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Urbane Art: Graffiti Graphics
Related to country: United Kingdom

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I'm a little fascinated by Street Art, mostly in theory. I don't know if it really blows me away, but when I took the train into Rome, some of the most brilliant, soulful colors I've seen appeared on tunnel ramps and in an underground sk8ter area of London's South Bank (the pic I took of it appears at right).

Mostly in the article below, I really like the part about Banksy and his "guerilla art" appearing in prestigious museums.
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Banksy's London, written by Jeff Marlow

In an art world full of self-promoters and charlatans, Banksy has made a name for himself by remaining elusive. Depending on who's telling the story, he's short, tall, thin, heavy, bearded, clean-shaven, right-handed, left-handed, or maybe even ambidextrous. No one knows where or when he will strike next. What is known is that he has transformed London; with the city as his canvas, Banksy has created art of the street and for the street, using graphic images and amusing juxtapositions to generate accessible, thought-provoking morsel s of urban wit....

A walking tour of Banksy's spray-paint masterpieces in the English capital is an art tour unlike any other. The city frames the art, to be sure, but the art also frames the city, highlighting cultural trends and political attitudes of several hip North-side neighborhoods. Just north of Victoria Park, a stenciled classical master paints his own graffiti while restrained by a dollar-sign-emblazoned ball and chain, a critique on the art establishment's capitalistic manacles. Farther to the west, in the working class neighborhood of Bethnal Green, an idle workman's flower painting sprouts from the street's double yellow lines, using symbols of urban life to whimsically portray nature. It is a flash of beauty amid gritty low-rent apartment buildings with balconies framed by withered potted plants....

Though in essence a street artist, a Banksy-centered tour of London wouldn't be complete without stops at the Natural History Museum (where he covertly installed a stuffed rat holding a microphone in the dinosaur exhibit hall), the British Museum (where he secretly hung a piece of cave art depicting a man pushing a shopping cart), and the regal auction houses of Bond Street (where one of his canvas works recently sold for over $200,000). Banksy is a rarity in the art world: a subversive leader of the underground who has successfully entered the public consciousness....

London is home to some of the most respected art museums in the world, but a tour of Banksy's street art does something no gallery can, showcasing unique parts of the city while introducing viewers to cultural trends of the neighborhood. After scouring the streets for the world's most famous graffiti, your view of London will never be the same.

(For full story, please visit http://everywheremag.com/articles/551)

July 6, 2008 | 1:56 PM Comments  0 comments

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