Is this a new Banksy? And more to the point does anyone really care?

A comment on Materialism? #artforall ahem!

Don’t get me wrong…. I am not a Banksy hater (I even sold a Banksy for 1p in a previous life) but he also isn’t the most popular with some people such as Robbo and many people think he just ripped Blek le Rat. While the film he released called Exit Through the Gift Shop featuring Thierry Guetta was interesting and nicely put together, it also cheapened the Street Art idea because Mister Brainwash managed to put on this frankly ridiculously huge exhibition and sell pieces for thousands of $$ without actually really being an artist.  It also gave a poor impression of the American art buying public who were just mindlessly bidding for pieces, some of which they had barely seen let alone tried to understand the piece.

I am not for one minute claiming to be an art aficianado, far from it, I just like pretty things and I like what I like, just merely posing the question…. Is Banksy relevant and credible anymore?

Spotted at foreignstudents.com

 

Neil Buchanan is following me on Twitter

Prison Chic

I have a weird and maybe wonderful and almost certainly disturbing fixation with prisons, in particular American ones, I Sky+ America’s Toughest Jails and am intrigued by the tribal mentality driven by gangs and racism born out of a need to survive. I also find these tattooed, toned inmates pretty damn hot too

 

Prison love

I am also interested in how prisons try to rehabilitate rather than just punish, I think the vast majority of prisoners have the capacity to change with the exceptions of the clinically insane murderers.

 

Unhinged? Nah... misunderstood

I have a friend in jail for making a stupid mistake and while he has been in there (3 years) he has knocked the drugs on the head, got fit in the gym, done an accounting course is learning Mandarin and read more books than he can name. This is not always the case and not all prisoners will take the opportunities.

In Eastern Europe a company called Heavy Eco have come up with a great way to harness the latent talent within these institutions , potentially awakening a talent and then donating 50% of the profits to Estonia’s poor and needy. The inmates get paid a small amount and it also means they are repaying their debt to society.

The tshirts sell across Europe and while I would not personally be seen in one even if it meant saving myself from the firing squad on death row in Alabama, I can imagine them doing a roaring trade in Clapham and Balham. Anything that is benefiting chaaardiy is a good thing after all.

I love doodles and I love tattoos… so

So would the two combined make for a great long term
statement, I am not sure but if it was this one then it is yes…

Doodle raaaaa tat

David Shringley held a live art session at ANDFestival or Abandon Normal
Devices for those in the know, punters could have one of his exclusive doodles
scribbled on their arm, then if they wanted to they could get it tattooed on
over the road so it was there forever. Xx was not convinced it was a great idea
but there are far shitter tattoos you could have

David Shrigley was at the ANDFestival which is a regional
event to show new cinema and digital channels. David is part of a trio who have
created Pass me the Spoon on now in Glasgow. It is an opera about food and features
someone getting eaten…looks good but bit far for your friendly scribe to
travel to right now

Dazed

(Fashion + Art) x Charity = Sales + Feel Good Factor

How do brands communicate with their target consumer in a cool and relevant way? Well it has to be music, preferably new music. Or it has to be art, preferably Street or Graf. How about fashion, maybe through sport. All of these are tried and tested or some might say a little staid

To get cut through in an ever more suspicious and marketing savvy world, adding a touch of ‘Charidy’ is the perfect way to gain cut through with media sick and tired of PR jobs and consumers who want to have something cool whilst feeling all warm and fuzzy inside

Arty shoes

US based shoemakers Bucketfeet have created a fashionable product in a simple plimsoll with the art work of global artists then added a dash of feel good by donating 5% from each sale to partner charities, kid’s charities, kid’s charities that enable art, music and sport. Ta-daaaa Bucketfeet you are smashing it, all bases pretty much covered.

Consumers are also attracted to the idea of having a piece of artwork rather than a mass produced piece of design, getting artists involved who’s primary concern is all about the art, adds an additional level of attractiveness for me

I’ll challenge anyone to manage to make Crocs look anything like shoes for twats though….

This is id-iom

True say

Friends of StandardFact, top boys and great artists. I have one of their pieces hanging in my WC. I give you id-iom. en-joy

Do-you-doodle-do-you?

I am a serial doodler, always have been, at school my books were covered in weird interpretations of cartoon characters like Bart Simpson or Mickey Mouse smoking ‘jazz fags’ or of my own versions of trainers and baseball caps, every now and again just random scribbles with bits coloured in, then there was the period of time practising my signature as if I might have to sign my autograph for screaming fans.

To doodle or not to doodle...

At school teachers were never a fan as they assumed it meant you were not listening, which back then was possibly a little bit true if it was Mrs. Highton in R.E.

Sunni Brown is a big fan of the doodle and had this to say in her TED talk recently. Sunni is a smart cookie and if she says it is ok for me to doodle ridiculous nothing-ness to order my thoughts and bring out a better solution, then it is good enough for me

In the working world I doodle, especially during creative sessions as it helps me build on ideas and thoughts, add to other peoples comments and also keep a track on an idea whilst other people are speaking, sometimes it helps me illustrate what I am thinking

Saying that I do think that it can be a slightly different situation when you are taking a brief or in a client meeting, in which case it does look like you are thinking about what you are going to do on the weekend when you get away from said client and the attempts to raise awareness around a biscuit which has all the taste and nutritional value of a dinner party at Pete Doherty’s