Not signed in (Sign In)
Categories
- Main Junction
- CROSSED
- London Zoo
- Freakangels
- Music
- Printheads
- Culturegasm
- Web Nuggets
- WorldWeird
- Blogs
Welcome, Guest
Vanilla is a product of Lussumo:
Documentation and Support.
-
-
CommentAuthorHEY APATHY!
- CommentTimeOct 12th 2010 edited
-
-
It was the only funny part of the episode. I actually think it did a disservice to the issue though because of how over the top it was.
I remember when I questioned one of the simpsons guys that came to my high school to speak about using sweatshop workers. -
This subversive message from your wanted criminal graffiti artist approved by the Fox network.
-
- CommentAuthormybrainhurts
- CommentTimeOct 13th 2010
Banksy, the rebel that your parents can get behind. -
Ah well, can't blame a guy for selling out. You know you would too.
My big problem with this, and the more I think about it the more it leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, is that it allows potentially anyone using overseas outsourced factories to poke fun at the idea of exploitation. It's 'oh look, we can laugh at the accusations of this by pretending they're real'.
I've worked in the toy and licensing industry and have heard tales of factories in perfect condition that can be rented out for inspections by representatives of licensees or sourcing executives. When they've gone home, the work is shifted back to the regular factories, in which conditions are pretty shitty.
It is true that the bigger and more valuable licenses, like those owned by the BBC, or things like the Simpsons, have some of the toughest auditing and regulatory criteria, so that they're more ethical than others, but there are still a lot of dirty tricks pulled which keep the costs down.
And tangentially, just another of my bugbears - things like wooden toys and 'ethnic' furniture, which some people buy because they look a bit hippy-ish and therefore must be authentic ethically sourced craftwork, are amongst the worst possible items when it comes to being made in sweatshops, without inspections or safety procedures. A plastic Bart Simpson toy is probably far better.
All that said, this is the final nail in the coffin of Banksy's credibility. I used to love seeing his stuff around Bristol and then London. It was genuinely subversive, original and good and the West Bank wall stuff took balls.
This really takes something away from all of that. -
@Oddcult- ain't that the truth..
Banksy has been the mainstream-media approved representation of graffiti culture for years now. Of course, he doesn't actually represent the real street culture of graf, but he is an excellent self-promoter (not necessarily something I'm critical of).
Similarly to the majority of his work, this intro sequence looks pretty/striking on the surface but lacks any real depth beyond "Korean workers' rights aren't as well protected as those in the west." -
-
CommentAuthorHEY APATHY!
- CommentTimeOct 13th 2010
very interesting comments all. I do find it weird that rich people/ mainstream media dig his didactic attacks, it does turn it into a bit of a joke but I am particularly impressed with the interest/attention/self promotion that this guy gets and how using youtube/simpsons really puts his stories out there. I mean a lot of people are going to see that animated sequence online, way more than any alleyway graffiti or art gallery exhibition. -
-
-
CommentAuthormister hex
- CommentTimeOct 13th 2010
I like Banksy and I'm not sure why. The guy's a tireless self-promoter but he's also "raising awareness", (Jebus, I hate that term) in many ways, about the world we live in. Don't take it or him or anything for granted.
@HEY APATHY - you knew he recently (like last summer) did some "bombing" in Toronto? And they covered it up. Bloody typical. -
-
-
CommentAuthorDavid Matthew
- CommentTimeOct 13th 2010
One of the most interesting items from his book Wall and Piece was a mention of an encounter Banksy had while bombing a few pieces on the Israeli wall in Palestine.Old man You paint the wall, you make it look beautiful
Me Thanks
Old man We don't want it to be beautiful, we hate this wall, go home
Sort of undermines the "awareness" cliche, doesn't it? -
-
Heh, just noticed the spelling mistake in the thread title.
Google search works for this spelling as well as Banksy - So it's both a common error, and a sign of his growing fame... -
There no such thing as selling out. Everything underground eventually becomes mainstream. Everyone wants to get paid.
-
...it allows potentially anyone using overseas outsourced factories to poke fun at the idea of exploitation. It's 'oh look, we can laugh at the accusations of this by pretending they're real'.
Slavoj Zizek has a pretty well-developed critique of exactly this kind of thing. He would probably say something about how this kind of "obscenity" (ethical obscenity) are essential to the functioning of Western style Liberal Democracy and Free Market Capitalism. And I would wager that a convincing case could be made both For and Against Banksy's Simpsons intro...if someone wanted to get really dive into the hermeneutics. -
-
CommentAuthorHEY APATHY!
- CommentTimeOct 13th 2010
At the very least it gets people talking about important things.
@mister hex I didn't know it got covered up, I thought they would have sealed in it transparent gold.
@sneak046 oops I fix (, oddly enough I did google it first because me spelling it atrocious! I have nightmares about it)
@ CELAN thanks for the info I'm going to look that up (Slavol Zizek that it's, I already had to look up hermeneutics) . -
-
@HEY APATHY!
The documentary called "Zizek!" is a good place to start. Even if you are not inclined to agree with him he's very entertaining and thought-provoking to say the least. -
It seems strange to headline this as a move from "the streets to the web" since:
a) Banksy's been online for years (by the early 2000s, before all the gallery shows and books, etc.)
b) This arises from directing a TV show intro. -
-
CommentAuthormister hex
- CommentTimeOct 13th 2010
@ HEY APATHY - It was underneath the Gardiner Expressway. Next day, it was gone. There were a couple of other pieces and they got painted over, too. I believe one of them WAS taken to a gallery somewhere but I'm not 100%. -
-
-
CommentAuthorHEY APATHY!
- CommentTimeOct 13th 2010 edited
@256 yeah I didn't know what to call it ( I know the title sucks) but I was particularily intrigued about how much online presence it had over the past two days. Every where I clicked it showed up, front page youtube, in my google alerts ( which aren't linked to Banksy at all), facebook, and all my news reel widgets on my blogs.
I never saw it on T.V. and it probably won't be re-run for a while so I was more impressed with Banksy's youtube activity than I was with the video itself. I thought it was a really powerful way to get attention and an impressive piece for his portfolio. However for the most part this aspect has gone unnoticed.
give me a better title I'll gladly put it in
@ mister hex- Wow that's crazy, only one day! Wish I took it to a gallery, I could probably retire off that sale if I maintained my current living expenses! Kind of wish I saw it in person too though -
-
-
CommentAuthortrini_naenae
- CommentTimeOct 13th 2010
@mister hex: Seriously? After reading about a house being sold as a fine art piece because a Banksy was attached to it, I'd figure they'd go out of their way to protect his stuff. That's some serious money they threw away. Ah well.
As for the intro, very clever. It felt like an exercise in darkness more than a political statement due to the over the top-ness of the thing. Considering the two very obvious giant "Banksy" tags, no one could miss that this was as much self promotion as it was about the statement itself. Then again, self promotion is wired into the very history of graffiti anyway. -
-
I've always felt that "selling out" was far less to do with the artist and far more to do with the audience.
People get older and learn new things about the world and that often leads to them changing their opinions and positions on things.
Selling out then becomes the accusation of those who's opinions have not evolved along with the artist in question.
It's been my experience that ideals are all well and good but they should be left in the coffee shop where they belong when it comes time to get things done.
Banksy seems to be getting things done. -
If Banksy had managed to create this and sneak it onto the signal, replacing the original, during a broadcast, like Max Headroom managed, it would have been the most awesome thing ever.
Being paid to do it by Fox; less awesome.