From a writer’s perspective graffiti is primarily intended for the unpredictability of street life as it is embedded in the definition of graffiti and attracts those that live by a similar lifestyle. But when a large-scale stencil, painted by British street artist Banksy, was chiseled away from the wall it was originally applied to the seeds for a new guerrilla initiative may have been sown creating yet another possibility for graffiti afterlife. Two fans of Banksys’ work spent thousands of pounds to remove and restore the piece called “Large Graffiti Slogan” after other writers tagged on and around the piece. A team of builders cut out the three-ton section of reinforced concrete wall, lifted it by crane onto a lorry, and then took it to a secret location where it will be cleaned and put up for sale. London’s Mail Online wrote that Banksy pieces can fetch a substantial sum and have even attracted a number of celebrity collectors.
The slogan, painted on an industrial estate outside Croydon, South London in August 2009, depicts a punk man with a Mohawk haircut reading an instruction booklet beside a cardboard box inscribed “IEAK Large Graffiti Slogan” with characteristically anti-establishment slogans such as ‘system’, ‘smash’ and ‘police’ scrawled around the image. Initially Nick Loizou, a 30-year-old graphic designer and builder, and Bradley Ridge, a 31-year-old restaurateur, thought they could simply cut the piece off the wall and flop it onto a mattress to haul away shortly realizing that the material was not brick as they had hoped. With the wall owners support Mr. Loizou, Mr. Ridge and a team of carpenters and other laborers spent nine days removing the slab, going so far as to sleep next to the wall ensuring no further damage would be done. Although the mural has not formally been identified as a Banksy piece, Mr. Ridge claims Banksy gave the project his blessings through an intermediary.
As graffiti becomes even more popularized by mainstream art collectors it is valid to wonder if these tactics will become a trend and if they will be accepted by the graffiti community. Who owns the rights to graffiti created on the street and does it lose its meaning once removed?
To see more Banksy murals visit his sight at www.banksy.co.uk
Comments
Graffiti is by definition public art. When it makes it's way into the homes of private collectors it ceases to exist for its intended audience. It is still art but no longer graffiti. Removing it from the location chosen by the artist is plundering a cultural asset.
Mint
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