There’s no denying that the Occupy movement has been inspiring people across the globe, and in many cases, that inspiration is being expressed artistically. Not that we find this the least bit surprising — art and activism have always gone hand in hand. In New York City, the Smithsonian and the New York Historical Society, aware that they have a phenomenon on their hands, have been gathering artifacts from the protest all along, with an eye towards future exhibitions. Even with the art-world spin-off Occupy Museums, meant to get “people to think about who museums serve, and calling the art world out on its elitism and its abuse of labor,” the artistic community has been very supportive of the movement. Here we have collected twenty artworks, from drawings to posters to sculptures to puppets from artists both well known (Banksy, Shepard Fairey) and anonymous. Some of these, like the propaganda posters and stamped dollars, are meant to further the Occupy movement’s cause directly, while others are just artistic visions or ways to capture the humanity of what’s going on in the world right now. Click through to check out twenty pieces of art about Occupy Wall Street, and let us know what you think in the comments.
Rich Uncle Pennybags — yes, that is the Monopoly guy’s real name — doesn’t seem so happy in the photo above, perhaps because his bank is floundering and he needs some bailout money to fill his top hat. The sculpture, which has been attributed to Banksy (who apparently won’t even show his face to radicals), is a gift to Occupy London. While we love both the idea and the execution, we admit to wishing Banksy had included some cards, money, and supersize dice so occupier could actually play the game. [via World of Wonder]
Our recent author-on-author, filmmaker-on-filmmaker and musician-on-musician insults have proved that creative folk are only human, and occasionally enjoy a good rip on their industry compatriots. Artists are no different, albeit they do it a bit differently. What they lack in media exposure, they make up in specifics, attacking “sickly” lines and “filthy” shades or, like Salvador Dalí, outright making up verbs like “outuglying” to drive their insults. Naturally, a good portion of these revolve around artists cutting down each others’ relevancy — yesterday’s Renaissance “daubers” are today’s graffiti “toys.” Looks like the battle of egos will never go away. (Oh, good!) Here are 30 harshest historical and contemporary artist-on-artists insults. We’d love to hear yours in the comments.
Last year, secretive British street artist and growing, if elusive, media presence Banksy expanded his territory with the meta-documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, and now it seems, he’s decided to start spreading the gospel via television. He has produced an hour long special on Chanel 4 in the UK entitled “The Antics Roadshow” which is being billed as “Banksy’s incomplete guide to total anarchy… charting the history of behaving badly in public, from anarchists and activists to attention seeking eccentrics.” (Is it just us, or does this sound like a classier, art-world version of Jackass?) ”Basically,” the artist said, “I just thought it was a good name for a TV programme and I’ve been working back from there.” Well, we can’t argue there. There is no word on when we might be able to see the special in the US, but considering Banksy’s international appeal and popularity, we figure it won’t be too long.
“Sell out!” Such a subjective yet indicting little term, isn’t it? For most artists or film auteurs, lending their skills and image to commercial causes is… risky. It could mean image suicide! Scorned fans! Mocking scoffs! Yet, sometimes, it works out awesomely. Sometimes, the final results of these commissions are so nifty, so shameless, or just so perplexing, that they’re fairly un-mockable and even praiseworthy. From Banksy’s dark intro to The Simpsons to David Lynch’s Playstation commercial, here are some notable recent-ish instances of cultural figures selling out, psyching out their clients, or just making us go “aw.” Who’d we miss?
While we’re going to go out on a limb and say that this silly Banksy piece inspired by the ongoing News of the World phone hacking scandal won’t be as iconic as creations like Bombing Middle England or Balloon Girl, it did give us a good chuckle. Anyone know where we kind find it in real life? [via TWBE]
Graffiti may have been around for decades, but thanks to artists like Banksy and Swoon, street art has achieved new cultural significance — which means that, for many of us, some of the most stunning works of modern art are just around the corner. Of course, the city is a big place, so unless you spend your days wandering the back-roads and alleys, it’s easy to miss some of your local street-art masterpieces. That’s why we’ve teamed with Havaianas to create an extremely handy guide to a selection of the amazing artwork in NYC, LA, and Miami that doesn’t need a museum to shine — inspired by the brand’s new limited-edition Graffiti sandals. Check out a gallery of images from the guide here, then click through for the whole thing, including printable maps.
With Banksy, a photo series by Baltimore-based conceptual artist Julia Kim Smith, imagines what it would be like to share a home with the world’s most famous anonymous street artist. Donning his signature black hoodie, a domesticated “Banksy” reads a cereal box in the kitchen, flips through the latest issue of Juxtapoz in the living room, and even ventures outdoors to properly dispose of his aerosol can arsenal — all alongside of Smith, who’s busy doing household chores. Click through to check out a collection of the amusing images.
Visual culture compulsively self-regurgitates itself… In other words, everything is a remix. We’ve rounded up the most déjà vu-inspiring works from contemporary artists who have painted, sculpted and shot homages to their predecessors. From Banksy’s Warhol to Ron English’s double Magritte to something other than a shark pickled in formaldehyde in David Černý’s Damien Hirst redux, here are some adoring tributes, biting rebuttals and unsettling homages to art history’s greatest and most famous. Partially NSFW!
