Take it to the Bank!

 You wouldn't believe what happened yesterday.  Can you guess? We got about 10 minutes of big fat fluffy snow and we are supposed to get more this morning.  One of my dogs put one foot in the snow and turned around and sat on the front door mat and the other dog jumped right in and froze in position because he didn't know what to do with himself.  :) Silly dogs, they act like they have never seen an eighth of an inch of snow before.
Banksy? Have you head of him? He is a British street artist and activist whose identity remains unconfirmed.  I think one of the most interesting thing about Banksy besides his well thought out work is that the public as a whole doesn't know who he is.  He could be walking among us and most people would never know who he is.   Banksy created a brand into his character and his character is a famous one.  He hired sign painters to paint these in 2008.
I rewatched Exit Through the Gift Shop (on instant watch on Netflix if you have it) and it made me think how Banksy wasn't really the center of attention of the movie but was.  The documentary is about a film maker who chronicles the lives of street artists and gets obsessed with finding Banksy.  He finds Banksy and then ends up becoming a street artist himself but he doesn't know how to make art, so he hires people to make the art for him.
Another street artist that I love is Swoon and she is mainly known for her wheat paste cut out figurines.  I think she was the only woman street artist in the documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop.
She is also in the documentary Our City of Dreams, which follows women artists at different stages in their career.
 Alright enough education for one day.  Class is dismissed!

17 comments

Michelle Brunner said...

Thank you for this! I have a bunch of students in my art classes who are very into street art. I am totally going to watch this documentary on netflix! Are there any other cool art films on netflix (instant watch) that you have seen? I love love love netflix:)

Enjoy the snow today!

Mandy Crandell said...

Great stuff! I've never heard of Swoon.

Noodles and Waffles said...

Christian and I loved Exit Through The Gift Shop. We saw it in theaters and have rewatched it on Netflix. We've also gone around to the places in Chicago where his artwork is...pretty creative.

Brenna [fabuleuxdestin] said...

I"ve been dying to see the movie about Banksy! He's so popular now and I don't know too much about him.

Erika Lee @ A Tiny Rocket said...

Michelle there are so many- if you go into the special interest category in the instant watch section they have an art section. :) Alice Neel, Jean Paul Basquet, and a ton more :) maybe I should do a blog post about it.

stephanie said...

I need to watch that movie. I love learning more about interesting people. :)

Unknown said...

what amazing work. I love the last one...beautiful!

Anonymous said...

There was an unknown street artist in Milan who painted pretty penguins all over the town. Everytone loved what he did, but for many years no one knew who he was, then he was discovered while painting a penguin...so he stopped. No more penguins.
Those rats are wonderful and I love your educational posts, keep them coming.

Unknown said...

It's a pretty great documentary, right? I hope it wins the Oscar! It should but it would be interesting to know what Banksy does if so!

The Pen Thief said...

I was just thinking about what I should watch on Netflix while I work on some art. Now I know!!

Jenn @ Live Love Life Now! said...

I saw Exit Through The Gift Shop and loved it! And then my mind got all twisted as I read all the conspiracy theories online about how much of a role Banksy really played.

I'm sure with as smart and calculating as he is, that he was the brains behind it all. But I'm fascinated with graffiti and street artists so the movie had me hooked regardless!

Haven't come across any of his pieces in DC, but I do see a lot of OBEY stickers around town :)

Angela said...

Now I want to watch "Exit..." sounds very good! Have you seen "My Kid Could Paint That" ? I didn't know what to think about it and still don't!!

Hope you get your snow!!!

El said...

Brill post. I love Banksy.. Went to his exhibition 2 years ago, it was awesome. I bought 'Exit through the gift ship' but have yet to watch it so thats a must for this weekend now you have reminded me :) Will also be checking out Swoon, I love street art and love hearing of new artists to check out. Thank you x

October Surf Suitcase Fish said...

haha! that's great!


it's a great documentary, of course i much rather enjoy documentaries than movies.

Cindy said...

we saw exit through the gift shop this week and still can't believe how it turned out!

bigBANG studio said...

Been wanting to see Exit Through the Gift Shop for ages...thanks for reminding me to add it to the top of my Netflix queue!

Tracey said...

Banksy intrigues me ... and his work is often thought provoking ...

Exit through the gift shop is on my list to watch, I really need to see it sooner rather than later ...