GRAFFITI WRITERS VS BANKSY

Since Banksy was catapulted into fame, the englishman has had to deal with a whole lot of suspicion from many graffiti writers. It is true that there is certain fundamental differences between the concepts of graffiti and street art, two types of expressions forced to play on the same field with different rules to the game. The opinions of the people who are back talking the works of Banksy are not only based on his belonging to one or the other side.

Just like the beef which emerged some years back in the case of old school writer Robbo from London, which became a huge commercial success for his work. The image of Banksy has consolidated into being the example of what graffiti writers least stand for, a kind of lack of respect, the thoughtlessness in graffiti writing and the new commercial object.

The worlds most famous street artist has stayed in the shadows for quite some time now, and now he has been back claim his existence, but this time in New York. Wasn it obvious that the writers in the Mecca of graffiti would sabotage Banksy’s interventions?

Animal New York has published an interesting piece signed Bucky Turco. With ‘Why is everyone messing up the works of Banksy in New York?’ we can look for some good reasons through the words of famous names in graffiti such as MQ, BNE,Cope 2 and Ket. Here is some of the things they had to say.

‘To gain respect and last streetwise in New York, you need to put down a lot of work and work your way up no matter who you are or how famous you are elsewhere. Writers in New York work extremely hard to stand out and when someone new comes to town and gets a lot attention, writers react. I have a lot of respect for artists and writers in New York. It is not easy to make a mark and last on the streets. (…) Personally, I like Banksy’s street stuff. His work has a sense of humor and provokes thought.‘

MQ

‘He has either mastered the art of public relations, or contracted with an agency and is able to generate huge press and attention that a million tags or throw ups could never achieve.
Street bombers probably feel that it isn’t right for someone who does very little bombing to get so much attention.‘

BNE

These graffiti writers get jealous cause he’s gets all the hype. He does a simple stencil with a simple image and a lot graffiti writers feel it’s fake or that it’s not graffiti.

Cope 2

‘It’s part of the game. In our eyes his work is no more or less important than other works. It’s just what happens. That’s the beauty.‘

Saber

‘There are idiots in every niche of culture and the streets have their share. I try to embrace the good and rise above the bullshit. Regardless of how unfortunate it is that his pieces aren’t lasting longer, Banksy wins because he’s doing, while most everyone else is just reacting or worse… talking, so I’ll shut up now.‘

Shepard Fairey

Os gemeos featuring Banksy

‘People are territorial by nature and NYC graffiti rules has a locals only policy, with some exceptions. I don’t think it’s more complicated than that.‘

Claw

‘We New Yorkers are natural born haters! We pride ourselves on our homegrown products, especially due to the grueling nature of survival in NYC.‘

Quik

‘We graffiti writers have a code: You go over us, we’re gonna go over you.‘

Chino

‘New York writers, for the most part, think that street artists suck and they give them little to no respect. This should come as no surprise as street artists generally do not give writers respect and will go over a tag or throw-up with a poster without thinking twice about it.

Another reason is that they are looking for quick and easy fame. How? Well, if they cross out Banksy they will be noticed by the masses who are jocking Banksy. It’s a quick and dirty way to get attention. Another reason is simple hate. Who wants some out-of-towner coming in and getting so much attention when there are plenty of artists and writers putting in work on the street that get little to no attention by the media or the masses?‘

Ket

Cartoon by Lush