Robert Del Naja, the front-man for the band Massive Attack, has been trending on social media lately. Del Naja is thought by some to be the elusive British artist/activist, Banksy. It seems Massive Attack’s tour dates have coincided with Banksy’s artwork showing up in major cities around the world. This has been tracked over a period of years, by those wanting to out the mystery artist. Del Naja has denied the rumours saying, “We are all Banksy.”
I love the notion that Banksy may in fact be a group of artists led by the leader of a well-known Band; that there could be a global movement afoot to inspire or infuriate the masses (depending on whether you are the oppressed or the oppressor). Spray cans instead of guns. A guerrilla arts movement, a lightning rod for the modern era usage of the age old adage, made famous almost 200 years ago by Playwright & Poet Edward Bulwer-Lytton:
“The pen is mightier than the sword…”
Even Edward was reinventing a cliché that had been quoted by other writers 2 or 3 hundred years prior. His version resonates in our collective consciousness, however.
My personal mantras of “art saves lives,” and “join the arts army” have never wavered after years of work in community arts programming, travel to the third world, teaching and social work. Yes I may have said it with a wink and a laugh, but always with passion; always with knowing.
Do we really want the true identity of this zeitgeist revealed? What is the end game for those invested in doing so? Why does it matter? Money, of course.
Those who win the wars write the history books. Artists document cultures and movements; they reveal the details and nuances of their time; of what was (before all was lost). These are strange times, indeed. Art (in all mediums) is being stolen with impunity; copyright is becoming a faded white flag. Corporations are gobbling (or googling) up the rights and ownership of artists’ creative output.
There is a pervasive belief that artists should not be able to make a living off their work. It is stolen, and being appropriated for god knows what, and artists are always being asked to exhibit/perform etc. for free, for “exposure.” This is especially true in the electronic age, where those that steal from artists, feel entitled to do so.
Your lawyer or mechanic would choke at the notion of working for “exposure.” Most artists have to work day jobs and live in the ‘real’ world while they practice their craft, be it music, theatre, art, poetry, film, etc. Here we have Banksy, an artist (or artists) creating art for the public for free. It is visceral social commentary, and brilliantly subversive. It’s satirical, dark and goes against the status quo. It makes one think, feel and question, which is what art should do. Concerned celebrities, greedy collectors and even cash strapped municipal officials are fighting for ownership over walls containing Banksy’s art, pieces that are being excavated, pulled apart and drilled for auction. Let the winning bidder figure out the logistics and legalities.
Public art is meant to remain public.
Knowing our fickle and media-savage society, Banksy, once identified, will be hunted down and sued for millions for property damage, and possibly even vilified or jailed as an enemy of state. Then we can all mourn him (or the movement), dead and martyred while we wring our hands over the tragic loss of yet another underground urban hero.
Banksy calls the sales of his work in galleries and auction houses unauthorized and refuses to sell originals. He pokes fun at one unauthorized retrospective with a website image, mocking Sotheby’s and depicting clients bidding on the framed words, “I can’t believe you morons actually buy this shit.” Two such morons spend thousands on a couple of prints. He’s cagey about authenticating original art acquired through auction and third party sales, citing his probable intoxication in the creative process.
Yes, Banksy is likely worth millions based on sales made earlier in his career (and the 4% allowed to artists on resale value). This money allows him to create projects like Dismaland, and to decide where and when, and with what, he will do anonymously.
Meanwhile those he ridicules, eat it up. Free becomes a commodity – from the glamour of Sotheby’s, to the seedy New York neighbourhood where local thugs charge camera-happy tourists $20 to $60 to remove the cardboard covering a Banksy stencil on a decrepit wall. Steal it and deal it. Right off the wall…bricks or bytes.
We are all Banksy: artists, poets, musicians & performers. We are activists, explorers, dreamers & idealists. We are the arts army. No need to have scientists analyze Banksy’s work to reveal an identity. It’s far more interesting to ponder who is paying for this investigation into Banksy, and why?
No one is able to articulate the moral decay, spiritual vacuum, greed and foolishness of our times better than the artist/artists (soon to be formerly?) known as Banksy.
#Guerilla art #urban art #banksy #artists’ rights #graffiti #street art #copyright #massive attack
A Voice from the Arts Army We are all Banksy…