Banksy at the Oscars: Anonymity and Fame Collide

“The last time there was a naked man covered in gold paint in my house it was me.” Banksy

Britain’s enigmatic street artist Bansky is up for an academy award for the film, Exit Through The Gift Shop, a documentary featuring among others, street art stars Banksy and Shepard Fairey.

If we are to accept the premise of the film (and with a prankster like Banksy we are not  entirely certain that we can) it came about when the obsessive filming of street artists by eccentric Frenchman Thierry Guetta looked destined to remain in the form of stockpiled unlabeled video in unmarked tubs.

Banksy as he appears in the film concealing his identity with a dark hoodie.

Banksy took over the film project encouraging Guetta to have his own art show. Changing his name to “Mr. Brainwash” Guette then attempts to mimic Banksy’s successful crossover into the highly lucrative art world of Los Angeles. Guette becomes an overnight sensation with a wildly successful massive show featuring dubious Warhol/Banksy style works. Says Banksy, the resulting film documents “the story of how one man set out to film the unfilmable - and failed”. The Los Angeles Times calls the film, "subversive, provocative and unexpected... a hall of mirrors as unsettling as anything Lewis Carroll's Alice ever experienced".

Girl Shooting Crayons, Banksy, Los Angeles, 2011

How does Bansky, an artist who insists on anonymity even attend the Academy Awards, the epitome of glitz and celebrity? The Academy has refused his request to attend in disguise. Says the Academy’s executive director Bruce Davis, “The fun but disquieting scenario is that if the film wins and five guys in monkey masks come to the stage all saying, ‘I’m Banksy,’ who the hell do we give it to?” None the less Banksy seems to be lobbying for his film by doing what he does best, paying nighttime visitations to the blank walls and billboards of Hollywood.

References: The Guardian UK, New York Times

Previous posts featuring Banksy and Shepard Fairey:

Shepard Fairey: Political Art and the Politics of Appropriation

Banksy: O Little Town of Bethlehem

O Little Town of Bethlehem

 

West Bank Occupied Territory, Graffiti Art, Banksy, 2005

At Christmas time Christian pilgrims from all over the world visit Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. Over the years this has been an economic boon for the small Palestinian town however during the dark times of the second intifada tourism drastically declined. That is when Israel built a 26 foot high concrete and razor wire wall right through the heart of Bethlehem. They call it a security wall. The residents of Bethlehem call it a prison and a land grab as it encroached into their traditionally held land placing them between two blockades and an impenetrable wall.

West Bank Occupied Territory, Graffiti Art, Banksy, 2005

In 2005 British graffiti artist Banksy (who remains incognito but is suspected to be one Robert Banks) launched a massive graffiti project hoping to focus attention on the plight of Bethlehem's residents. Of the wall he said, "It's the world's largest blank canvas and my hope is that with a few cans of spray paint we can turn it into the world's largest piece of art but more importantly the world's most short lived." He also hoped to encourage the return of tourism, "It would do good if more people came to see the situation here for themselves. If it is safe enough for a bunch of sissy artists then it's safe enough for anyone."

 West Bank Occupied Territory, Graffiti Art, Banksy, 2005

He may have been at least partly successful in that as of 2010 tourism in Bethlehem has greatly improved yet the residents of Bethlehem complain that visitors are whisked in and out of the partitioned town leaving little of their trade with local shops and restaurants. Catholic cleric and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fuad Twal, requests prayers for peace saying, "This land will deserve to be called holy when she breathes freedom, justice, peace and security."

 Alvaro Barrientos, Photo

Church of the Nativity Grotto, Bethlehem, West Bank Occupied Territory