4 ms·
Not sure we think of Banksy as being particularly subtle. Innovative and impactful, sure - but the message is usually quite clear, no?
by tene80i 5mo ago
Not sure we think of Banksy as being particularly subtle. Innovative and impactful, sure - but the message is usually quite clear, no?
- morkalork 5mo agoIt's always been about as subtle as a sledge hammer
- EGreg 5mo agoHe started with literally graffiti. So sure - not subtle!!
- filoleg 5mo agoNot gonna lie, I am not sure how the choice of medium here (graffiti) has anything to do with how subtle (or not) the message of an art piece is.
- morkalork 5mo agoThere's a well known theory on this exact concept! The Medium is the Message. Or, the very act of defacing a public building is meant to sledge-hammer the artist's work into the viewer's consciousness. Compared to say, some quiet exhibit most people would never encounter.
- econ 5mo agoYou are not supposed to get any attention and you are not supposed to have any say in how the city and the world looks. If you buy the building you still don't get to paint. To deface it would first have to have a face.
- ares623 5mo agoOur first exposure to Banksy was when we were hitting puberty. We probably thought they were subtle back then.
- brewdad 5mo agoNot everyone on HN is still in their 20s.
- usrnm 5mo agoBanksy has been active since the 90s, definitely already famous in the 00s
- foldr 5mo agoAs shown by this savage Charlie Brooker takedown: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/sep/22/arts.visualarts https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/sep/22/arts.v...
- pydry 5mo agoThis reads more puerile and jealous than savage. It's got just the right mix of highbrow disdain, unironic self righteousness and naughty language to titillate the average guardian reader though.
- foldr 5mo agoWell yes, but so does Banksy :) (Also, if you're familiar with Charlie Brooker's output, he's not really a 'highbrow' type. He started out in games journalism.)
- pydry 5mo agoIm familiar with who he is. At the time his claim to fame was coming up with Nathan Barley, which is why I suspected there was more than a little jealousy there. He got more famous and acclaimed since black mirror.
- foldr 5mo agoI get the jealously part, but the highbrow part seems off to me. Brooker has always shown much more interest in distinctly lowbrow art forms such as video games. I don't think he is sneering at Banksy because he thinks we should be looking at the paintings of the Old Masters instead.