Today, this news article popped up from a friend in my facebook feed.
His comment was that “even if you bought a Banksy original for $60 dollars, you still got ripped off”, leading me to believe once and for all that a good majority of people-even those who like Banksy-don’t understand what he represents. This story alone is about the fact that while it’s good publicity, he’s also making a statement that people don’t appreciate the art for the message. A lot of people-even art collectors-only like art because of the monetary value it’s assigned.
Banksy is making a joke of everyone.
Take for example his “documentary” from a few years back titled “Exit Through The Gift Shop”. The trailer alone (which you can view here) is a joke on trailers and the films. The reviews that are placed in the trailer are hysterical twists on the cliche review statements we often see thrown into trailers to get people to see the movie. It even has funny versions of cliche quotes, such as:
His comment was that “even if you bought a Banksy original for $60 dollars, you still got ripped off”, leading me to believe once and for all that a good majority of people-even those who like Banksy-don’t understand what he represents. This story alone is about the fact that while it’s good publicity, he’s also making a statement that people don’t appreciate the art for the message. A lot of people-even art collectors-only like art because of the monetary value it’s assigned.
Banksy is making a joke of everyone.
Take for example his “documentary” from a few years back titled “Exit Through The Gift Shop”. The trailer alone (which you can view here) is a joke on trailers and the films. The reviews that are placed in the trailer are hysterical twists on the cliche review statements we often see thrown into trailers to get people to see the movie. It even has funny versions of cliche quotes, such as:
In a world with no rules, one man broke them all
I mean for god sakes, look at this screenshot I snapped of one of them.
I mean right off the bat he isn’t even taking the trailer seriously. Exit Through The Gift Shop to me is his version of The Blair Witch Project. It’s a fabricated story they sold as “truth” because it proves if you put shaky cam and slap the label “documentary” on something, people buy it with no thought of where the proof is! Banksy created Mr. Brainwash as a joke on the public, showing what fools we all are to rush out and buy stuff only because it’s trendy. Popart sells. Lady Gaga is talented-I have no doubt of that-but she’s another person in a long line of people who fell into the “hey i’m famous for being weird, like me!” group. A lot of people who like Lady Gaga don’t actually like Lady Gaga, they like the IDEA of Lady Gaga and following something that’s “unique” and popular because it-by association-makes THEM unique and popular.
THAT is what Banksy is doing. He’s forcing us to take a step back and look at how we evaluate things in this world when it comes to art and media.
There’s an old saying that art is subjective, which is true. Everyone looks at a painting or reads a poem and we all take away something different from it. However, that’s what makes his statement that much better because he’s proving that even with how personal art can be to a person, it can be used as a tool to mass market produce products and sell them to an unoriginal and uninspired and unenlightened society who doesn’t actually understand or take art at what it’s supposed to say or be but instead take it at face value. Liking it because they’re told to like it. Pop music suffers from this BADLY. The people who hate Banksy-not all I’m sure-are the people who don’t get this.
We hold art-and I’m talking museum art now-up to this ridiculous standard because of the problem we’ve invented where stuff sells for higher prices after the artist is dead. It’s value increases. It’s the same problem we have where we berate people to death while they’re alive and force them to hear all these negative fucking things about themselves that make them hate themselves, and then as soon as they die they’re deified and forgiven of all their faults. If you like someone or like their work, tell them while they’re alive or appreciate them while their work is still fresh. The fact that artwork from dead artists sells higher is the problem. We’ve created a market that panders to people who don’t (and I’m sure the entire art world isn’t like this) actually buy art because they appreciate it, they buy art because art appreciates.
Big difference.
Monetary value does not equal personal value. That’s something we need to realize and change. I think what Banksy is doing is quite wonderful and I hope he continues to do it for years to come.
THAT is what Banksy is doing. He’s forcing us to take a step back and look at how we evaluate things in this world when it comes to art and media.
There’s an old saying that art is subjective, which is true. Everyone looks at a painting or reads a poem and we all take away something different from it. However, that’s what makes his statement that much better because he’s proving that even with how personal art can be to a person, it can be used as a tool to mass market produce products and sell them to an unoriginal and uninspired and unenlightened society who doesn’t actually understand or take art at what it’s supposed to say or be but instead take it at face value. Liking it because they’re told to like it. Pop music suffers from this BADLY. The people who hate Banksy-not all I’m sure-are the people who don’t get this.
We hold art-and I’m talking museum art now-up to this ridiculous standard because of the problem we’ve invented where stuff sells for higher prices after the artist is dead. It’s value increases. It’s the same problem we have where we berate people to death while they’re alive and force them to hear all these negative fucking things about themselves that make them hate themselves, and then as soon as they die they’re deified and forgiven of all their faults. If you like someone or like their work, tell them while they’re alive or appreciate them while their work is still fresh. The fact that artwork from dead artists sells higher is the problem. We’ve created a market that panders to people who don’t (and I’m sure the entire art world isn’t like this) actually buy art because they appreciate it, they buy art because art appreciates.
Big difference.
Monetary value does not equal personal value. That’s something we need to realize and change. I think what Banksy is doing is quite wonderful and I hope he continues to do it for years to come.
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