Banksy: Punk Enough?

Yes. Many in the art world regard him as a joke, nuisance or a vandal. Well they probably got the vandal part right. Society today is spattered with musicians and other artists that are on the edge that will probably never go mainstream but if they do we will still support them. Two that come straight to mind are Gogol Bordello and Henry Rollins. They are doing what they love for the love of it. How many bands have official after-party lists that sell that many records?

John Waters had this as a theme at his talk at Coachella this past weekend. His point was that many of the fringe artists that he grew up with and worked along side would now be able to flourish in today’s connected society. This only gets better over time. If some magic is happening at a punk show in Rhode Island it is on YouTube that night. Yes, there is a lot of schlock out there but if you dig seep enough you can get to the good stuff.

On that note Banksy was in SF and I feel privileged to have finally seen his work up close. The work that he does incorporates it’s surroundings and speaks volumes that it is one block from Bank of America’s headquarters. Among my favorites is his work done in the Gaza Strip. Children floating with balloons or paradise just on the other side of the 20ft concrete wall. He is willing to put his life on the line for his art. How many can say the same?

Comments

[Anonymous]

Total radness

[DMZ]

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/042310ascap/view" rel="nofollow">Stay hungry as our good friend Joe would say.

[Penemue]

basquiat was just a junkie only admired by a few proto-hipsters in greenwich village until warhol found him squatting around a bunch of spray paint cans that he alternated between tagging and huffing...