O'Really?

Graffiti artist or blogger?

So I was passing through Bristol the other day, a fine city that has given the world many things. Perhaps one of the best known (apart from the trip-hop and slavery) is the renegade graffiti artist called Banksy who during July and August has an exhibition of work on at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. This show is well worth a visit – take a look at banksy.co.uk and the links below for a taster. A book of Banksy’s work also has plenty of thought provoking content in it, not least, a quote from the artist on where to publish:

“A wall has always been the best place to publish your work.“

To my mind the worlds of graffiti and blogging have much in common. As art forms, they both have a low barrier to entry – all you need is a can of spray paint – or an internet connection. Both blogging and graffiti are often frowned on by The Establishment™. Some of this is probably due to the highly variable quality of blogs and “street art” but when they are done well, they are both worth paying attention too. Last but not least, the Web is like a big public wall where pretty much anyone can scribble, spray and scrawl anything they like, which can be powerful stuff. As one graffiti artist once put it – the can is mightier than the sword – and the Web is mightier than the sword too.

The mighty exhibition Banksy vs. The Museum has been incredibly popular and a huge success, with large queues every day especially at weekends. So if you’re interested in going, get there ship-shape, Bristol fashion and early before it opens at 10am each day and finishes on 31st August 2009.

[Britannia Rules the CCTV above – one of the works from the exhibition by Banksy]

References

1. Banksy (2006) Wall and Piece (isbn:1884137872)
2. Miranda Sawyer (2009) Review of Banksy at Bristol City Museum (The Guardian)
3. Serena Davies (2009) Review of Banksy versus The Museum (The Daily Telegraph)
4. BBC News (2009) In pictures: Banksy’s Bristol Show
5. Ship-shape and Bristol Fashion means “in first class order” according to phrases.org.uk