Police kids and NOLA for me. Both are more relevant than they were when created given recent pop culture/timely events (especially police kids). NOLA will always make me feel for a town that many overlooked during Katrina. Sad that it's out of my price range, but really happy I picked up PK some years back.

That reads more like a menu from a club in Berlin..

Dont think apologies are needed, this thread is about personal preference, of which there will be many similar and also varying thoughts, which really is the point of the thread.

I think to judge a print, we must be in front of it.
Per example, in photo the print could seem " weak " because we don't see the paper ( texture, real colour ) , etc...
In photo, so, I like a Lot Clockwork Britain...
;-)

And I don't like Pulp Fiction per example and some other...
But Monkey Queen, Rude Copper and the one that Lonely Farmer told about are simple and great. Love in the hair is great to ( for the hairdressers ) ... The one at the top of the post too.

We should see them in real I guess .

I guess to get one, one day.

Was thinking along the lines of its Anti War and colonial sentiments alongside his contemporary take on "collage", if that's what this piece is, Dada I guess being born out of both of these topics and techniques. The roughness of how it's pieced together from found imagery and the obvious "erased" parts, it could have been a shiny "pop art" gem, instead he seems to have dug back into deeper territory which for a print, we hadn't seen from him before.

Glitter Gorilla... because something so large and hairy trying to hide it's identity with a small glittery fashion accessory is hilarious (not forgetting the artist had become larger than life by then and has a shy streak)... but the best bit was it was never released to the ravaging hoards.

The timing of it's non-release says a lot about the meteoric rise in Banksy's popularity and prices before it, and how afterwards there was a distinct shift in focus from under selling his work by £1000s to a more standard (if there's anything remotely standard with this guy!) model.

A sort of been there, done that, this is what you could've had... but with the avarice and greed that drowned out any rationality it was time to move on.

[Edit: was meant to conclude with... The main reason why I think it's his best print is in it's non-existence, I've seen a picture of it in the POW magazine and think it's great, but by not releasing it it has more relevance to what he's trying to do and say than all the released prints. Even tho it doesn't exist it is an important moment in Banksy's career. I think.

I love the get out of here message Trolley Hunters gives. Chocolate donuts is a hilarious poke at the police.

A somebody from the US I think Flags is one of the lesser Banksy images. But that's whats great about art, differs strokes for different folks.

Thank you for the considered response.

This whole thread is an enjoyable read. For me it's one of the worthier current threads on the forum.

As @martedanielsen stated earlier, the Why is much more interesting than the What.

We often see exclamations of approval like "Stunning!" but with zero indication about why the relevant artwork is considered stunning. In the interest of dialogue and critical thought, I believe that offering some kind of explanation should be actively encouraged. This is in line with a broader position I share with many others: As individuals and as members of society, we should be asking — and asking ourselves — more questions.

If you can make the time, I have two follow-up queries for you. The first is ribbing, rhetorical, and the same comment I previously made with another forum member as a point of pedantry. The second is my actual question.

1. When you look at your favourite Banksy image, how many flags do you see?

2. What are your thoughts on the source imagery the artist used? I wondered whether you considered that source imagery to be less, just as, or possibly even more powerful than Banksy's piece.

Thanks Met, I too find these sort of discussions much more enlightening then a lot of the financial talk on these threads. Plus, I love hearing others thoughts on the different Banksy pieces. To answer your first question I only see one flag, but I get the feeling that you mean something beyond the surface. By source imagery are you referring to the Iwo Jima picture? I seem to remember another source photograph was used but am having trouble finding it. Obviously, the Iwo Jima picture is burning into many American's minds as a defining portrait of Americana, and the triumph of "good" over evil in a war that was for the most part very black and white. Moreover, as all good americans are taught in history class, WWII was a defining economic moment that pulled America out of the great depression. 

That is no longer the case. The modern American military campaigns have lined the pockets of the super rich, and decimated resources once allocated to impoverished citizens. To me this image stands as a testament of that fact, and while it is extremely critical of such actions it also celebrates the American spirit to stand resilient in the face of a seemingly bleak situation. Therein lies the brilliance of the image, a perfect depiction of the oxymoronic celebration of America by a population it could care less about. I personally worked on the legal team that fought the corruption perpetrated by Halliburton during the Iraq war, so my viewpoint and appreciation for this image is probably quite different then many others. 

I too own a silver flag print. Purchased in 2010 for what I believe to have been around £375. Funny how no one liked these cause they were from what I was told, the largest edition and belived to all have minor imperfections.

Banksy Morons



After seeing it up for auction it got a whole new meaning for me.
Art imitating life, or life imitating art?

And the fact that I feel like a moron when I use (a lot of) money on overprised posters makes it even better

Met,

Thanks for sharing that photo! Its quite haunting and extremely powerful. I did not realize that Banksy appropriated the imagery to such an extent. The does change my mindset a bit on this print. I think it remains one of his best images, but such blatant appropriation does kind of make me lose a bit of respect for the image as a distinctly Banksy interpretation of America. I know Shepard Fairey gets a lot of flack on the appropriation front, but I respect what he does to change the context and meaning of the images he uses. It would be interesting to see what the Reed estate thinks of the image from a copyright prospective, from just a cursory overview it does scream of infringement.

Cool look at the late Richard Durado at Modern Multiples printing with Banksy

I love how Durado explains how he made the prints so special 😉

y