Does Banksy ring a (meditation) bell? “We caught the Banksy exhibit when we were in Chi.” read my electric text. “Who’s Banksy?” was my fairly well-read sister’s reply. Huh. Slightly surprised me’s re: “Banksy the mystery graffiti artist guy? Which was my quick take on Banksy the internationally known (or so I thought), identity un-known UK-based artist who has been creating controversy on the walls of the world, both inside and out, for over 20 years. StartIng out as an illegal graffiti artist like Jean-Michael Basquait, within the space of a decade Banksy went from making his mark around his Bristol home to self-staging some of the most left-field, anarchic, press worthy, politically motivated and publicly engaging exhibitions that have ever been seen in Europe and abroad. When we saw the drippy, spray painted Art of Banksy billboard this summer the show made our radar. Then seeing it again Monday inspired a last-minute score of an online ticket to the 4pm show, an exhibit it appears is only opening stateside in Chicago and San Francisco, with the Chi installation heading West pre-Halloween.
Ergo we were happy to catch it, as i gunned and weaved through traffic to find a spot on South State Street for Roz Grrl my dog to chilliax in the car for a half-hour, just making the 4:30 cut-off entry time. This was a bit of a big deal to us, for a few reasons: first, once upon a time, I really enjoyed writing articles about things like artists and art exhibits. Prior to founding The Higher Haven, I’d grown - or rather didn’t grow- so tired of allowing my personal creative self-expression to being limited to writing advertising, feeling whatever little skill i had being wasted on hocking schwag to mankind, that i started an entire blog to focus more on spiritual writing and storytelling. I filled that blog and myself up for five years writing stories, and the Banksy exhibit brought some of that back. Before The Higher Haven blog was a marketing channel and a platform for recent visitor’s testimonials, there wasn’t much to to testify about, and so we worked at engaging people in different ways. i was reminded of a similar story and art show in New York City tens years back, when i played a self-directed part in artist Terence Koh’s Nothingtoodo. Loving artists and art, we’re of the belief that there’s a direct link between the level of one’s creative self-expression and one’s individual self-esteem, a vibe that’s a major element in the equation for healing at The Higher Haven.
Back to Banksy, the origins of the artist’s popularity undoubtedly sprung from the illegal artworks he produced on the streets. Banksy’s distinctive stencil aesthetic combined with humorous and satirical subject matters proved a memorable combination for passers-by. The Art of Banksy exhibition consists of some of the finest privately owned artworks from the artist’s career. The pieces of display were originally purchased by individuals from Banksy himself. The common thread that links these works was that the owners want to share them with the public rather than the works gathering dust in their house or in storage, believing these works should be seen. Of course they clarify that - not surprisingly - Banksy himself has given no acknowledgement of this exhibition, nor does he endorse or authorize it in any way. Also none of the works were taken from the street.
“Nobody listened to me until they didn’t know who I was”, said Banksy, a quote spotlighted on the darkened exhibit wall, and one I find funny in light of my media-savvy sister being unaware of him. He also said, “Think outside the box, collapse the box then take a sharp knife to it”, “In the future everyone will be anonymous for 15 minutes” (the Banksy spin on the old Warhol quote), and interestingly, “There is nothing more dangerous than someone who wants to make the world a better place.” Interesting because that seems to be Banksy himself, who has used his work to support worthwhile causes like deforestation in collaboration with Greenpeace. He also has what seems a pretty grounded take on the art world, calling it “the biggest joke going, a rest home for the overprivileged, the pretentious and the weak.” He followed through by releasing hundreds of rats at one gallery opening, and at another exhibited a live elephant painted the same color as the room’s wallpaper highlighting the proverbial Elephant in the Room, or problems we never talk about. “1.7 million people have no access to clean drinking water. 20 Billion people live below the poverty line. Every day people are made to feel physically sick by morons at art shows telling them how bad the world is but never actually doing anything about it. Anybody want a free glass of wine?”
My sister got right on it and sent breaking news on Banksy right back. A painting that he purposely shredded during a previous auction sold Thursday to an anonymous Asian collector for $25.4 million at Sotheby’s in London, setting a new record for the artist at auction. Banksy famously pranked the art world three years ago when he hid a remote controlled paper shredder in the gilt frame of one his paintings so it could self-destruct right after Sotheby’s auctioned it off. The shredder malfunctioned halfway through, leaving the bottom of the stenciled canvas dangling in crimped strips as collectors gasped and lined up for a closer glimpse. The artist soon went on social media and took credit for the stunt. And now, the anonymous buyer of that $1.4 million work has had the last laugh, selling the ribboned piece on Thursday for 18 times as much. How might Banksy’s art convey his next take on the truth? That remains to be seen - or unseen - but it could go in any possible direction, as the one truth, per my teacher John Ashbrook, “manifests in a million different facets.”
