Banksy without Banksy
June 12, 2024 10:53 AM Subscribe
The Banksy Museum does not own or display any actual Banksys but rather 167 decent-enough reproductions of them, life-size murals and paintings on panels treated to look like exterior walls that stretch through an exhibition space, designed to resemble the street. Max Lakin for the New York Times
Isabella Gomez Sarmiento for Morning edition:Museum founder Hazis Vardar says, “Banksy changed the rules. If you want to organize something about Banksy, you have to change the rules also,” he said on a recent walk through the exhibit.
Natasha Gural at Forbes supplies a more in-depth review: 4 Ways To See Beyond Graffiti At The Banksy Museum In New York
Banksy Museum website
Isabella Gomez Sarmiento for Morning edition:Museum founder Hazis Vardar says, “Banksy changed the rules. If you want to organize something about Banksy, you have to change the rules also,” he said on a recent walk through the exhibit.
Natasha Gural at Forbes supplies a more in-depth review: 4 Ways To See Beyond Graffiti At The Banksy Museum In New York
Banksy Museum website
Maybe you could pay $30 to see the building slowly shredded, like that auction piece a few years back?
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:28 AM on June 12 [4 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:28 AM on June 12 [4 favorites]
Not to excuse legalities, etc., in any way, but I feel like a Banksy exhibition that shows no actual Banksies and only reproductions is extremely [adjective that describes the sort of thing that Banksy is trying to be].
posted by KChasm at 12:13 PM on June 12 [4 favorites]
posted by KChasm at 12:13 PM on June 12 [4 favorites]
if Banksy was behind it, this could be some MF Doom impostor type thing, but instead this just sucks.
posted by mattgriffin at 12:46 PM on June 12
posted by mattgriffin at 12:46 PM on June 12
It is totally copyright infringement, but as the NPR piece notes: “Vardar’s response: if Banksy has any issues with the museum, he could sue.” This is only the latest of several similar exhibits/exploitations worldwide, and Banksy doesn’t sue, presumably because doing so would jeopardize his anonymity and also because of his well-known opinion that copyright is bullshit.
posted by bq at 1:07 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
posted by bq at 1:07 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
I can’t get too exercised about it, though. It’s too absurd/ironic.
posted by bq at 1:07 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
posted by bq at 1:07 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
I feel like a Banksy exhibition that shows no actual Banksies and only reproductions is extremely [adjective that describes the sort of thing that Banksy is trying to be].
Nah. I eyeroll over Banksy a lot (I quote this tweet on a regular basis) but I have to admit that this museum could not be missing the point harder if it tried. Banksy's appeal is based in part in the way he brings his POV to unexpected places where most artists don't bother to show work. I live near where he did his shopfront installation and it was actually kind of neat to be able to go and see it in this kind of crappy area of London. Sticking his work in a museum and charging $30 a time is probably the absolute worst way of interpreting what he's doing, except for maybe the people and mindless dropship bots who print his stuff onto t-shirts.
Like, he's annoying and earnest in cringey ways and kind of hypocritical if you think about it but he's also shown that he's willing to stick to his principles even if it makes things difficult for him and that he genuinely doesn't give a fuck about the establishment. Much more punk rock than Hirst and co.
posted by fight or flight at 2:25 PM on June 12 [2 favorites]
Nah. I eyeroll over Banksy a lot (I quote this tweet on a regular basis) but I have to admit that this museum could not be missing the point harder if it tried. Banksy's appeal is based in part in the way he brings his POV to unexpected places where most artists don't bother to show work. I live near where he did his shopfront installation and it was actually kind of neat to be able to go and see it in this kind of crappy area of London. Sticking his work in a museum and charging $30 a time is probably the absolute worst way of interpreting what he's doing, except for maybe the people and mindless dropship bots who print his stuff onto t-shirts.
Like, he's annoying and earnest in cringey ways and kind of hypocritical if you think about it but he's also shown that he's willing to stick to his principles even if it makes things difficult for him and that he genuinely doesn't give a fuck about the establishment. Much more punk rock than Hirst and co.
posted by fight or flight at 2:25 PM on June 12 [2 favorites]
That is one smol violin, HearHere.
Banksy is protest, Banksy away from street art -- i.e. selling Banksy merch -- is a scam, this is solid grift building on the merch scam. The value of a thing is what you can persuade someone to pay you for it, and while this wouldn't get $30 from me, there's plenty more marks coming along soon.
posted by k3ninho at 4:05 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Banksy is protest, Banksy away from street art -- i.e. selling Banksy merch -- is a scam, this is solid grift building on the merch scam. The value of a thing is what you can persuade someone to pay you for it, and while this wouldn't get $30 from me, there's plenty more marks coming along soon.
posted by k3ninho at 4:05 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
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Vardar seems to think he's all edgy and clever appropriating the art against Banksy's express wishes. Fuck that, $30 for a one hour visit to art you don't have any rights to is gross. IMHO this statement should be the beginning and end of the idea of a commercial Banksy museum: I like Banksy's work. But I hate the way they dominate the public's understanding of street art. There's so much other interesting stuff!
posted by Nelson at 11:22 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]