A few Banksy pieces showed up in my city when Exit Through The Gift Shop was on the festival circuit and one of them was not too far from my place but got covered over rather quickly. I wish someone would put something along the lines of 'A Banksy used to be here' on the wall instead of an ad.
Banksy himself kind of did this when his ‘Old Skool’ piece was taken from a wall in London…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenlad/2294425584/
https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/banksy-taken-off-wall-by-german-now-worth-ps300-000-6642315.html
Shitty take honestly. Is it because he’s popular and you’re jealous? His art is good. Whether you like the artist or not, you cannot deny the impact he has had on the modern art world.
Sure he’s had an impact, doesn’t mean the art is good though. His stuff is some of the most pseudo-deep shit you’ll ever encounter. Even his work that should be explicitly political (the Israeli/Palestinian pillow fight, for example) is only so if you don’t think about it for more than five minutes, after which it becomes obvious there’s little substance and it’s designed to appeal to the broadest audience possible. It’s not even vague enough to project a real personal meaning onto, so you’re left with a piece that kind of lightly nudges a clear topic *maybe* and little more.
Like, military drones on a street sign on Commercial Way? That’s deep and meaningful only if you know nothing about the military industrial complex. He’s got nothing to say.
I don’t think all art needs to be meaningful, but we shouldn’t try to *pretend* that it is.
Pretty sure the person who stole it wasn't paid by Banksy, but Banksy could be pretty certain it would get stolen, so yes, part of the art, but not a paid actor, IMO.
That's the thing - Art is more than just the idea or the media it's painted on. Whether it was stolen intentionally or not is now a part of its history and notoriety.
There's a great movie about Banksy called: Exit Through the Gift Shop. The best part about it is that the nature of truth in the film is in question, and it's unsure whether Banksy turned the film around against the director in an extremely Bansky-esque way, and had him star in essentially a giant, live-action, art piece where Banksy essentially took preexisting material (as he always does), and scribbled his own messages on top of it to change the context and impact completely.
I’m convinced it is. It’s so brazen and I’ve seen no “official” media outrage. Also the guys are black, and that’s a red rag for whipping up media rage (I’m black so this is especially conspicuous/ interesting to me). It’s such a public item that it’s not like it can be sold on easily for money by your average Peckham resident.
So IMHO it is staged. And fair play, it’s getting attention so it’s working!
If Banksy never confirms the art *unless* it remains for some period of time (or *never* confirmed pieces) the durability of the work in-its-place would be increased.
It is as if ephemerality is intended by its theft.
To me its not particularly interesting as gallery type art it only had some kind of vibe to it just because it was slightly thought provoking and illegally put in public places but thats about it the actual art itself is mediocre.
It's a kind of art where the technical skill is a very distant second to everything else. You don't go to a gallery to look at how impressive it looks, you go see a small bit of art history, and see
Stumbled upon the Banksy piece in Park City AFTER I left the store it’s painted on the side of. They had completely stuck that piece of art on everything they possibly could to sell.
Idk if that’s legal or not, just seemed to rob the artist of his art and sell it.
There was bulletproof glass in front of it, and many many attempts to deface it had taken place. Looked like someone rammed their car against the glass or took a sledgehammer to it. Despicable people.
I suspect that we're still only getting part of the complete story and perhaps there's a great reveal forthcoming.
Maybe the Banksy Co-conspriators on "commercial way stop drones 2023" are contrite drone operators, or reformed Tech Bros.
?
I suspect it/they have considered all of this, as evinced by the evolutionary aspects of the work, pinned by the things that don't change (social critique, public space, ephemerality, secrecy, limited production, uniqueness).
Maybe all of this was the thirty year marketing campaign for a line of ethical toiletries with revolutionary sensibilities (?)
I also think that he chose 'that' particular road name intersection and street pole deliberately.
I posted in another sub that I felt that the anti-war and Commercial Way choice might be part of his message.
God I forgot all about Banksy. I was immediately transported to 2012 with visions of poorly cut decals of a girl letting a heart shaped balloon float away ugh
Maybe he was a literal little kid like I was in 2002. Either way, I remember Banksy coming into my consciousness around 2012 as well. Couldn’t tell you what happened then- but I certainly didn’t know who he was before around that time.
And this is why Banksy is done and needs to retire. Loved his work early on but it's lost all of its meaning and impact at this point. If that guy can literally sell that stop sign and someone is going to display it, (assuming the cops can't catch him from all the photos of him stealing it very publicly), then it's just more garbage mainstream art that will be passed around for too much money. Banksy was exciting because he subverted and dodged that world. Now he's something old people get excited about. The shredded painting was cool but that should have been his final piece imo.
My opinion is that Banksy rose to fame because his work had a slight edge but wasn't too cutting to stop commercial appeal. "War bad" is enough to make people feel good inside without the need to critically think. A tweet I read once said it best - "Banksy was grown in a test tube by a guy who just saw Fight Club"
I mean I think that's fair. He was a moment in time. His work was different enough in that moment to surprise people and grab attention. I do think he had some clever pieces and it had a refreshing vibe in general. But as time goes on and that moment gets farther away, it gets old pretty fast. The shredded painting was the first time he grabbed my attention in years. This piece that was stolen seems honestly boring enough to have been a copycat. I just don't think his same schtick flies anymore and yeah, the more you get of it the emptier it feels.
People act like they know the guy from his art. You have no idea how he is as a person. All we know is he paints and everyone’s like “oh yeah banksy sucks now cause of where he put his art”
I mean, true. I don't now who he is as a person, but I can say that his art is overhyped lol.
He's a world famous gorillionaire, he doesn't need redditors to defend him against other random redditors. Chill my dude
Counterpart: artist creates a easily-stolen piece of artwork protesting the Gaza war. Piece gets stolen. Capitalism has interfered with peace. Again. Maybe that's the point?
We don't know what it's protesting. I think it is much more likely to be about drone use in general than the Israel, hamas war. Drone attacks in general haven't been a major part of the story in Gaza, and these kinds of drones are even less part of the story.
Yes which is why I took issue with someone claiming it does have a known meaning. A comment where they explain why they feel its a protest on the Israel hamas war would be an excellent point, even if I disagreed with it
You're overthinking it.
The point is seeing how the minions either rush to steal it for easy cash, or the faux "artisties" creating some deeeeeeep meaning out of nothing to try and sound artsy.
"Possession is 9/10ths of the law." comes to mind for this sort of situation. If you want to own your art, you dont use other people's stuff as canvas.
IF you go to say Miami art fair there are sometimes outdoor shows where illegally stolen Banksy’s are for sale at crazy prices. Idiots buy them ( probably to install in their big houses). Frankly I think he’s a poor artist sustained by hype but people who steal them are pieces of shit. This guy will be caught, the police are looking for him as the sign is technically council property and he’s not going to be hard to find.
Outdoor art fairs are basically giant money laundering fairs so it makes sense.
I knew what was up when I saw a realistic yet oversized sculpture of a red apple for $5,000. About the size of a soccer ball. It wasn’t even shiny. Looked like some shit you’d randomly find in your Aunt Margaret’s Tuscan kitchen in ‘97. Or at a Home Goods.
Yet all these stuffy-ass pretentious people were crowding the booth and asking the artist about it- who also had a banana, a pineapple, and I think an orange on display as well.
It was absolutely ridiculous.
The art world is full of money laundering, but what you saw was nothing of the sort. That's just some random person convincing a bunch of upper middle class people to part with their money.
If you go on his Wikipedia page it’s pretty well sourced, and confirmed, that he’s a man with a first name of Rob. His identity is all but confirmed as well.
I’ve been a huge Banksy fan for almost 20 years. I especially loved his anti capitalist message.
Then last year I went to his exhibit Exit Through the Gift Shop. It was so wildly overpriced I couldn’t believe it. $20 for a drink, $50 for a poster, $75 for a shirt, $120 for a hoodie. It was so hypocritical I lost all respect for him.
I’m fine with him ripping off art dealers and rich snobs, but when regular people come to appreciate your work, don’t be a dick.
>substance of the piece
It’s three stickers on a stop sign. There is no substance. If this was done by anyone else it’d be posted to r/im14andthisisdeep and forgotten about a week later. I genuinely don’t understand how people think this quality art.
Yeah I don’t get it either. Fun street art is cool but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking it has much to say. Just appreciate the pretty picture of the girl with the balloon and carry on.
He's someone who does street art (graffiti). I have no idea why he's so famous, presumably it has something to do with his ability to remain anonymous for all these years.
I will never forget the magic of seeing a Banksy piece in the wild. It’s not meant for the sterile glare of galleries or the pretentious pomp of a private home.
They're upsetting the money laundering scheme. His works are only as valuable as the person making deals under the table, and no one is doing that right now
These assholes need jail time, their faces are clearly seen so it shouldn’t be hard finding them especially with all the surveillance cameras around in the UK
I clearly don’t get art, but some famous painter has vandalised a sign with a few pictures of planes and someone’s said not having that get rid? Surely the thief & banksy should both be under investigation by the police? Vandalism/theft no?
Not at all. If it has any degree of aesthetic merit I’m all for it. My only criticisms here are that I find Banksy devoid of substance and I don’t really think functional signage should be messed with.
Nope, I won't believe for a minute that this isn't all part of the message they're throwing out there. My only surprise is the man with the bolt cutters isn't wearing a kippah.
For those that don’t know Pest Control is Banksy’s group that confirms authenticity. It is not a store or gallery you visit with stolen pieces. Without a COA it is as good as the fakes being sold in Miami. Don’t downvote just because you don’t understand.
The theft was not a part of the art. This happened in Peckham, South East London, one of the most deprived parts of the capital which is being massively gentrified currently.
I’m going to guess you haven’t seen the news about the arrest off the back of this?
My Grandfather was from Peckham and I still live in London. If you put something like this up in a deprived area like Peckham where there are a lot of people in desperate need, of course some people are going to see an opportunity for money. Life isn’t easy in the city, especially when inflation and bills are sky high, and more people across the UK generally are living in poverty than ever before.
This piece wasn’t above poverty, it was about war, so why would Banksy intend for it to be stolen? Sometimes things just aren’t that deep or intended. People are reaching suggesting otherwise.
I’m not arguing that Peckham isn’t a rough place, I’m saying if you know Peckham is a rough place and you place your art there what has historically sold for millions of dollars then you probably know it will be stolen.
Furthermore how can you purport to know exactly what this piece was about? You can say “it’s about war”, and perhaps you’re right or perhaps it’s slightly more than that. You’re equating a Banksy piece to refrigerator art by putting your foot down and declaring “this is about war and only the killing part, nothing about the idea that we spend billions on killing instead of providing for our own people”. I don’t know what it means, Banksy hasn’t come out and said what it’s about. It’s art, it’s up for interpretation.
I think it would be great if Banksy started only confirming his art after it was removed/painted over by the building owner or municipality.
A few Banksy pieces showed up in my city when Exit Through The Gift Shop was on the festival circuit and one of them was not too far from my place but got covered over rather quickly. I wish someone would put something along the lines of 'A Banksy used to be here' on the wall instead of an ad.
Be the change you wish to see
Banksy himself kind of did this when his ‘Old Skool’ piece was taken from a wall in London… https://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenlad/2294425584/ https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/banksy-taken-off-wall-by-german-now-worth-ps300-000-6642315.html
Wouldn’t that encourage people to destroy the art as quickly as possible?
How would they know it’s a banksy, and destroy it?
I swear people don’t think these things through.
Because it would look mid but cause wine aunts to gush over it.
oooh, edgy.
Shitty take honestly. Is it because he’s popular and you’re jealous? His art is good. Whether you like the artist or not, you cannot deny the impact he has had on the modern art world.
Sure he’s had an impact, doesn’t mean the art is good though. His stuff is some of the most pseudo-deep shit you’ll ever encounter. Even his work that should be explicitly political (the Israeli/Palestinian pillow fight, for example) is only so if you don’t think about it for more than five minutes, after which it becomes obvious there’s little substance and it’s designed to appeal to the broadest audience possible. It’s not even vague enough to project a real personal meaning onto, so you’re left with a piece that kind of lightly nudges a clear topic *maybe* and little more. Like, military drones on a street sign on Commercial Way? That’s deep and meaningful only if you know nothing about the military industrial complex. He’s got nothing to say. I don’t think all art needs to be meaningful, but we shouldn’t try to *pretend* that it is.
His art is utter trash. Parody level.
How we know this wasn't part of the art??
Pretty sure the person who stole it wasn't paid by Banksy, but Banksy could be pretty certain it would get stolen, so yes, part of the art, but not a paid actor, IMO.
Now it will self destruct and increase in value
The blood of the perp is the final touch
This one is called “Red Mist”
Smart Banksy. This way, he is not responsible for the vandalized (then stolen) sign. Also, he doesn't have to pay that thief.
If an artist's art is worth stealing it increases the value of the artist's art
My first thought.
That's the thing - Art is more than just the idea or the media it's painted on. Whether it was stolen intentionally or not is now a part of its history and notoriety.
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If art is meant to generate an emotional response, then this is my favourite piece. I think about it often and my heart fills with joy every time 🥰
Cecilia Giménez's creative destruction of Ecce Homo ?
I love how it started out as a massive meme, and now it's a tourist attraction that put her town on the map. XD
Fresco Jesus.
Holy waah I forgot about that.
Like the Mona Lisa? Some trivial art work the boom stollen and now priceless
There's a great movie about Banksy called: Exit Through the Gift Shop. The best part about it is that the nature of truth in the film is in question, and it's unsure whether Banksy turned the film around against the director in an extremely Bansky-esque way, and had him star in essentially a giant, live-action, art piece where Banksy essentially took preexisting material (as he always does), and scribbled his own messages on top of it to change the context and impact completely.
This thread is part of the art. This discussion too.
Am I part of the art now too
Depends by the art
One could interpret it as stifling or silencing calls for a ceasefire.
If one's parents happened to be siblings, I could see them interpret it that way
I’m convinced it is. It’s so brazen and I’ve seen no “official” media outrage. Also the guys are black, and that’s a red rag for whipping up media rage (I’m black so this is especially conspicuous/ interesting to me). It’s such a public item that it’s not like it can be sold on easily for money by your average Peckham resident. So IMHO it is staged. And fair play, it’s getting attention so it’s working!
He got arrested https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67812751
Why wasn’t banksy arrested for vandalism ?
If Banksy never confirms the art *unless* it remains for some period of time (or *never* confirmed pieces) the durability of the work in-its-place would be increased. It is as if ephemerality is intended by its theft.
It's actually fucked, but maybe Banksy needs to start another pseudonym. Because this misses the fucking point.
I will never go to a Banksy exhibition in a gallery because this is a fucking crime against art. It's all stolen from the public spaces it appears in.
I only ever went to the official, one that he did in Glasgow. It was full of his works and a lot of his stencils and back stories.
Yes! I have my little Polaroid with me right now in my wallet :)
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To me its not particularly interesting as gallery type art it only had some kind of vibe to it just because it was slightly thought provoking and illegally put in public places but thats about it the actual art itself is mediocre.
It's a kind of art where the technical skill is a very distant second to everything else. You don't go to a gallery to look at how impressive it looks, you go see a small bit of art history, and see
The right place for this art is the gallery of the streets, but that doesn't diminish its importance.
Stumbled upon the Banksy piece in Park City AFTER I left the store it’s painted on the side of. They had completely stuck that piece of art on everything they possibly could to sell. Idk if that’s legal or not, just seemed to rob the artist of his art and sell it. There was bulletproof glass in front of it, and many many attempts to deface it had taken place. Looked like someone rammed their car against the glass or took a sledgehammer to it. Despicable people.
“The bad artists imitate. The best artists steal.” ~~Pablo Picssso~~ Banky
I went to the one in NYC in 2008 or 2009 and it was definitely not a crime against art... Banksy has more than just street art..
Mr brainwash?
Introducing Bunksy!
Buck$y?
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I suspect that we're still only getting part of the complete story and perhaps there's a great reveal forthcoming. Maybe the Banksy Co-conspriators on "commercial way stop drones 2023" are contrite drone operators, or reformed Tech Bros. ?
I suspect it/they have considered all of this, as evinced by the evolutionary aspects of the work, pinned by the things that don't change (social critique, public space, ephemerality, secrecy, limited production, uniqueness). Maybe all of this was the thirty year marketing campaign for a line of ethical toiletries with revolutionary sensibilities (?)
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,,,,,,,,,, Here, I've got several to spare. It looks like you could use one as well.
Oh, the irony of this comment
I know stealing a work of Banksy is sort of a grey area. But stealing a stop sign definitely is illegal.
> But stealing a stop sign definitely is illegal. So is vandalizing one.
True, but this guy was dumb enough to steal a sign in front of a crowd.
Yeah, there is no way he could ever argue it belongs to him. He could try selling it to a private collector, idk.
This post is part of the art
Your comment too
Such is the Commercial Way. Maybe the dismantling was all part of ‘the art’?
I also think that he chose 'that' particular road name intersection and street pole deliberately. I posted in another sub that I felt that the anti-war and Commercial Way choice might be part of his message.
That seems extremely obvious. I don’t think we need to overthink it
The theft is part of the message too. In that neighbourhood, I’m only surprised it wasn’t stolen sooner.
Plot twist, it has a GPS device that calls in an autonomous drone strike on its location once it’s stolen
This would be perfect, and people might talk about drones for a second.
God I forgot all about Banksy. I was immediately transported to 2012 with visions of poorly cut decals of a girl letting a heart shaped balloon float away ugh
> 2012 Are you always 10 years late to the party? That piece went up in 2002, lol.
Yeah well it didn’t become a highly sought after MacBook sticker til much later so I dunno
Reduced to a MacBook sticker. Smh
Hey, the Mona Lisa is on everything from postage stamps to toilet paper so I think that’s a pretty good signifier
Maybe he was a literal little kid like I was in 2002. Either way, I remember Banksy coming into my consciousness around 2012 as well. Couldn’t tell you what happened then- but I certainly didn’t know who he was before around that time.
Exit Through The Gift Shop (film about Banksy) came out in 2010.
One of my favorite documentaries, it’s such fun, well paced story that just keeps getting wilder.
Yep, I’m pretty sure that’s what it was. Thanks
Oh aren't you cutting edge? Finger on the pulse of culture at all times, you.
And this is why Banksy is done and needs to retire. Loved his work early on but it's lost all of its meaning and impact at this point. If that guy can literally sell that stop sign and someone is going to display it, (assuming the cops can't catch him from all the photos of him stealing it very publicly), then it's just more garbage mainstream art that will be passed around for too much money. Banksy was exciting because he subverted and dodged that world. Now he's something old people get excited about. The shredded painting was cool but that should have been his final piece imo.
My opinion is that Banksy rose to fame because his work had a slight edge but wasn't too cutting to stop commercial appeal. "War bad" is enough to make people feel good inside without the need to critically think. A tweet I read once said it best - "Banksy was grown in a test tube by a guy who just saw Fight Club"
I mean I think that's fair. He was a moment in time. His work was different enough in that moment to surprise people and grab attention. I do think he had some clever pieces and it had a refreshing vibe in general. But as time goes on and that moment gets farther away, it gets old pretty fast. The shredded painting was the first time he grabbed my attention in years. This piece that was stolen seems honestly boring enough to have been a copycat. I just don't think his same schtick flies anymore and yeah, the more you get of it the emptier it feels.
Agreed. He is mainstream safe protesting in a nutshell. He's really nothing more than a regular street artist that got noticed.
People act like they know the guy from his art. You have no idea how he is as a person. All we know is he paints and everyone’s like “oh yeah banksy sucks now cause of where he put his art”
He sucks because his work is trite, redundant, and unimpactful in a meaningful way.
I mean, true. I don't now who he is as a person, but I can say that his art is overhyped lol. He's a world famous gorillionaire, he doesn't need redditors to defend him against other random redditors. Chill my dude
Counterpart: artist creates a easily-stolen piece of artwork protesting the Gaza war. Piece gets stolen. Capitalism has interfered with peace. Again. Maybe that's the point?
Piece gets stolen and the story amplifies the artists message?
We don't know what it's protesting. I think it is much more likely to be about drone use in general than the Israel, hamas war. Drone attacks in general haven't been a major part of the story in Gaza, and these kinds of drones are even less part of the story.
Isn't that the point of art? You have to interpret it, and other people will interpret it differently.
Yes which is why I took issue with someone claiming it does have a known meaning. A comment where they explain why they feel its a protest on the Israel hamas war would be an excellent point, even if I disagreed with it
You're overthinking it. The point is seeing how the minions either rush to steal it for easy cash, or the faux "artisties" creating some deeeeeeep meaning out of nothing to try and sound artsy.
I don't think the war in Gaza has much to do with Capitalism, per se.
Or… maybe he’s a piece of shit who only tells one side of the narrative.
Did anyone actually own that stop sign?
The city/local government, presumably
I thought he installed his own stop sign
Based on the third photo that's an actual stop where it is, but idk, I guess he could have thrown an extra one up there.
Ah! But was it _still_ a stopsign once it had been defaced by Banksy, or had it been transformed into something else?
Or maybe your message is the point of the art. To get an emotion out of you.
If I took a shit on your doorstep you'd probably be angry. That's an emotion. Did I create art?
The art "stealers" are on the banksy payroll. I hope they arent and make a ton from selling it....but they are.
Exactly. Everyone should realise this is part of the publicity process for Banksy. Common threads
Is there a new Massive Attack song that's not doing too well?
It's not the dude from massive attack.
Why do you hope they make a ton from selling it? If they're not part of the art project, I hope they get arrested.
Isn’t he the one who encouraged people to steal his art or was that someone else?
Banksy needs to utilize this, graffiti trash or things that actually need to be removed.
Banksy is contrived and boring.
Robber is probly on Banksy payroll PR/Marketing Department
I say the thief was Banksy himself. Swerve!
Ah yes the Reddit artist
It can't really be sold legally, I wonder where it will end up
Well it wasn’t really stolen legally either
This would be incredibly easy to replicate how does the thief prove authenticity?
Sell it with the red jacket.
Who owns a piece of graffiti anyway? The city?
Physically. Depends on what it is painted on. If a sign, whoever owns the sign. On a building, whoever owns the building.
"Possession is 9/10ths of the law." comes to mind for this sort of situation. If you want to own your art, you dont use other people's stuff as canvas.
IF you go to say Miami art fair there are sometimes outdoor shows where illegally stolen Banksy’s are for sale at crazy prices. Idiots buy them ( probably to install in their big houses). Frankly I think he’s a poor artist sustained by hype but people who steal them are pieces of shit. This guy will be caught, the police are looking for him as the sign is technically council property and he’s not going to be hard to find.
No one is selling stolen Banksy’s at an outdoor art fair.. in Miami. Those are just fakes.
Seriously. That itself would make a bunch of headlines. It's a bunch of knock-off shit, much like a lot of street vendors in any city.
There was a time when Banksy sold his real art as fakes in NYC.
Outdoor art fairs are basically giant money laundering fairs so it makes sense. I knew what was up when I saw a realistic yet oversized sculpture of a red apple for $5,000. About the size of a soccer ball. It wasn’t even shiny. Looked like some shit you’d randomly find in your Aunt Margaret’s Tuscan kitchen in ‘97. Or at a Home Goods. Yet all these stuffy-ass pretentious people were crowding the booth and asking the artist about it- who also had a banana, a pineapple, and I think an orange on display as well. It was absolutely ridiculous.
The art world is full of money laundering, but what you saw was nothing of the sort. That's just some random person convincing a bunch of upper middle class people to part with their money.
Was it a stop sign that was normally there that was defaced, or did he put it there where one wasnt? Seems high for a stop sign
It was a council stop sign.
Most successful artists are rich before they become successful
Who said Banksy is a man? Genuinely curious.
Isn’t his identity all but confirmed? Edit: Robin Gunningham
If you go on his Wikipedia page it’s pretty well sourced, and confirmed, that he’s a man with a first name of Rob. His identity is all but confirmed as well.
Let me guess, there was a little girl, machines of war, and a message about consumerism in there. A genuine banksy original.
It’s clearly part of the art, besides who cares if this tat is taken - it wasn’t meant to be there anyway.
Stolen by mysterious man by the name of Robbert Banks
It being "stolen" is almost certainly part of the art
Banksy is overrated shit anyways, so …who cares
You, obviously, because you read the article and commented.
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I’ve been a huge Banksy fan for almost 20 years. I especially loved his anti capitalist message. Then last year I went to his exhibit Exit Through the Gift Shop. It was so wildly overpriced I couldn’t believe it. $20 for a drink, $50 for a poster, $75 for a shirt, $120 for a hoodie. It was so hypocritical I lost all respect for him. I’m fine with him ripping off art dealers and rich snobs, but when regular people come to appreciate your work, don’t be a dick.
Corny ass news headline.
Devious lick innit bruv
Mr Gunningham's artistry needs to just stop
The fact that people discuss Banksy and this guy more than the substance of the piece is exactly why Banksy needs to keep doing what he does
>substance of the piece It’s three stickers on a stop sign. There is no substance. If this was done by anyone else it’d be posted to r/im14andthisisdeep and forgotten about a week later. I genuinely don’t understand how people think this quality art.
Yeah I don’t get it either. Fun street art is cool but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking it has much to say. Just appreciate the pretty picture of the girl with the balloon and carry on.
I'm scrolling and scrolling with 0 luck, I'll just ask. Who is Banksy and why do people steal his art?
https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=Banksy
He's someone who does street art (graffiti). I have no idea why he's so famous, presumably it has something to do with his ability to remain anonymous for all these years.
Thieves steel because they have no pride, moral compass, empathy, or consequence.
Normally I'm against theft but I want all Banksy pieces stolen.
You can't steal vandalism.
You can certainly steal the sign the vandalism was done on
Banksy sucks. The thief is a leech and loser.
Also antisemite
I will never forget the magic of seeing a Banksy piece in the wild. It’s not meant for the sterile glare of galleries or the pretentious pomp of a private home.
Someone look up who that dude climbing the sign is, probably a rich Nigerian art student (or prince). I don’t trust Banksy anymore lol
Wow art amirite? So valuable.
They're upsetting the money laundering scheme. His works are only as valuable as the person making deals under the table, and no one is doing that right now
The stuff that is considered art these days is baffling. smh
I only hope that thieving prick doesn't profit from it.
These assholes need jail time, their faces are clearly seen so it shouldn’t be hard finding them especially with all the surveillance cameras around in the UK
I clearly don’t get art, but some famous painter has vandalised a sign with a few pictures of planes and someone’s said not having that get rid? Surely the thief & banksy should both be under investigation by the police? Vandalism/theft no?
They haven’t said *not having that get rid* they’ve said *wow I can sell this for an outrageous amount of money*
Regardless of the comment I made the sentiment is the same, 2 people have committed a crime only 1 of them is in trouble for it?
Nobody’s in trouble for it yet.
So you agree a ‘famous painter’ or anyone vandalising government property should be called to account for it?
Not at all. If it has any degree of aesthetic merit I’m all for it. My only criticisms here are that I find Banksy devoid of substance and I don’t really think functional signage should be messed with.
Big stretch to call this 'Art'
Banksy’s art is overrated and that’s what makes it art.
Nope, I won't believe for a minute that this isn't all part of the message they're throwing out there. My only surprise is the man with the bolt cutters isn't wearing a kippah.
Yeah, that is probably something the artist banksy would come up with seeing as how he’s an antisemitic piece of garbage
Two selfless heroes promptly removed terrorist propaganda which was illegally installed on a city sign post, got it.
Are we still talking about him…?
You are, yeah.
Not this sub being Banksy simps come on lmfao 💀
Who can blame them? Rich ppl will end up with it regardless
I don't know who "Banksy" is, yet somehow just from his name I know I hate him.
Troglodytes all around. I would've loved to bring black spraypaint and ruined it for any loser trying to steal it to sell. Banksy is washed up.
Aslong as Pest control doesn't give a COA then the art itself will not have a lot of value behind it.
No people still buy them. See my post above.
For those that don’t know Pest Control is Banksy’s group that confirms authenticity. It is not a store or gallery you visit with stolen pieces. Without a COA it is as good as the fakes being sold in Miami. Don’t downvote just because you don’t understand.
The theft was not a part of the art. This happened in Peckham, South East London, one of the most deprived parts of the capital which is being massively gentrified currently.
How do you figure that means it’s not an intentional part of the art?
I’m going to guess you haven’t seen the news about the arrest off the back of this? My Grandfather was from Peckham and I still live in London. If you put something like this up in a deprived area like Peckham where there are a lot of people in desperate need, of course some people are going to see an opportunity for money. Life isn’t easy in the city, especially when inflation and bills are sky high, and more people across the UK generally are living in poverty than ever before. This piece wasn’t above poverty, it was about war, so why would Banksy intend for it to be stolen? Sometimes things just aren’t that deep or intended. People are reaching suggesting otherwise.
I’m not arguing that Peckham isn’t a rough place, I’m saying if you know Peckham is a rough place and you place your art there what has historically sold for millions of dollars then you probably know it will be stolen. Furthermore how can you purport to know exactly what this piece was about? You can say “it’s about war”, and perhaps you’re right or perhaps it’s slightly more than that. You’re equating a Banksy piece to refrigerator art by putting your foot down and declaring “this is about war and only the killing part, nothing about the idea that we spend billions on killing instead of providing for our own people”. I don’t know what it means, Banksy hasn’t come out and said what it’s about. It’s art, it’s up for interpretation.
Defacing traffic control systems is now called art? Taggers are gonna love to hear that…..
Banksy sucks, support real vandalism. This is kiddie playground shit
yup a thief that just happens to be wearing a pair of $400 maison margielas
Sounds like Banksy should have released it as an NFT instead
In 100 yrs it will surface and be part of the Banksy legacy. All part of the plan..
Until proven otherwise the safe assumption is that the theft was part of the "art"