The work of French street artist Xavier Prou (aka Blek Le Rat) is probably more familiar to you than you would first think. Born in 1951, Prou was one of the first graffiti artists of the aerosol boom in Paris in the early 80’s, and is commonly referred to as the originator of stencil art; the inventor of the life-size stencil and the first to transform basic lettering into pictures.
Prou’s trademark became the rat (the RAT in his pseudonym is thought to be a anagram for ART), describing the rodent as the “only free animal in the city,” and one that “spreads the plague everywhere, just like street art.”
If reports are true then Banksy would have been 7 years old when Prou was first tagging the underground of Paris and later became involved in Bristol’s graffiti revolution1992–1994 as one of Bristol's DryBreadZ Crew. He began as a freehand graffiti artist apparently changing to stenciling when he realized how quickly he could finish a piece (this inspiration came when he was hiding from police under a lorry, and noticed the stenciled serial number.) And it did not take him long to make his mark.
Known for his contempt for all things corporate and governmental, Banksy’s work features anti-war, anti-capitalist, and anti-establishment messages that scream for attention while he remains in the shadows. Featuring images of rats, policemen, soldiers and children along with slogans that provoke all to, in his words “step out of the box, collapse the box and take a sharp fucking knife to it.”
His anonymity (asides from being needed to keep him out of the reach of the long arms of the law) not only adds to his “street reputation”, but also ensures that the only thing we can talk about with absolute certainty is his work. And it more than speaks for itself.
It is because he takes such tremendous risks (such as tagging the Gaza wall, and installing an inflatable Guantanamo prisoner next to one of the most popular rides in Disneyland, and hanging fake pictures in the Louvre) that his work generates so much interest across the world.
He has truly turned the art world on its head. Never before have art auctioneers attempted to sell street art on location, and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder! And his brand of aerosol anarchy and installations have also brought a new form of vandalism to the streets, as it would seem some people would do anything to get their hands on his originals (if they can’t afford the asking price)…even if it means taking down a wall!
"The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It's people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages” Banksy
Banksy does not reserve his spite for “the system”, like Le Rat, his commentary on the masses is hardly flattering or hopeful. The theme of the human rat race frequently appears in his earlier work, yet his hope for us breaking our habits (or from our “leaders”) is slim, as he said, “a lot of people never use their initiative because no-one told them to."
Yet one of the issues the elusive artist is most outspoken on (especially verbally) is what he calls the age of brandalism:
"The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little.
“The people who run our cities don’t understand graffiti because they think nothing has the right to exist unless it makes a profit... the people who truly deface our neighborhoods are the companies that scrawl giant slogans across buildings and buses trying to make us feel inadequate unless we buy their stuff. Any advertisement in public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours, it belongs to you; it’s yours to take, rearrange and re-use. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head."
"You owe the companies nothing. You especially don't owe them any courtesy. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don't even start asking for theirs."
With this in mind, how do you think Banksy feels now that a new iPhone application has arrived helping punters to locate his artwork all over London? Happy? I don’t actually know…
It is a credit to the popularity of his work, but pays no dues to the statement he is trying to make. However as demonstrated through his hilarious film Exit Through The Gift Shop (for which he was nominated an Academy Award for Best Documentary: does nothing this man touch not turn to gold?) not everyone gets it.
The documentary tells the story of a French immigrant (Thierry Guietta, aka, Mr. Brainwash) living in LA, and his obsessive-compulsive need to film every single moment of his life. We follow the strange Guietta on a remarkable path of fortunate encounter, beginning with his cousin (the street artist Invader) and ending when fate handed him Banksy.
Long story short, it is plainly obvious from the film that what Guietta lacks in humility and talent is more than made up for in determination and will, yet it is not very difficult to see why so many artist interviewed in the mockumentary may have been made to feel bitter and resentful by his success.
None more so than Banksy who initiated the idea for Guietta to become an artist, but since claims that he is now more reluctant than ever to encourage anyone to do anything creative.
Credit where credit is due, Guietta risks everything to make his show work, even though he did not lay so much as a single brush stroke on a canvas, and admits on film that his work consists of scanning and photoshopping, all done by enlisted artists working under his “supervision”. He did, however, break an ankle and re-mortgage his home and business, pushing his own family to the brink of bankruptcy (not the usual trademark of genius, closer to the fine line of madness).
Before the curtain lifted on Life is Beautiful, Guietta had managed to alienate almost every artist working for him, and again, if it had not been for Banksy sending in two top PR agents at the eleventh hour, he would have failed to open at all.
There is nothing original or particularly interesting about his work, most of his pieces are almost carbon copies of work produced by Shephard Fairey, but critics and punters alike raved over his success, and in the space of only a week, he netted over $1m.
Guietta comments at the end of the film that only time can be the judge of whether he is a true artist. I’m not quite sure what this says about modern art today, probably nothing more than Warhol was saying in his day: “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.”
Does this mean the IMF could put forth a candidate for the Turner Prize? Could McDonalds install a 50ft clown in the Tate Modern? Could Nike sponsor Tracey Emin’s next piece? I suppose only time will tell.
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