Banksy
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Banksy's 'Girl with Balloon' was meant to be shredded completely
Banksy's latest performance piece -- which saw him remotely shred his $1.1 million Girl with Balloon canvas seconds after it sold at auction -- captivated the world. What was he trying to say? What did it all mean? Was this a comment on capitalism? On the fickle nature of the art world? The essential meaninglessness of life as we know it? Hard to say, although we do know that the half-shredded canvas is now worth considerably more as a result of the stunt. However, it seems that the trick went wrong –- the canvas was supposed to be destroyed entirely.
Banksy painting uses hidden shredder to destroy itself after auction
Banksy just delivered a masterclass in using technology to both create and comment on art. The mysterious artist hid a shredder in the frame for his 2006 painting Girl With Red Balloon, and when it was sold at auction for £1,042,000 (about $1.4 million)... you can probably guess what happened next. The moment the gavel came down to close bidding, the painting largely destroyed itself. Banksy didn't say much about the tech involved in a brief clip, but he clearly had a remote trigger to cut his work into ribbons.
Researchers use criminal profiling to unmask Banksy
Researchers have turned to profiling techniques often used on criminals in an attempt to confirm the identity of London street artist Banksy. The team from Queen Mary University of London believes its geographic mapping technique, combined with statistical analysis, helps prove the artist is a man named Robin Gunningham. The theory that Gunningham and Banksy are one and the same was first put foward by the Daily Mail in 2008. According to the research paper, comparing the known homes or frequented places of Gunningham with art locations around London "support[s] his identification as Banksy."
Banksy's latest works tackle technology, surveillance and our crumbling humanity
They say that the best art imitates life, and let's be honest, our lives are increasingly controlled by technology. After tackling war, human rights and censorship, legendary and anonymous street artist Banksy is now turning his critical eye on our digital existence -- and not surprisingly his view is bleak. Two pieces, one confirmed and one suspected, from faceless man who uses the streets of urban Earth as his canvas cropped up in the UK this week. The location of the first and confirmed piece has yet to be identified, but photographs of it have appeared on Banksy's website. It depicts two lovers in an embrace against a darkened doorway. But rather than looking lovingly into each others eyes, the man and woman are glued to their smartphones, the screens casting an inhuman glow over their faces.
Put a Banksy on your Mac
Banksy is an urban artist who graffitis buildings and structures, mainly in the UK. Most of his graffiti art has a social commentary aspect to it and his artwork has become both sought after and valuable. For those of you who are fans of his work, The Custom Vinyl Shop now offers a selection of Banksy vinyl decals to put on your MacBook, which will either show your appreciation for art or make you look like a desperate urban hipster. I once lived in a flat in London that had a Banksy graffitied onto its outside wall. From time to time it crossed my mind to go out in the middle of the night with a chisel and jackhammer and remove the portion of the flat's wall the Banksy was on and put it up on eBay but, alas, I figured I'd probably just get caught (and a few weeks later the owner of the house had covered the artwork in plexiglass). Oh well, I still might not be able to have an original, but now at least I can put a Banksy on my MacBook.
