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Banksy: From 'Civil Sculptor' To Dismaland & Beyond

OK I'm going to say it.

Maybe nobody is saying anything about it cos they've realised it's a load of pretentious rubbish, like pretty much all his other work?

"But don't you get it?"

Yes, yes I do. And it's still rubbish.
 
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OK I'm going to say it.

Maybe nobody is saying anything about it cos they've realised it's a load of pretentious bollocks, like pretty much all his other work?

"But don't you get it?"

Yes, yes I do. And it's still shit.

As I mentioned earlier, he's not my cup of tea either. But I was expecting some news channels to have interviwed the first visitors etc. Has any member of the public actually bought a ticket and gone inside?

Or is it a post-ironic theme park? You queue up, get let in to the ticket office, only to be told that the queue was the exhibition and please don't let anyone else in on the secret.
 
As I mentioned earlier, he's not my cup of tea either. But I was expecting some news channels to have interviwed the first visitors etc. Has any member of the public actually bought a ticket and gone inside?

Or is it a post-ironic theme park? You queue up, get let in to the ticket office, only to be told that the queue was the exhibition and please don't let anyone else in on the secret.

I saw BBC News coverage. Big crowds, people seemed to like it. The guides/stewards wore mouse ears and were suitably dismal/surly.
 
I don't know Carlos, I think the point is that it's meant to be shit and it's only £3 entry for 4,000 people a day so no pretentious 'modern art' students are getting rich on that level. That figure probably just covers the staff wages, the electricity and the ground rent. Unlike Tracy Emin's 'unmade bed' which was perhaps the start of this satire, this is affordable with genuine art works/ instalations that have clearly taken a lot of time and effort to make and again at just £3 a ticket. I wouldn't wet my knickers with excitement going there myself but I also don't think this is just an emperor wearing no clothes moment in modern art ..

Some people will remember that this isn't the first time Banksy has had a pop at Disneyland ... when he was starting to get more famous, he managed to climb over a fence at Disneyland for the wild mountain ride and plant a guatanamo (however it's spelt) bay prisoner, an inflatable prisoner complete with orange robes and hood ...
 
It's not just this, it's the whole idea of a 'dangerous' street artist that has to stay anonymous - wooooooo.

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It's not just this, it's the whole idea of a 'dangerous' street artist that has to stay anonymous - wooooooo.

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I don't think he's making himself out to be a badass ... at the start he had to be "a nony mouse" because he was breaking the law doing what he did like all graffiti artists. I don't hero worship him but I do respect him although if the authorities can (supposedly) find Bin Laden or even corner Assange in an embassy, surely he deserves some credit for somehow retaining his secret identity? .. I expect a large amount of people know now he's more famous so, other than that The Guardian article that showed pictures of 'Robin', a bit chubby with ginger hair and glasses who's meant to be an ex posh school boy, will we ever find out?. Even if Banksy decided to reveal himself to the world tomorrow, no one would believe him amongst the inevitable crowds of people also pretending they are really him. I think that's great. An art work in itself ;) .... who is the man behind the iron mask? ... Maybe he's Andy Kaufman? ..
 
As I mentioned earlier, he's not my cup of tea either. But I was expecting some news channels to have interviwed the first visitors etc. Has any member of the public actually bought a ticket and gone inside?
Yep, a couple of my friends and colleagues have, and they said it was worth the money for what it was. And as for news coverage, this close to the epicentre the amount of coverage is ludicrously excessive. Virtually sod all else got a look in for days. I'm not overly bothered, though.
 
Yep, a couple of my friends and colleagues have, and they said it was worth the money for what it was. And as for news coverage, this close to the epicentre the amount of coverage is ludicrously excessive. Virtually sod all else got a look in for days. I'm not overly bothered, though.
Fair enough. I haven't seen anything on the BBC News app which is my only daily source of UK news.
 
£3 has got to be worth it just to see that giant twisty truck thing.
 
Ever get the feeling that someone might not honour their bid?
 
I doubt she gives a crap to be honest.
 
Dismaland artists have put fake TfL adverts on the tube to protest against arms dealing


From Time Out.

the fake posters are the work of artists from Banky's Dismaland, as part of a guerilla campaign protesting against arms dealing to coincide with the DSEI Arms Fair, which kicks off in London today at the ExCel Centre. Over 1,500 exhibitors are setting up shop at the fair to sell weapons including rifles and tanks and, understandably, some folks aren't too happy about it.

In essence...it says what we're all thinking.
 
Closes this Sunday and has "brought in an extra £20 million" to Weston in the time it's been open. The local chip shop has done good business:

Luke Konsoumis, 48, the manager of Winston’s Fish and Chips on the seafront, said he had been in business for 35 years and had never witnessed so many people visiting the town. He said he was thrilled the park had generated so much business and publicity for the seaside town but admitted he was quite relieved it was coming to an end.

“It’s been manic for the past six weeks and we’re all knackered,” he said. “It’s so great as it’s put us on the map; we’ve had customers from Germany, Italy, America, who’ve come over to the UK just to see it, but I’m quite glad this is the final weekend. I’m completely exhausted.”

More here.
 
I went to Dismaland last weekend. I wasn't really bothered about going but a friend I hadn't seen for while said he was going and I thought standing/sitting in a queue on Weston seafront on a pleasant Sunday drinking beer and catching up with a mate wouldn't be that bad.
And it wasn't. Although we waited 6 hours before we got in and there were hundreds of people behind us who I'm sure got turned away!
There was some interesting stuff, I particularly liked sitting on deckchairs and watching the short films.
Nice atmosphere as well. People were smiling at each other and enjoying the joke/conceit about it all being miserable and there were quite a few kids running around having fun.
There was some thought provoking work, some daft, some unfathomable and all put together rather well. In the end I was glad I went; contrary to the original premise, it was quite a good day out.

P.S. was going to upload some photos to share but it says the file is too big. Does anyone know how to sort this out?
 
Just use some software to downsample a copy of the photos to a smaller size and then try uploading.
You could use free software if you don't have any, such as Paint.net, Pixelformer or Irfanview. Irfanview is good and totally free.

Even better, host them on an external site and just create a link - rather than uploading photos to the FTMB.
I'd love to see your Dismaland photos.
 
If you use an external site, try imgur.com - you don't need to register with them or anything, and the site's fairly clean and easy to navigate. I'd like to see some 'interior' shots too!
 
Dismaland model village comes to London

The Aftermath Dislocation Principle is miniature dystopian future cityscape built to the same scale as many model train sets (1:87) set somewhere in Bedfordshire. About 3,000 miniature police are seen in the immediate aftermath of what seems to have been a huge riot. Housing estates, motorways, cars, a Tesco, and a church all lie burned and looted. It’s a square mile of devastation, desolation and despair. A screen with Theresa May flickers in the corner.
 
Banksy paints Bridge Farm Primary Bristol wall as 'present'
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Street artist Banksy has left a half-term surprise "present" on the walls of a Bristol primary school.
The elusive artist composed the mural at Bridge Farm Primary after it recently named a school house after him.

It was discovered as teachers returned from the half-term break along with a letter saying "it's always easier to get forgiveness than permission".
A spokesman for Banksy confirmed to BBC News that the artwork is genuine.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-36457647

 
Banksy's new venture...
'Worst view in the world': Banksy opens hotel overlooking Bethlehem wall
Exclusive: British artist launches Walled Off hotel in hope of bringing Israeli tourists – and dialogue – to West Bank city

Banksy dismissed worries that security concerns would keep people away, pointing out that he had packed out a “bemusement park” in an unglamorous English seaside town for weeks.

“My accountant was worried some people will be too scared to travel to the West Bank, but then I remind him – for my last show they spent a whole day in Weston-super-Mare.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/03/banksy-opens-bethlehem-barrier-wall-hotel
 
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