Christmas in March
Does anyone else remember that feeling of pure euphoria that rushed through your body on Christmas morning when you tore into that bright red paper concealing the toy that would complete your existence as a kid?
I could almost smell the pine needles and candy canes when I tore open today's edition of the NY Times with the gusto of kid on Christmas morning to see a picture of a bearded man in a trench coat and hat hanging a painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. According to the Wooster Collective the Santa Claus of guerilla artists managed to deliver his gifts of social activism to good little boys and girls at MOMA, The Brooklyn Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History.
The London graffiti artist, known as Banksy, gained a cult following in the UK for his politically charged public art and stencil work. When asked what type of message his tactics were meant to convey the reclusive Banksy offered the following. "I've wandered round a lot of art galleries thinking 'I could have done that' so it seemed only right that I should try. These Galleries are just trophy cabinets for a handful of millionaires. The public never has any real say in what art they see. Its good to screw with the selection process sometimes. 'Comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable' as Eleanor Roosevelt once said. The gas mask painting is about how fear of terror is disfiguring society. The military officer painting is dedicated to all those who joined the forces to fight honorable and just wars, and ended up feeling like maybe they should have stayed home and been peace activists instead."
In addition to the Reuters print interview the mysterious British graffiti artist also granted a rare discussion of his work that was aired on NPR today. Visions of guerilla social activism danced in my head as Banksy told his story to the comfy liberals of the NPR set listening to the interview as their Volvos idled in traffic.
If you would like to find something in your stocking check out the Banksy website for yourself.
I could almost smell the pine needles and candy canes when I tore open today's edition of the NY Times with the gusto of kid on Christmas morning to see a picture of a bearded man in a trench coat and hat hanging a painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. According to the Wooster Collective the Santa Claus of guerilla artists managed to deliver his gifts of social activism to good little boys and girls at MOMA, The Brooklyn Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History.
The London graffiti artist, known as Banksy, gained a cult following in the UK for his politically charged public art and stencil work. When asked what type of message his tactics were meant to convey the reclusive Banksy offered the following. "I've wandered round a lot of art galleries thinking 'I could have done that' so it seemed only right that I should try. These Galleries are just trophy cabinets for a handful of millionaires. The public never has any real say in what art they see. Its good to screw with the selection process sometimes. 'Comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable' as Eleanor Roosevelt once said. The gas mask painting is about how fear of terror is disfiguring society. The military officer painting is dedicated to all those who joined the forces to fight honorable and just wars, and ended up feeling like maybe they should have stayed home and been peace activists instead."
In addition to the Reuters print interview the mysterious British graffiti artist also granted a rare discussion of his work that was aired on NPR today. Visions of guerilla social activism danced in my head as Banksy told his story to the comfy liberals of the NPR set listening to the interview as their Volvos idled in traffic.
If you would like to find something in your stocking check out the Banksy website for yourself.
posted by Yonder Vittles at 10:52 PM
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