[Kreuzberger]

I'll tell you what Kreuzberger thinks.

Banksy is one on the world's highest grossing living and important artists because he can communicate complex, multi-dimensional stories in a way which which otherwise politically apathetic U35s can now engage. To see the public at a Banksy exhibition is a joy to behold, and it is also a confirmation of the power of yoof to see them get it and to see the coffin-dodgers whither, open-mouthed, like a freshly-netted tench.

Verdi: "someone ban this sick filth."
Picasso: "my seven year-old can draw doves."
The Clash: "get thee in the shower."
Damien Hirst: "anyone can pickle a shark."
Missy Elliot: "Woman, wha?"
Stormzy: "Uppity..."

When the paramedics turn, remove their gloves, purse their lips, and offer a sympathetic half-smile before my silently stiffening corpse, then you'll know that I might just have given up on expressive, performative, cut-through art which will kick your complacent arse, soon as look at you.

Wear a fucking mask.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Don't agree. There's nothing complex or challenging in Banksy's concepts. It's simple, mundane stuff which has impressed a certain highly impressable section of society.
I'd rate it against a political cartoon - not Low.

[Kreuzberger]

Don't agree. There's nothing complex or challenging in Banksy's concepts. It's simple, mundane stuff which has impressed a certain highly impressable section of society.
I'd rate it against a political cartoon - not Low.

He distils and simplifies, therein lies both the beauty and the accessibility of his work. Again, Verdi, the Clash, Stormzy, and, to add Hockney for the way that he strips the taboo of homosexuality. It's all about omelettes and eggs.

Meanwhile, this story remains, after several hours, top of the BBC news site.

[mr angry manchester]

Emporers new clothes syndrome. One of those things its "in" to like, even if its not very good.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

I think he just simplifies what are already pretty simple ideas.
And simplicity is not, per se, a virtue.

[mr angry manchester]

I think he just simplifies what are already pretty simple ideas.
And simplicity is not, per se, a virtue.

Pretty much what The Daily Star also does really

[Kreuzberger]

Banksy is hardly a new phenomenon. He has been with us for thirty years, @mr angry manchester .

And, yes, @Malcolm Armsteen, that really is the point. Art to which "normal" people can relate is seldom transformative and that, I'd suggest, is why Banksy produces so few pieces on such a grand scale and which garner so much cut-through. These are always statements which are made in times of crisis.

The rats are back. We are invited to consider who they really are.

It is perfectly OK to discuss the artistic merits of both the technique and the choice of setting, (unless you own a Brian Adams record or have the Haywain hanging above a repro Edwardian fireplace) but the social phenomenon of spontaneous public protest art is difficult to dismiss as mere criminality. It is also complicit to do so.

The renaissance Tuscans had a word for this genre.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

I get all that, and I agree. I just think Banksy is a bit of blunt instrument.

[mr angry manchester]

Fair enough, each to their own. You like him, I think he's a tit who writes on walls. I'm simplifying a concept now, does that make me Banksy like?

[Kreuzberger]

I get all that, and I agree. I just think Banksy is a bit of blunt instrument.

Agreed, he is a blunt instrument. My point is that Verdi, Picasso, The Clash et al, were also blunt to the point of delivering a black eye. This brusque, simplistic delivery is what the right have relearnt after their bitter defeats of the 1940s. No one needs to be reminded that the war was not about the unfolding and very real Holocaust, rather self-preservation.

Collectively, we are failing to counter this narrative. Banksy, on the other hand, is invading public spaces with delicious technique to at least offer some semblance of challenge.

Blunt works.

[The Red Arrow]

My mate Quentin quite likes Banksy. Reckons Hockney's just Beryl Cook for the gullible, mind.

[Cyclist]

Elon Musk seems to feature in here quite a bit for some reason...

Egypt has invited billionaire Elon Musk to visit the country and see for himself that its famous pyramids were not built by aliens.

The SpaceX boss had tweeted what appeared to be support for conspiracy theorists who say aliens were involved in the colossal construction effort.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-africa-53627888

[Oblomov]

I probably should've posted Charlie Mullins in here. Or cunt of the day.

Problem is his Venn diagram for that is just a circle.

[Samanfur]

You were watching Channel 4 News as well, then?

[Oblomov]

I was aye, it's superior to BBC News I find. And at a slightly more convenient time so I can pack away the work laptop, go for a walk and properly partition my downtime.