A Letter from Banksy-

Good evening ATS, I wanted to share this powerful message from the infamous graffiti artist/activist Banksy. It's food for thought regarding the paradigm we find ourselves in. I for one wish I was free from being exposed to the lies and trickery of the advertisements plastered accross the walls and streets of our public spaces, telling me what I should look like or how to label my brothers and sisters based on the concepts dumped on us by the corporate empire. Took the liberty of censoring it a bit for ATS, wish I didn't have to, but, when in rome.....

If you don't know who Banksy is.....

Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique. Such artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.[1] Banksy's work was made up of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians.[2] According to author and graphic designer Tristan Manco and the book Home Sweet Home, Banksy "was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England.[3] The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s."[4] Observers have noted that his style is similar to Blek le Rat who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris and Jef Aerosol who sprayed his first street stencil in 1982 in Tours (France), and members of the anarcho-punk band Crass, which maintained a graffiti stencil campaign on the London Tube System in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[5][6][7] However Banksy claims that he based his work on that of 3D from Massive Attack, stating, "No, I copied 3D from Massive Attack. He can actually draw." [8] Known for his contempt for the government in labelling graffiti as vandalism, Banksy displays his art on public surfaces such as walls, even going as far as to build physical prop pieces. Banksy does not sell photos of street graffiti directly himself; however, art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder.[9] Banksy's first film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, billed as "the world's first street art disaster movie," made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.[10] The film was released in the UK on 5 March 2010.[11] In January 2011, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary for the film.

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reply to post by el1jah


i like that a lot thanks for sharing

This is great. I am so sick of commercials, so sick of advertising, so sick of having stuff shoved in my face everywhere I go. That's why I loved the internet so much at first. Now, it's become as bad if not worse than television. You can't even watch a news video without a commercial.

Now, when I click a link, if a commercial starts, I click right out of it. I refuse to watch advertisements just to get a bit of news that's probably something that will just end up making me feel bad. As a matter of fact, I will consciously not buy anything that is aggressively marketed to me.

If I want to buy something, I will go find it, research it, read reviews then decide. No slick ad campaigns will ever get my hard earned dollar again.

reply to post by Cherryontop


I'm with you on that, I don't have cable, no newpapers or magazines get delivered to my door and i refuse the free propaganda papers they hand out on the train, but, I cant get away from that which is in the public sphere. And I cant afford to play by their rules and buy the space out myself, so what do we resort to, "vandalism"? I for one don't advocate breaking laws to get my point accross, but there is so much non-violent passivity I'm willing to identify with....

That's just it, you can't get away from it unless you live like a cloistered monk/nun. There used to be a time when you could at least go to the movies theater and see a show without it, but even that space has been invaded.
Like I want to PAY to see you advertise to me? Ugh.

I don't have a solution, but at least I can chose to not buy anything the industry shoves down my throat.

Something subliminal on that pic, suddenly I feel thirsty.

I LOVE advertising!!!!!!

I don't think people should run away from it. Instead, I think people should study every ad as closely as they can stand to. Look for what they're really selling you, and look for how they're really doing it. I get a total howl out of watching these so-called "slick ads" that run during the SuperBowl.

The Banksy letter is written on a bottle of Coca-Cola. Anyone who's ever gotten a chilled Coke in a glass bottle out of a gas station soda machine will recognize it, and will remember what it used to be like. Which, to me, is part of the brilliance of his letter. Banksy is using the same techniques used by advertisers world-wide, only he's also bringing us all back to a time when advertising was more open and direct, and consisted of things lie: Buy This, It Tastes Good, and You'll Enjoy it, the end. No sneakiness about that.

Now it's all sneaky and indirect and oh-so-clever. Only it isn't. It's so obvious in its oh-so-clever and sneakiness and indirection that if you're paying attention, you can see right through it.

Has there ever been a reputable study done anywhere which proves that advertising even works? (Hint: It usually doesn't bring in new customers, but solidifies the support of the existing customers.)

Interesting thread, still gotta have a sense of humour in these dark times

Banksy is a joke in the street art world, he road a fad a then created "art" from others works for profit. Watch Exit Through The Gift Shop to see the artists Banksy stole from and how he capitalized on the movment to get rich not spread a message.
Shepard Fairey
Invader
Those are artists, after watching that Doc which was made by Banksy I lost a lot of respect for him.

Although I do agree with what he is saying here...my opinion is the same...

Originally posted by ParanoidAmerican
Banksy is a joke in the street art world, he road a fad a then created "art" from others works for profit. Watch Exit Through The Gift Shop to see the artists Banksy stole from and how he capitalized on the movment to get rich not spread a message.
Shepard Fairey
Invader
Those are artists, after watching that Doc which was made by Banksy I lost a lot of respect for him.

Although I do agree with what he is saying here...my opinion is the same...

edit on 28-1-2013 by ParanoidAmerican because: (no reason given)

Wouldn't be surprised mate, advertising and money can rule the world and it ceases to amaze, the things that some folks do for fame and fortune

reply to post by el1jah


Love his artwork.. I had no idea he stole his style from Massive Attack. I realize much of what he has done is considered vandalism but there is serious quality to his artwork. You can search google (or search engine ((I like DuckDuckGo--as it provides a layer of security unlike google)) of your choice to find pictures)

Here is a link to his facebook page.
www.facebook.com...

I like banksy's messages. But honestly, the guy is a sellout and sucks.
Stencil graffiti is far from artistic.
There are plenty of REAL graff artists that believe the same as Banksy. Banksy just appeals to the majority because of the stencils.

For some real Graff... Check out MSK crew. (pose, ewok, revok, saber, zeser, pysa, hense, augor, etc) These guys get it done freehand without any stencil help.
---Revok interviews are a good watch. Same message, real graff.

Even KIDULT... way better than Banksy. And far more crazier.
I can't access Youtube from where I am otherwise I'd post a video. But feel free to look.

Kidult fills fire extinguishers with paint, then takes to the storefronts of expensive clothing stores (Versace, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc)
And when I mean takes to..... I mean he DESTROYS the whole thing.

My recent fave from Banksy



Its pictures like these that tear banksy away from the modern establishment of art






Brillaint artist.

reply to post by n00bUK


Only problem is he copied off Blek Le Rat.
He also went over Mr. Robos Stuff. (Robo is a legend apparently in the UK).
Disrespect like a mofo.
That's why all the real graff artist usually go over Banksy's #

Originally posted by wolfbitch
Has there ever been a reputable study done anywhere which proves that advertising even works? (Hint: It usually doesn't bring in new customers, but solidifies the support of the existing customers.)

Nonsense. Advertising directed at children works VERY well.

And considering that our educational system is creating adults that are increasingly more and more like children, you can easily draw your own conclusions.

Good message from banksy. But he should do more. Yes and put more artistry into his works.

Sorry to burst the Banksy bubble a bit here folks, but this particular essay is subject to a great deal of controversy. It appears that Banksy took a great deal of "inspiration" from a piece by Sean Tejaratchi in a counter-culture fanzine called Crap Hound.

Here's Tejaratchi writing in 1999

If I see an ad without asking to, it's images are mine to reprint and redistribute, with clearance neither granted nor requested. ..Why should I ask my assailant's permission to keep a rock he's just thrown at my head?

And here's Banksy in his 2004 book 'Cut it Out'.

# That. Any advert you see in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

The whole piece is littered with reworkings, see the original author discussing and comparing the pieces on Reading Frenzy

Whilst, of course, Banksy's whole mantra is about reappropriaten and remixing, but he appears to be very happy indeed to take content from another artist. Tejaratchi is not Coca Cola or Tesco, nor did he 'throw a rock'. Also, Banksy intellectual property is extremely jealously protected by his agent - in particular concerning others passing off Banksy concepts as their own.

I'm not saying Banksy is a shill or anything, but he's definitely a major, major hypocrite.

reply to post by KingIcarus


The clue to Banksy's particular brilliance is in the second externally linked image in n00bUK's post upthread.

Feh. He is a fire starter. More like a little lighter.