Banksy Exhibition
‘Back on the subject of words again. Why aren’t we already using the word ‘banksy’? It’s got such a good ring to it. A perfect complete little word which could embody SO much: thoughtfulness, humour, intelligence, wit, originality, risk. Why not? He’s got more chance of entering the dictionary, hasn’t he, than ’Who’s Who’?
The Banksy effect is such that we all feel he belongs to us, each and everyone:
The middle-aged spread, the empty nesters, dinkys, single mums, silver surfers, the pierced, National Trusters, the unemployed, trustafarians, skateboarders, Face Bookers, clubbers, weight watchers, vegans, WAGS, Tweeters, tattooed, Sunday dads, early birds ….
Constant 3 to 4 hour queues outside City Museum, Bristol attest to this. The feeling is one of stoic pleasure as everyone weaves compliantly up and down the steep line, waiting. All reading, talking, gazing and grazing, comparing and staring. The air alive with festive expectation and shared experience: The creative energy of his work – the creative energy of those getting to see it. The unpredictability of the graffiti artist ‘made good’, the anonymous anti-hero.
Banksy Exhibition, Bristol 2009
Can there be anything more ironic than a Banksy exhibition? Until the end of August it is possible to savour the full breadth and diversity of his work with museum predictability. The only element of chance being the length of your wait to do so. Not a question of happening upon his illict ‘street’ work at random or, more likely, recent card shop reproductions. Instead, here is an almost implausibly static opportunity to see Banksy, within opening hours (the closest to office hours he’ll ever know), complete with gallery attendants, gift shop, post cards and exhibition leaflet.
The occasionally fanciful talk in the queue is that Banksy is maybe female, is currently working as one of the museum attendants; that soon ‘a million’ will have seen it and, more plausibly, that he insisted the exhibition be free for everyone to see. No timed tickets, no booking fees, no opportunity to ‘get ahead’. Everyone gets to see this exhibition on an equal basis, this adds to the special atmosphere. Everyone feels they know him best, he is their’s. Once inside they laugh with triumph and later with shock and recognition at what he has to say and meet each other’s eyes, more openly than they would do normally – muttering that it is he who perhaps should be made the ‘Culture Tsar’, or ‘something’. The fact that he makes such effort to comment fills everyone full of subversive hope. What he says, however tough and uncompromising, is palatable because of his quick witted sense of fun, truth and invention.
What does he make of it? The inevitable showground feel, those in the queue that would get up his nose?
Afterwards, around and about, triumphant ‘exhibitionists’ with wan faces and slow paced footsteps, ubquitous cardboard poster tube in hand, invite easy chat with locals who are so proud of him and delight in all the attention and excitement. Bus driver, passenger, cashier, floor manager, shop assistant, one and all. It’s unlikely that they’ll get to go, because they’re local and will put it off until the queue lulls, until it is too late. But all the same they feel included. This he is sure to like.
Quite what he’ll make of the ‘queue boom’ in local coffee shops and takeway businesses – who knows, but a queue’s got to eat … especially a long one!’
Posted by Katie Barr-Sim about 1 year ago in Art
About Katie Barr-Sim
Katie is a business development director. She still wonders what she’ll be when she grows up but has always had a keen eye for design and a way with words.
Comments
Enjoyed this blog just rather sorry that I hadn’t been one of the tenacious hoards who queued to see it. Brian Sewell as you might imagine is a bit sceptical about Banksy.
flo Taylor said on Friday, September 25, 2009: