Banksy throws London stencil party
By Raphael G. Satter | Graffiti impresario Banksy and airbrush-wielding guerrilla artists blanketed the walls of an abandoned London tunnel with offbeat murals as part of a three-day stencil-art street party this weekend.Banksy marshaled more than three dozen international artists for what he’s calling the “Cans Festival” — and is encouraging visitors to contribute their own graffiti starting Saturday.
“I’m hoping we can transform a dark forgotten filth pit into an oasis of beautiful art — in a dark forgotten filth pit,” Banksy was quoted as saying in the Times of London, which carried a preview of the exhibition Friday.
Festival spokeswoman Jo Brooks said work will be featured from 40 international artists and collectives, which sport names such as Bandit, Schhh, Pure Evil and Orticancvoodles.
Among Banksy’s pieces are security cameras growing from a tree, a hooded figure cutting itself with a knife and a worker spraying over ancient cave drawings. Other work includes an image of the pope pushing down his fluttering robes in an imitation of Marilyn Monroe by Norwegian artist Dolk.
Armed with aerosol cans and paint rollers, artists were still touching up the walls of the damp archway tunnel Friday.
Unlike many of Banksy’s previous stunts, the exhibition was approved by Eurostar, which manages the site under its old train platform at Waterloo Station.
It’s a sign of how far the artist — who has refused to give his real name — has come since he began his graffiti career in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of his work had a wickedly ironic and strongly anti-authoritarian bent. (His graffiti of two uniformed policemen locked in a passionate kiss is a longtime favorite.)
But although his identity has never been fully confirmed, critical success has made him something of an establishment figure. Banksy’s work commands hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are among his fans.
The event, which is free, will be held in the tunnel Saturday through Monday.
See More:Art UK NewsHave Your Say: Banksy throws London stencil party
Please note, only selected comments will be published.
Or discuss this report in our our new forums
This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 7:58 pm and is filed under Activism News, General, Culture . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Free Newsletter
Loading ...Related News
- Guerilla art protest against ’surveillance society’
- Street cleaners prepare to blast Banksy away
- We Are Bad – Bronze Graffiti
- Spies to bug our baked beans
- WITNESSES PICK OUT FIAT DRIVER IN DIANA CRASH
Email This Page To A Friend
Latest Headlines
- Officers routinely lied to obtain search warrants
- Will the Mortgage Industry Pay for Its Crimes?
- Judge May Make CIA Torture Memo Public
- Roots of surveillance standoff go back decades
- U.S. deploys more than 43,000 unfit for combat
- UN suspends aid flights after Burma impounds food
- BBC kept £106,000 of charity cash
- Peak Food: Blaming the Victims
- The Challenge Of Modern Slavery
- Ex-MI5 chief warns over detention
More Breaking News
Archive
