Seriously... it's like The Chuckle Brothers coming round to tell you how to rewire your house. Her stuff had no depth, warmth or style so it'll be interesting to see how this turns out.

www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/oct/18/bambi-graffiti-artist-female-banksy-street-art-feminism

If not seen

I had no idea that people had paid >100k for her stuff. I would have preferred not to know.

Brad Pitt bought a stencil of the Kate/William wedding portrait for Angelina.... I don't even know where to start with that

Probably some tax break ploy!

That wimpy deer?

yes she down the bottom of the list next to Hayden kays!

Well, there was this little fawn whose mummy was killed by bad men with guns who came to the forest but Bambi survived and led the other wee animals to safety and so on...

Gallery paid TV to do this! Like this they can sale bambi art

This is a legal scam done by few gallery

LOL, No

Its just very embarrassing.

I really don't know anyone else that is hyped so much for absolutely awful art.

Its reallys**t, real bad, nasty.

The worst bit for me is its kind of cruel. Its like telling your tone deaf child when they sing thats its wonderful, the best thing you've ever heard as you watch your pets leg it out of earshot, and encouraging them to sing more, do a solo in the school play, make them go on the extra bit of X factor, telling them that NO people are not laughing at you......... they are jealous of you.

If Brad Pitt did buy a bit he must have been tripping at the time.  Or Maybe he gave it to Angelina to show how much he loved her?

Indeed, compromised journalists. Along with canvases dropped off at, say, the office reception desk of an actor's or singer's manager. So it can later be leaked to the press that celebrity X has "a valuable Bambi piece in their art collection."

Although implied in your post, it's worth expressly mentioning outright lies as well. Lies planted by PR lackeys, gallerists, and others with a vested interest in the career of Bambi. This is a very simple impression-management tactic. It's often used by relative unknowns and their representatives. Basic social psychology:

At any cost, even if it means spreading disinformation, associate yourself or your protégé with higher-status individuals — who are more famous, influential and/or talented.

____________


With a certain degree of accomplishment, Bambi's entire career has been based on basking in reflected glory. This is her modus operandi. Entirely predictable:

(i) ensuring she's always at some point referred to as "the female Banksy"; and

(ii) consistently claiming (via her representatives or "anonymous sources") that [random celebrity] has apparently acquired one of her paintings worth £[impressively-high figure pulled out of thin air].


Bambi and her team seem quite happy to continue spewing out exaggerations and fabrications. They know there's almost zero chance that people like Adele or Brad Pit will dignify false claims by refuting them. Since it would require them to stoop down to the level of a chancer.

Occasionally, however, lies are so widely published and lapped up (often because everyone wants to believe they're true) that the person whose name is being exploited may feel the need to issue a denial. Remember Leonard Villa (then Bambi's manager) three years ago, alleging that Kanye West had commissioned a nude portrait of Kim Kardashian for a wedding gift?

www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/kanye-west-gives-kim-kardashian-3634367  [The story was also picked up by artnet News, among others.]

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/02/kanye-west-wedding-gift_n_5433703.html  ["UPDATE: Sources close to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West tell TMZ that neither of them know anything about West’s supposed wedding gift. According to the source, no painting was ever commissioned, nor does Kardashian want one."]


Now imagine how bad a painting has to be before somebody like West says to himself, "Hang on. I have to say something, because I'm embarrassed. This story is making me look stupid."

Although by then, tons of free advertising were already generated. And even denials just translated into more column inches for Bambi. Publicity-wise, it was a no-lose scenario for her — as long as honour and decency weren't taken into consideration.

____________


I'll leave aside journalists like Hannah Ellis-Petersen. At the time of writing her 2015 Guardian article, she may have been ignorant about street art and easily-duped.

A more interesting focus is the media outlets that publish these types of puff pieces. It could be they're too lazy to fact-check, or that tight deadlines lead to shortcuts being taken. In such cases, a story is presumably given the editor's nod if it's merely plausible. Alternatively, the media outlet may be cynically complicit, knowingly circulating click-bait-friendly inanities — thereby helping out personal friends or concentrating on making their advertisers happy, rather than prioritising actual news. Either way, integrity loses out and a noble profession is brought further into disrepute.

While I'm not surprised that credible organisations sometimes succumb to these temptations, it still unsettles me. It's a variant of 1984, one where there isn't necessarily a boot stamping on a human face. Instead, that face is forever chuckling, truth being viewed as optional and subordinate to entertainment.

But what's most disheartening for me is not so much the press articles themselves. It's the fact some people (including intelligent members of this forum) seem to let their guards down and take such articles at face value. What that suggests is an absence of healthy scepticism. A failure to step back and assess the interests and motivations of all players concerned.

In an age when media bias and fake news are themselves recurring subjects of high-profile stories, there's a mantra we should not have to be reminded of. Because we should be repeating it to ourselves almost instinctively:

Question everything.

I hate the fact that they usually call her the female Banksy. It’s ridiculous

And look everyone isn't talking about her again

Bambi = winning

What's the saying 'all publicity is good publicity'

If it's true she's a famous singer I don't think it matters if her works sell!

Why because it's on the 'precious' banksy?

This is bambis best work conceptually.

Its wrong on ever level

Pisses me off

Burn it