doug:

ronbabcock:

New Banksy in Westwood. Right across from the Open Mic of Love, one of (if not) LA’s longest running open mic.

Hard to see but the bullets are crayons.

Just as when Exit Through The Gift Shop was in heavy promotion across North America and pieces popped up in dozens of cities all within the span of a few days, these are likely appearing heavily in Los Angeles these weeks because the Oscars are soon and it raises the profile of the artist.

As no person would (or could) likely travel to dozens of cities in a couple days to conveniently place art in public places, I also have serious doubts that these are by ‘Banksy’ himself, and suggest rather that people are seeing advertisements placed by street teams.

Take it as a marketing message like any other. These are placed in culture to get you talking about their chosen narrative. Did you notice the noise surrounding the supposed eBay auction by Banksy himself to reveal his identity? It made the LA Times and also mentions the DVD and the upcoming Oscars. What about the talk surrounding “if Exit wins, how will Banksy be able to accept the award!?” No matter, the Oscars have taken countermeasures, and that gets additional press. Producers and surrogates have accepted awards on behalf of others since the Academy Awards began. These are tools to help the created narrative and keep the subject in your mind.

I began thinking Banksy was more than one person after I saw the movie. The idea could be from one person, the driving force of Banksy might be from one person, but there is definitely a team of people who are Banksy. Whether or not its one, two, or ten people, Banksy is huge and I like watching the story unfold.