Changethethought

Everyone’s old art pal has taken to the streets, commenced sticking his finger in the pot and has begun stirring again. As always with Banksy’s work, expect moments of simple brilliance.

written by Christopher | tags: Art, Banksy, Graffiti, Painting, Street

The notorious artist who needs no introduction, Banksy, has completed a film that will air soon titled ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop‘. Who wants to take a bet that he doesn’t actually reveal his identity at some point in the film?

written by Christopher | tags: Banksy, Exit Through The Gift Shop, Movies

Hu2 generates vinyl stickers to hang around your household. They have some really interesting stuff happening within their catalog and it’s cool that they have created graphics that are meant to live within different rooms and environments in a typical home. Interesting idea.

written by Christopher | tags: Banksy, Graphic Design, Hu2, Vinyl Stickers

“A burned-out ice-cream van is among 100 works Banksy has installed at Bristol’s museum, replacing many of the museum’s regular artefacts. The reason the museum was closed was kept secret from top council officials.

Banksy said: “This is the first show I’ve ever done where taxpayers’ money is being used to hang my pictures up rather than scrape them off.”

Staged in the council-owned City Museum and Art Gallery, Banksy v Bristol Museum features animatronics, installations and a sensory display.”

I want to go see this very badly.

written by Christopher | tags: Art, Banksy, Bristol Museum, Graffitti, U.K.

Banksy has updated his site with more of the kind of work that flings shit into the eyes of our overly commercialized, materialistic and hypocritical society. No use trying to cover yourself because no one is safe. Thank you Banksy.

written by Christopher | tags: Art, Banksy, Painting, Stencil Art, street art

“A tiny little pet store quietly opened four days ago at 89 7th Avenue between West 4th and Bleeker Street in the West Village of New York City. Inside, McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets sip barbecue sauce. A rabbit puts on her makeup. A CCTV camera nurtures its young. Breaded fish swim in a large round bowl while hot dogs live the high life under heat lamps in cages near the cash register.

The store is the newest exhibit by famed graf artist, Banksy. This is the first time that Banksy has used animatronics, and the effect is absolutely amazing. Starting the moment you read this, until October 31st (Halloween), Banksy’s pet store is officially open each and every daily from 10am until midnight.

Banksy says about the show: “New Yorkers don’t care about art, they care about pets. So I’m exhibiting them instead. I wanted to make art that questioned our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming, but it ended up as chicken nuggets singing. I took all the money I made exploiting an animal in my last show and used it to fund a new show about the exploitation of animals. If its art and you can see it from the street, I guess it could still be considered street art.”

You can see more at the Wooster Collective. Crazy crazy crazy (like a fox).

written by Christopher | tags: Art, Art Installation, Banksy, New York

More on Banksy’s visit to New Orleans in his own words on his website here.

written by Christopher | tags: Banksy, Grey Ghost, Katrina, New Orleans

This has been circulating like a wildfire all over the net lately so it wouldn’t surprise me if you have heard already, but the infamous street artist Banksy has been busy coating the 9th ward of New Orleans with his signature brand of street art to mark the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in a way only he could. Once again all of the work is provocative and even more so when you consider that the art isn’t hanging on some gallery wall, it is right there on the street where the floods occurred and people died. The word is he is now on a tour of the south as his work has lately appeared in Alabama. You have to respect him for continuing the force people to think and confront the issues we deny that continue to erode our society. He is a man of the times and he has earned his place in art history for a reason.

As Hurricane Gustav once again pounds New Orleans today and fears are rising that loosened ships may puncture the levies, his work seems all the more timely.

written by Christopher | tags: Art, Banksy, Graffiti, Katrina, New Orleans, street art

Is world-renowned graffiti artist Banksy really well-to-do Bristol suburbanite Robin Gunningham? After an exhaustive year long search The Mail on Sunday has built a case that potentially supports that possibility. Of course everyone involved, even Gunningham’s parents, are denying that the man even exists. It’s another notch in Banksy lore, and it is an interesting story. You can read all about it here and decide for yourself if there is anything to it or if it is just another red herring load of Banksy-driven BS.

Even if Banksy is Robin Gunningham, does it really matter? It doesn’t change what he has done, and that to me has a hell of a lot more to do with who he is than how or where he grew up. A man is the summation of his decisions, and Gunningham or not, he has chosen to be Banksy and that is who he is now.

written by Christopher | tags: Banksy, Banksy Unmasked, Robin Gunningham, The Mail on Sunday.

Well, I had known about this before it even happened and I apologize for not writing about this earlier. Banksy held a one-of-a-kind show this week simply titled, ‘Cans Festival’ (a word play on the Cannes film festival). He invited more than 3 dozen international artists but also encouraged visitors to contribute their own grafitti starting Saturday. The festival was held in an apparently rarely used South London tunnel. Banksy told the Times of London, “I’m hoping we can transform a dark forgotten filth pit into an oasis of beautiful art – in a dark forgotten filth pit.”

The interesting thing to note here as it is a sharp turn in the career of the outlaw artist is that the show was approved and facilitated by Eurostar. Eurostart manages tunnel as it lies under an old train platform belonging to them at Waterloo Station. It’s an interesting development for Banksy as he has in the past been considered a wanted man by London authorities. It begs the question also as to whether or not he has unofficially been adopted into the mainstream. I am hoping not because it always seems like you can apply an expiration date to an artist once they reach that critical mass. I think Banksy is a true innovator though and I can easily imagine him reinventing himself, maybe even in another medium, under another name where he will no doubt burn another new and amazing trail.

Pictures from the show:
At Flickr
At Notcot
At the Pinewood Design Blog 

News of the show:
At The International Herald Tribune

Video of the setup:
At Youtube

written by Christopher | tags: Banksy, Cans Festival, Grafitti, London, Stencil Art, Waterloo Station

Notorious stencil artist Banksy will be exhibiting in Hong Kong late this month at the “LOVE ART” show curated by Fabrik Contemporary Art. The exhibition will also feature the work of several other high-profile controversial artists such as Damien Hirst, Keith Haring, Romero Britto, and Mel Ramos. I can’t thin of another exhibition where such an infamous group of artists have all been grouped together. I only wish someone would buy me a ticket to Hong Kong so I could see it for myself. The details of time and place are listed below.

Place:
Hong Kong Arts Centre:
2 Harbour Road,
Hong Kong

Time:
Opening Night:
April 23 (Wednesday) | 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Dates:
Exhibition dates:
April 23rd (Wednesday) – April 28th (Monday) | 10am – 8pm

written by Christopher | tags: Art, Banksy, Damien Hirst, Exhibition, Hong Kong, Keith Haring