Banksy painting sprayed over by envious graffiti artists (From Croydon Guardian)
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Banksy painting sprayed over by envious graffiti artists
8:54am Friday 9th October 2009 in
The world’s most famous street artist’s contribution to make Sutton a more colourful place has been ruined by louts.
Despite a rousing show of support from Sutton residents, Banksy’s critique on IKEA in the Beddington Farm Road industrial estate on the border with Croydon has been ‘tagged’ over by vandals.
The satirical image features a punk standing next to a cardboard box marked IEAK apparently reading instructions on how to put together a graffiti slogan.
Envious vandals have sprayed red and white tags all over the piece of art and the question now is, what will be its fate?
One of the haphazard ‘tags’ reads, Choke, Real Graffiti another reads, NO BANKSY while others are just poorly sprayed names.
Sutton Council asked the public whether or not they considered Banksy’s latest piece art or vandalism before they took a decision to remove it or keep it.
Do you know who the tags belong to? Let us know at suttonguardian.co.uk or call the newsdesk on 020 8330 9554
Comments(22)
adrianshort
says...
9:54am Fri 9 Oct 09
Rooted firmly in the Situationist philosophy, this is a multi-layered and evolving piece, a detournement of a detournement.
The taggers' assertion that this is the "real graffiti" acts as a searing critique of both contemporary artistic practice and contested notions of urban power. We are exhorted to see the street as a canvas for popular expression (even, yes, for those that are untrained and do not aspire to the dubious status of "artist") and confronted with the reality that space and image ultimately cannot be privatised. Weeds will always find a way up through the cracks in the concrete.
Something tells me that Banksy would have a sense of humour about this but I very much doubt that Sutton Council will.
Angela M
says...
11:01am Fri 9 Oct 09
Lez
says...
11:28am Fri 9 Oct 09
If its not your wall - its vandalism.
adrianshort
says...
11:28am Fri 9 Oct 09
The industrial revolution forced the artisan from his workshop and into the factory and deskilled the role of designer/maker into one where the worker was simply a cog in the machine, producing just one small part of a larger whole over which he had no control nor the satisfaction of completion. Chaplin nailed this in his film "Modern Times", where after working a shift in the factory performing the same mechanical movements on the production line he is seen unable to stop repeating the motion after leaving work. Thus is the proletarian literally mechanised.
Our post-industrial economy brings this process full circle, with today's proletarians forced to purchase cheap furniture and assemble it at home in a clear echo of our industrial past. It is through this displacement -- recontextualised -- that Banksy satirises IKEA. Then along come the taggers to question *his* privilege to separate himself from the practices of everyday life and ask "What about us?"
What indeed?
Rainbowblue
says...
12:26pm Fri 9 Oct 09
adrianshort
says...
12:43pm Fri 9 Oct 09
Colin Miller
says...
2:22pm Fri 9 Oct 09
Why? It just looks a mess now. At least before it looked presentable and gave the local community something look at and talk about.
The way it is now, it is just an eye sore - a reminder that some idiots out there, don't have respect for anything.
Hardly "art" if you ask me.
Shame.... Real shame.
Angela M
says...
2:24pm Fri 9 Oct 09
Colin Miller
says...
2:25pm Fri 9 Oct 09
They were not questioning his priviledge, they were just being arrogant.
adrianshort
says...
2:30pm Fri 9 Oct 09
Nice idea, Angela, but I expect this one is too hot for him to handle now.
Colin Miller
says...
2:54pm Fri 9 Oct 09
adrianshort
says...
3:14pm Fri 9 Oct 09
Where you see "social outcasts" I see people that are differently included and alternatively literate, making their own interstitial culture in the gaps that the mainstream ignores.
This layered work says far more about that mainstream than it does about Banksy or the taggers. It's a mirror. Don't be suprised if you don't like what you see.
Angela M
says...
3:14pm Fri 9 Oct 09
And to be honest, Banksy is not privileged - he has earned respect because of his talent. If the other graffiti 'artists' in the area had the same talent and foresight to create images like these, they would have been revered in the same way.
Also, art does not always require in-depth analysis. Don't waste your time theorising about what the artist was thinking - or hidden meanings. It's a satirical cartoon, a one-liner. Analysing art is like explaining a joke - it's condescending and unnecessary.
Colin Miller
says...
3:24pm Fri 9 Oct 09
You're entitled to your own opinions and I am entitled to mine, so lets just agree to disagree.
You can call it "layered art", I'll just call it a shameful mess. :-)
Dannybananas
says...
3:28pm Fri 9 Oct 09
And as for the industrial revolution taking artisans from the field, I would say it gave starving rural serfs their first independence from the land owners and also their first opportunities to break free from the shackles of poverty and class strictures.
LiberalsOut
says...
3:48pm Fri 9 Oct 09
adrianshort
says...
3:53pm Fri 9 Oct 09
It's not about directly comparing the tags with the Banksy mural. As I said earlier, it's the detournement that gives the resulting work its meaning and its power. But even if we were making that comparison, we still need a value theory to sort The Beatles from Milli Vanilli, and indeed, Mozart. How can we judge whether a work belongs in the canon or in the bin? Gut instinct? "Common sense"?
If Banksy isn't privileged then how do you explain the council bending over backwards to treat his work differently to any other graffiti? That's exactly what privilege is -- differential treatment. You might think his privilege is justified but it's undeniably there. You say Banksy's work is "thought-provoking" and later a "one-liner" that doesn't require explanation. However you resolve that contradiction I'm sure we can all agree that without his intervention we wouldn't be thinking about these issues or having this debate at all.
Libby Ralsuck
says...
3:58pm Fri 9 Oct 09
Juju Bebe
says...
7:47pm Fri 9 Oct 09
I am so angry that someone has done this to a 'Banksy' piece. If the so called 'real' graffitti artist new about art he would have had some respect and not have done this.
I spotted the Banksy piece a few days ago and rushed there to have a look, and loved it! i felt so glad that Banksy had blessed out town with such a great piece of art. Its so sad that its been ruined but i am glad i saw it in its full glory!! :) x
Alex_Bradford
says...
12:48pm Sat 10 Oct 09
If you want to see some grown up art to provoke your artistic thoughts, visit the National Gallery or the Wallace Collection, which are both free to enter and are guaranteed to impress anyone in need of artistic stimulation. Alternatively, go to the Tate Modern, if you want to see the artistically inept leading and emptying the pockets of the artistically blind.
As for Banksy, he’s obviously laughing all the way to the bank - any publicity is good publicity. Finally, would Sutton Council now kindly stop dithering and just cover this mess up?
bluegem
says...
11:10am Wed 14 Oct 09
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theavengers says...
9:24am Fri 9 Oct 09