Banky’s documentary film “Exit Through the Gift Shop” has been nominated for an Oscar. I have already read on a few sites that some fans are against this, and even sites such as the Guardian commented how the “outsider status of graffiti artist Banksy took a further blow”, because of the nomination. I believe this nomination will draw even more attention to the artist and to street art as a whole. Which is a good thing right? There are always those that love the underground, and special feel of art, music, and movies that are not mainstream, but as an art historian I am intrigued by what this new attention will bring in the coming years to this ever growing art scene. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
Category: artist news
artist interviews, website updates, redesign, projects and contests
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Oscar nomination for Banksy’s “Exit Through the Gift Shopâ€
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Interview with Banksy about Exit Through the Gift Shop
I haven’t talked much about Banksy, let alone the documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop”
that has been out on dvd for a while now, however a new interview with the illusive artist has been posted by AJ Schnack that I wanted to share. If you haven’t seen this documentary yet, I highly suggest that you do. You don’t even need to be a fan of street art; simply being a fan of art and having an interest in the way the art world works is enough. The film is really not about the art of Banksy, well not as much as you think it would be. Instead this film centers around a man named Thierry Guetta, who we are told in the movie is a film nut and goes on a journey to make a documentary on street art, or so he tells the artists. It’s an entertaining film, and does give the viewer some insight into the street art scene, how some of the artists work and how much work it really takes. The film takes a turn when this bumbling character Thierry turns into a street artist as well, now known as Mr. Brainwash.So the idea, is that due to some advice given to Thierry to make some art, this monster has now been created. One who uses a team of artists to create his work, much in the way Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Anselm Reyle and others work. These artists are the “idea men”, and the art is created by others. So is this Mr Brainwash created by Banksy as a criticism on artists of this status? Or is Mr Brainwash just following in the footsteps of these mega-successful artists? This is a debate that I have seen on forums, blogs, and overheard on subways and bus trips. The Times has even talked about the film being “A Hoax too Far…“. To me, the most interesting facet of the film is the quick rise of Mr Brainwash. Regardless of wether or not this artist is a fabrication of Banksy, the work of Mr Brainwash sells, and fetches some pretty high prices too. AJ Schnack that runs the “All These Wonderful Things” blog has interviewed Banksy and talks about the film. Make sure to check out the full interview, and if you haven’t seen the film, it’s on Netflix to watch instantly.
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Vincent Price, Famous Monsters cover by Jason Edmiston
Jason Edmiston, previously interviewed, has created the latest cover for Famous Monsters Magazine issue number 254. This issue marks over 50 years of this monster magazine being published, and what better icon to have on the cover than Vincent Price? Below is the painting without all the text on it, not sure whether or not Jason will be releasing this image as a print or not. Either way, you can pre-order the magazine now.
Famous Monsters Jason Edmiston Cover
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Dan Harding debut @ Sketch Theatre
Dan Harding is the newest artist to contribute a video over to the always inspirational Sketch Theatre. There has been a lot of amazing artists added to the site in the last year, but I am especially excited about this one, as I have always wanted to know how Dan creates those killer looking monsters. Head over to the site to check out Dan’s first contribution, and hopefully not the last.
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New work by Heiko Müller
Heiko Müller just added a couple of new paintings to his Flickr that I had to share here. “Rise” and “Arrival” are both oil on canvas, 40″ square. I’m always impressed when I see how well an artist is able to render water, for example the work Linnea Strid. However, it’s rare that you are able see work that includes fire, and so real looking that you can imagine the heat pulsing from it. These works truly show how skilled Heiko is with oils, I mean all of his work does that but these are really something else. Take a look at these and then head on over to Heiko’s Flickr to see all the recent work.
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New work by Tanya Pshenychny
Tanya Pshenychny has been working hard on a whole new batch of work since the last time she was featured on the site. Currently she is part of a two person show at the Galesburg Civic Art Center in Galesburg, IL. The show will be up until November 12th, but if you can’t make it to the show Tanya has added all of the work to her website. Out of the 35 pieces in the exhibition, 15 of them are new such as “Panic Attacked”, “Killed with Kindness”, and “Deerly Be-Livid” all shown below. She also has a good majority of these new works available as prints over at her Redbubble Profile. Take a look at the full show over at her homepage.
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Interview with Buddy Nestor @ Beinart
The Beinart Blog has just published a new interview with Buddy Nestor. Lana Gentry was able to get Buddy Nestor to talk about his artwork, and how he developed his unique style. Head on over and check it out.
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New work by Luke Kopycinski
Luke K has been releasing some really amazing paintings lately, and getting his work in shows pretty much all over. It’s no surprise really, his paintings look fantastic in person. Luke recently sent me over some images of the latest paintings he has made, so this is more of a mini feature of what the artist has made in the last year. Check out all the images and then be sure to head over to Luke K’s profile. Make cure to click the ‘read more’ to see the rest of the paintings.
