etc.

1
nancyjew•

Learn to spell, asshat.

-4
JackSaundersDesign•

ass hat

2
RamenStein•

Banksy is an overrated artist, he's popular because his work is simplistic and easy to grasp for the masses.

-10
dalore•

Hipster alert.

17
JackSaundersDesign•

don't, he may bitch slap you from his penny farthing

0
RamenStein•

I think you mean art history graduate.

-9
nancyjew•

Look! You got downvoted! By retards. I don't put much stock into retards.

6
missiontodenmark•

The masses can't be wrong all the time.

3
RamenStein•

Although, most of the time they are. I'm sorry, but Banksy's work is unsophisticated and derivative.

-12
Bengt77•

I won't childishly downvote you, only because I do disagree with your stance. His art is simplistic, you say? His art is a mirror for our societies, I say. It's easy to grasp for the masses, you say? That's a good thing, I say.

1
JackSaundersDesign•

your right, i say

0
zapdagas•

you can clearly see in this movie that he grasped those girls attention, they have no idea what its about they just see a free ride, so in the movie there is proof his work is not grasped by the masses at all, I think I can safely say that no one in that video has ever heard of him or know who he is, and a toy dolphin with a net and some oil? common it looks like some Greenpeace protester threw it together, at least Damien Hirst his shark had some effort involved and was more thought provoking than this. and art as a mirror to society?, that's what every artist fresh out of art school says about his work, it doesn't even make sense when you think about it, what does it mirror and what would be the point of mirroring it?

0
RamenStein•

It's easy to grasp for the masses, you say? That's a good thing, I say.

If art was made primarily to appeal to the masses it becomes less like art, and more like a commercial product.

His art is simplistic, you say? His art is a mirror for our societies, I say.

Let me ask you a question, how comparable is Banksy with say Caravaggio? Same ballpark?

-1
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
celphtitled•

What sort of asshole creates a message that's easy for his intended audience to understand!?

1
RamenStein•

A lazy hack like banksy. He is the macdonalds of the art world.

1
JackSaundersDesign•

well some say the biggest art form of our generation is marketing. it seems to me now days that if an artist is successful then there are doomed to be called overrated. you cant deny what he does is clever and your may beright about why he is popular but its just down to how you measure success.

-1
koolkid005•

Sticking a BP sticker on everything is not clever.

1
RamenStein•

His work really is not that clever, and if fine art is now marketing then we really have had a cultural seizure.

-1
[deleted]•

Dude, come on.

-20
averyv•

What a well thought out response. I am really impressed by the way you responded to that, because it shows you have a legitimate point and aren't just some idiot on the internet talking because he has a forum in front of him.

It is just so refreshing to see such reasoned conversation regarding modern art.

1
[deleted]•

Your so clever

-3
[deleted]•

[deleted]

0
[deleted]•

Duuuuuuuude!

-3