On the trail of Banksy Art!
The countdown to the Oscars has started! In Los Angeles, big stars like Helena Bonham-Carter, James Franco, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman plus many more are all in a frenzy to get their red carpet look for the moment of the year in Hollywood!
The 2011 Oscars might have a tense atmosphere as the battle commences between America and Britain for the best movies, and believe me, they’re of very high quality! This year we see the American’s favourites The Social Network and True Grit against Britain’s offering, the BAFTA powerhouse The King’s Speech.
While all eyes are on the stars and films, we have something better for you here at Kaplan! Nominated for this year’s Academy Award for Best Documentary is Exit Through the Gift Shop from Banksy, the graffiti street artist. The documentary is about a French immigrant living in Los Angeles called Thierry Guetta, with a weird obsession of always carrying a camera with him. Thierry has another rather complimentary hobby: documenting the nocturnal adventures of his friends painting the town with graffiti!
In the documentary we can actually see Banksy at work and how he prepares his stencils! Banksy is a British graffiti artist using a stencilling technique for his street art. His images are a combination of dark humour and subversive statements. These originated in Bristol but soon moved to London, New York and New Orleans.
Most cities were at first determined to clean the graffiti from the city walls, but Banksy’s popularity and public support rose fast, leading the same City Councils to actually apologise for removing Banksy art and vowed to protect it. For example, in April 2010 Melbourne City Council in Australia felt the need to announce they had accidently ordered private contractors to paint over the last remaining Banksy in the city – an image of a rat descending in a parachute.
Following the Premiere of Exit Through the Gift Shop around the world, Banksy made his own advertising by painting some of his new images around the cities he visited. From Detroit to San Francisco, from Toronto to Paris, you’re bound to find Banksy near you!
Want to get a closer look?
Check out this map with a collection of Banksy art work in London
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