[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by The0pportunist

I'm not sure i'd call Banksy an attention seeker just purely because he has chosen to keep his face out of the limelight.

I disagree. His identity being hidden only adds to his mysteriousness. There are plenty of street artists out there that haven't starred in documentaries or create publicity stunts. If you are going to illegally display your art on buildings where it is not welcome and want to make a big deal about it, as he obviously does, protecting your identity is the only way to stay out of jail.

Is this street art/graffiti? Tell me again how he isn't an attention seeker. Those who create art do it for the love of their craft, not for the attention. To announce that he is going to be in a city and create a buzz about being there disproves he isn't an attention seeker. Just throw up the art and let people notice.

Again, don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of his; however he is most certainly trying to draw as much attention to himself as possible without releasing his identity. Compare him to Shepherd Fairy. Obey is a very profitable brand and the image of Andre The Giant is iconic but you don't see Shepherd doing publicity stunts nor hiding his identity simply because he isn't trying to be an attention whore; he is simply doing what he loves.

[GuidoK]

In the end every artist that doesnt work directly for a customer/contractor is an attention seeker otherwise they wouldn't publish their art.
Anonymous or not.

[are0lies]

If he tagged any of your gates, would you then throw it away? I know what I would do with it...anyone know the number to Sotheby's auction house?

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

In the end every artist that doesnt work directly for a customer/contractor is an attention seeker otherwise they wouldn't publish their art.
Anonymous or not.

Simply not true. I'm an artist. Have you seen any of my artwork? Quite a few of us that do it for the love of doing it and for our own personal enjoyment. There are a TON of graffiti artists who are unknowns.

Some of my work is in public eye and people have no idea that it was created by me, nor am I seeking accolades for it.

Originally Posted by are0lies

If he tagged any of your gates, would you then throw it away? I know what I would do with it...anyone know the number to Sotheby's auction house?

Absolutely not. depending on the piece I would either keep it or sell it. Just because I have lost respect for him doesn't mean that I don't value his work or at minimum respect it's value....and all too willing to capitalize on it if I owned it.

The difference is that I wouldn't make a spectacle out of myself for doing it or create a documentary about it.

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

In the end every artist that doesnt work directly for a customer/contractor is an attention seeker otherwise they wouldn't publish their art.
Anonymous or not.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by Not_Judy

Simply not true. I'm an artist. Have you seen any of my artwork? Quite a few of us that do it for the love of doing it and for our own personal enjoyment. There are a TON of graffiti artists who are unknowns.

Some of my work is in public eye and people have no idea that it was created by me, nor am I seeking accolades for it.

Then why do you publish? you want it to be seen right?
Every form of graffiti is a means of public expression as long as its in public view (per definition).
Anonymous attention is still attention. I think thats where our different opinion lies.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Then why do you publish? you want it to be seen right?
Every form of graffiti is a means of public expression as long as its in public view (per definition).
Anonymous attention is still attention. I think thats where our different opinion lies.

I don't publish. The artwork of mine that is in public eye has been commissioned. My other artwork is either in sketchbooks or displayed in my home. The way I see it is that I am not going to pay for art to adorn my walls if I can do it myself to actually fit the space. Graffiti only holds a small percentage of my art. I've done everything to pen and ink, graffiti, tattoo artist to oil and acrylic paint on canvas...shit I even made most of the furniture in my house.

Some people are just generally creative. Not everyone needs accolades to enjoy something. I don't need anyone to tell me how good my stuff is, I can see it for myself and appreciate it. Although that sounds vain, any artist will tell you they are their worst critic. This is why the majority of my work, be it art or anything else that I have made, is usually given away. If I continue to look at it, it will forever evolve and I will never have any peace of mind....or time to work on anything else. To me, a piece is only done once it is out of my sight.

[GuidoK]

Well, if your only public work is commisioned work, then that is completely described/overcome in my definition isn't it?

Originally Posted by GuidoK

In the end every artist that doesnt work directly for a customer/contractor is an attention seeker otherwise they wouldn't publish their art.

This completely excludes you as you have no public work that wasnt commisioned.

My point is that the act of publishing artwork where the artwork or the act of publishing is not directly paid by a 3rd party is a form of attention seeking. I thought that was clear in my post.

Of course there are multiple ways of publishing each attracting different amount of attention, where in this case of the Banksy shredding, the publishing is the artwork (at least I think that was his point)