Wtf? "Better Out Than In" is a stupid title. Please restore the original title, "Banksy sells original artwork for $60; valued at $750k". It's meaningful.
/me wishes mod edits were logged with their username so they can be held accountable for stupid title edits like this.
explanation for the overzealous mods: better out than in is the title of banksy's residency in new york, not of this specific piece. you've changed an accurate title to an inaccurate one.
If your are all interested in Banksy I'd urge you to watch a film that he accidentally was forced to make about Street Art and himself, well let's say because the original Director...well you will see. It's called Exit Through The Gift Shop, I watched on Netflix.
"I've always been a fan of Banksy's work. Especially the work he did at the dividing wall on both sides in the West Bank and Israel."
And this is why I roll my eyes a little when people deride Banksy (not necessarily on HN - rather in face to face discussions) as boring artistically, politically, or as some kind of a sell-out.
His works use the environment they're placed in to great effect (e.g. Bethlehem), use props (higher risk, more planning required, more interest generated) and are messages rather than trademarks (e.g. King Robbo).
And when someone drops the tired line that he copies others like Blek Le Rat; when you've had a go at making a stencil you quickly realise that you're limited by the medium (stencils can convey only so much detail), thus similarities arise. It's the message that's important, not the piece itself.
>If your are all interested in Banksy I'd urge you to watch a film that he accidentally was forced to make about Street Art and himself...
Maybe. That's the beauty of the movie. While he and the filmmakers insist it's a "real" movie, it could easily have been a hoax. Which belies a deeper meaning.
exit is a great film, i think it paints banksy as an ass, the five minutes of 'life, remote control' was mind blowing, even despite the derision with which it is presented, and to think banksy watched that and thought, 'i have make my own movie because this is trash and i can make a good movie' seems like a narcissistic dick move,
plus the anonymity made sense when it was illegal... but now it plays like a gimmick when people tear down walls of buildings to sell of work attributed to banksy, or the banksy collective,
i agree, though for me, without his west bank work i would completely write the guy off
it is called, Graffiti Wars, and is about Robbo the UKs original tag celebrity, also has a segment about blek le rat who, depending on your loyalties, banksy is an inferior derivative of or who is banksy's muse or mentor or inspiration
I find that much more amazing because you can hear how amazing Joshua Bell is as you walk by. You wouldn't hear it and say "that guy must be faking". It's common for NYC street vendors to sell art that is a copy of a more famous work, and there's no way to tell by looking.
I would like to know where this $750K number is coming from. Generally Banksy originals of this kind are priced closer to low five-figures, but if someone has inside knowledge here please share.
I collect street art as my hobby and Banksy originals are much, much higher than low 5 figures for an original. Usually it's that amount of money for a print edition run of 150/200.
That said it is a supply/demand game and these aren't as intricate or interesting as his other pieces.
Wow if his stand was near MOMA I probably walked right by it yesterday without noticing... I usually just ignore vendors around the park because 99% of the stuff being sold in that area is mass produced crap that has no value but to extract money from tourists.
It's a cool experiment but not altogether surprising right? The provenance of a piece of artwork, and other rare goods, is arguably more important than the art itself. Especially in the case of artwork which is easily reproducible and copied.
If you think that's idiotic then ask yourself if you were given the opportunity to buy the first original Apple 1 or an exact replica, how much more would you be willing to pay over the replica? If the amount is greater than zero, then you're admitting that you're really buying an experience and set of emotional states in addition to a physical good.
"If the amount is greater than zero, then you're admitting that you're really buying an experience and set of emotional states in addition to a physical good."
Absolutely, and I think that's the message being conveyed by Banksy. In a similar project he erected pieces in undisclosed locations throughout the English countryside - their existence only documented in pictures on his website. That way money is removed from the equation while the message remains.
I think, and I am not an expert by far, that this just shows what the market value of those art pieces are when removed from their context. You won't pay more than $30-60 for it unless you are told otherwise by someone of authority - an art critic or a market of affluent and competing buyers motivated by various reasons. There is also the fact that he did it in NY, where $60 is acceptable to many buyers. The sales would have been diffirent in rural Alabama or New Delhi.
and the best part: he doesn't make any mention of identifying characteristics of the "100% authentic" pieces he was selling. He's just given every banksy rip-off a huge boost in credibility, and destroyed the resale market for his own work.
I love it. This is like the Sci Fi novel (Heinlein I think, Lazarus Long) where I learnt that for the bank which issues the money, money really is just paper.
This is from The Tale of The Adopted Daughter, which appears in Time Enough for Love. It's a really beautiful piece and the ending gets me every single time.
I'm a fan of Banksy's work. But a huge part of it's appeal at this point goes beyond a visceral response to the piece and gets wrapped up in social currency. "Come see my stencil art" doesn't really pull like "you see my new Banksy?"
That's actually not even a statement about Bansky, in truth, it's about the way the art world has evolved in general.
It's interesting to compare this to the Joshua Bell (live) 'performance' cited in @mjn's comment (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6544810) considering that Banksy generally makes stencil art. I suppose the performance here was not about the art products at all.
That's revenue. Those large canvases he's selling his 'spray art' on aren't exactly cheap, especially for the larger ones. Also you're going to be paying NYC prices for your food and transportation. But yeah overall, he didn't do too badly.
[+] [-] colanderman|12 years ago|reply
/me wishes mod edits were logged with their username so they can be held accountable for stupid title edits like this.
[+] [-] graeme|12 years ago|reply
The new title makes no sense. I'd be highly likely to simply pass over it.
[+] [-] notatoad|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] seiji|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TheLegace|12 years ago|reply
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0b90YppquE
I've always been a fan of Banksy's work. Especially the work he did at the dividing wall on both sides in the West Bank and Israel.
http://www.stencilrevolution.com/banksy-art-prints/flying-ba...
[+] [-] alwaysinshade|12 years ago|reply
And this is why I roll my eyes a little when people deride Banksy (not necessarily on HN - rather in face to face discussions) as boring artistically, politically, or as some kind of a sell-out.
His works use the environment they're placed in to great effect (e.g. Bethlehem), use props (higher risk, more planning required, more interest generated) and are messages rather than trademarks (e.g. King Robbo).
And when someone drops the tired line that he copies others like Blek Le Rat; when you've had a go at making a stencil you quickly realise that you're limited by the medium (stencils can convey only so much detail), thus similarities arise. It's the message that's important, not the piece itself.
[+] [-] icelancer|12 years ago|reply
Maybe. That's the beauty of the movie. While he and the filmmakers insist it's a "real" movie, it could easily have been a hoax. Which belies a deeper meaning.
[+] [-] guessgame|12 years ago|reply
plus the anonymity made sense when it was illegal... but now it plays like a gimmick when people tear down walls of buildings to sell of work attributed to banksy, or the banksy collective,
i agree, though for me, without his west bank work i would completely write the guy off
this bbc doc is a nice companion piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd2IU1aIe5c
it is called, Graffiti Wars, and is about Robbo the UKs original tag celebrity, also has a segment about blek le rat who, depending on your loyalties, banksy is an inferior derivative of or who is banksy's muse or mentor or inspiration
[+] [-] jackschultz|12 years ago|reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Bell#Washington_Post_exp...
[+] [-] habosa|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] inmygarage|12 years ago|reply
This article puts the value at around 20K pounds: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/banksy-sells-origina...
[+] [-] amvp|12 years ago|reply
This piece which you see sold to 'the lady from New Zeland', seems to be part of a run of 25 pieces and priced at 100k-120k.
[+] [-] tagabek|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] threeseed|12 years ago|reply
That said it is a supply/demand game and these aren't as intricate or interesting as his other pieces.
[+] [-] fennecfoxen|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] NathanKP|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TylerE|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] thomaspaine|12 years ago|reply
If you think that's idiotic then ask yourself if you were given the opportunity to buy the first original Apple 1 or an exact replica, how much more would you be willing to pay over the replica? If the amount is greater than zero, then you're admitting that you're really buying an experience and set of emotional states in addition to a physical good.
[+] [-] jmah|12 years ago|reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positional_good (credit to dbond)
[+] [-] alwaysinshade|12 years ago|reply
Absolutely, and I think that's the message being conveyed by Banksy. In a similar project he erected pieces in undisclosed locations throughout the English countryside - their existence only documented in pictures on his website. That way money is removed from the equation while the message remains.
[+] [-] unhappyhippie|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] elyase|12 years ago|reply
[1] http://blog.priceonomics.com/post/53857118493/is-wine-bullsh...
[+] [-] dbond|12 years ago|reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positional_good
[+] [-] arnoldwh|12 years ago|reply
Wouldn't be surprised to see some stands going up to make money off the "halo effect" here.
[+] [-] tvon|12 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] brianjolney|12 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] fnordfnordfnord|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mattmaroon|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zenmaker|12 years ago|reply
That's actually not even a statement about Bansky, in truth, it's about the way the art world has evolved in general.
[+] [-] georgeoliver|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] GFischer|12 years ago|reply
I'm glad for the buyers.
[+] [-] po|12 years ago|reply