Monday, December 04, 2006

Ghetto fabulous

Banksy - sinner or winner? This was the question racing through my mind this past weekend as I escaped the hordes on Oxford Street who were suckered into town by the Gap, Selfridges, and Threshers "secret" email sale vouchers. Secret, that is, if you ignore everybody and their MySpace guestbook who received the same forwarded attachment.

Which is why I decided to escape the voucher shackles and head to 15 Oxford Street to Banksy's annual anti-holiday art show/fair, "Santa’s Ghetto," where the star attraction was Sir Banks’ freshly-created send-up of Michael Jackson in a Hansel & Gretel-style tableau. Not a Hoxton hipster elite and only recently aware that Nathan Barley ever existed, I couldn't help but want to dismiss the whole charade as pretentious arty farty fanfare. But despite every gritty toothed intention, I came away without too much enamel grinding.

And surprisingly not because of Banksy's billing. Disappointingly, his Jacko-fied rendition of Tom Ormond's fantasy piece is less than a thriller. But, rather, the most memorable (and viewable from the shop window) was this mocked-up photo by Peter Kennard of Tony Blair taking pictures on his mobile phone against a backdrop of burning oil fields. Not only because it might as well be a real photograph, but because it showed art's power to satirise those things we are left powerless to change. And these days, what is more valuable than a laugh?

For more pictures from Santa's Ghetto click here.

13 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Like the titlle

Is that a real picture? Are they for sale?

7:49 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Banksy is a cartoon artist whose profoundness escapes me it as long lasting as sex

7:50 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thought you were going to say sex was better than laughter? With me they usually occur in tandem.

7:52 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Banksy is wanksy

7:52 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great thanks for this
Photos cool
Maybe will try and get there after all

8:12 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Marge Simpson meets Mona Lisa one is my favourite

Thanks for photo gallery CS. Good one

8:14 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Old Pasadena has at its center the postal zero/zero intersection of all Pasadena, Fair Oaks Avenue (N-S) and Colorado Boulevard (E-W). It was here that the first of the businesses of the original Indiana Colony were established. Barney Hollingsworth had opened his general store on the Northwest corner. It served as the main supplier for the town as well as the post office when mail came up from Los Angeles. Barney's Ltd. Restaurant on Colorado near De Lacey St. is named for this store

http://5-0-best-game-mobile-racing.mobfiller.com
tmobile
tmobile
http://5-editor-mobile-registry-window.mobfiller.com
tmobile
tmobile
http://6600-free-game-mobile-nokia.mobfiller.com
tmobile
tmobile
http://accident-automobile-carolina-lawyer-south.mobfiller.com
tmobile
tmobile
http://alfred-home-lake-mobile-park.mobfiller.com
tmobile
tmobile

9:50 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Love your blog
Great photos
New to you from Guardian
Thanks

1:06 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Love this pic

How true though? Bet he sends many a montage back to Cherie. Just surprised it wasn't the Blairs Christmas card this year. He airbrushed out the kids ya know? Nice...

9:06 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If life was fair Banksy should have won the Turner Prize, don't you reckon?

10:53 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

you might like to look at this then....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mBTIekq9p8

3:54 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hallo! ;)
wow... what disturbed news!
what do you consider about it?

9:32 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

love the canucks model t fordmodel t ford

8:54 am  

Post a Comment

<< Home