Banksy - The Walled Off Hotel ★★★, by Rouen Cathedral on May 9, 2017 23:46:34 GMT 1,

May 9, 2017 23:03:37 GMT 1 @elviswarhol said:

May 9, 2017 22:47:55 GMT 1 Rouen Cathedral said:

I think you are right. But only the future will tell. As I outlines in my post below from another thread there is still a lot to be seen.


Looking at the Walled Off Hotel I've been thinking the past couple days about what it is. Is it art? Philanthropy/advocacy? Both? This has made me start to question whether it can really be both?

I think on a very high level, a micro scale, looking down from the clouds it can be argued that its both. I think the concept behind it is incredible. Showcase some art, create jobs and money for the local community and economy, promote tourism, promote awareness for the region and the problems. It has everything.

The problem to me is when you start looking at it on a macro level. Zooming in and taking it for what it is. Looking at the components, the details, the physicality of it.

Looking at it as if its a real hotel and if its meant to promote tourism and awareness to the area, I think that works. Its creating jobs, its bringing money to the community (we think), and its definitely putting the conflict in the spotlight. It appears to be working in that regard. The motivation to create all those things from the original concept seem great and successful.

Now if the above is true the hotel itself is not art. It can't be. If the hotel is art to me it reduces all of it. It dooms the true purity of the goal. It becomes a product of an artist. It puts the artist at the forefront. Bella Gladman may be right that its "ludicrous pompousness."

Now can the hotel be real (not art) while containing art? Yes, I think it could. I think it could house all the small scale individual works its does, the murals, even the concept of visiting and adding to the wall. That could all be art within this reality of helping the area and bringing awareness to the situation with a real hotel.

However, the publicity of Banksy, the includance of it becoming Banksys website (the only subject), that Banksy is running it, yields that the whole thing is a work of art. Surely, it could have been opened, managed by some 'third party', there could have been a couple photos on Banksys site showing some of the individual works. This would have created the same awareness, interest, movement to the area.

But for now the hotel is a performance by Banksy, that seems like it will end, that all the art will go somewhere else and the hotel will close. If thats the case, it is a shame. It degrades all the good of the original concept and leaves it as just art.

Only the future will tell if thats true and what will become of the hotel and the art within. Conceptually, the concept is great. I understand how it came to be. But, when you really break down the factors, the components, the details I'm afraid that 'it being art' distracts from the purity of the concept and the goal of awareness. Yes, it sparks discussion, helps the economy, brings awareness, etc.But it also becomes about the artist, who made it, the greatness of the artist pulling it off, the greed that maybe if I hit F5 for 10 straight hours I'll luck out. Its a distraction to the original concept and pure goal.

"""But it also becomes about the artist"""

 When John Lennon wrote and sang "Give Peace a Chance"

 Was it about John lennon?

I guess we could compare a banana to a pea....

May 9, 2017 23:03:37 GMT 1 @elviswarhol said:

May 9, 2017 22:47:55 GMT 1 Rouen Cathedral said:

I think you are right. But only the future will tell. As I outlines in my post below from another thread there is still a lot to be seen.


Looking at the Walled Off Hotel I've been thinking the past couple days about what it is. Is it art? Philanthropy/advocacy? Both? This has made me start to question whether it can really be both?

I think on a very high level, a micro scale, looking down from the clouds it can be argued that its both. I think the concept behind it is incredible. Showcase some art, create jobs and money for the local community and economy, promote tourism, promote awareness for the region and the problems. It has everything.

The problem to me is when you start looking at it on a macro level. Zooming in and taking it for what it is. Looking at the components, the details, the physicality of it.

Looking at it as if its a real hotel and if its meant to promote tourism and awareness to the area, I think that works. Its creating jobs, its bringing money to the community (we think), and its definitely putting the conflict in the spotlight. It appears to be working in that regard. The motivation to create all those things from the original concept seem great and successful.

Now if the above is true the hotel itself is not art. It can't be. If the hotel is art to me it reduces all of it. It dooms the true purity of the goal. It becomes a product of an artist. It puts the artist at the forefront. Bella Gladman may be right that its "ludicrous pompousness."

Now can the hotel be real (not art) while containing art? Yes, I think it could. I think it could house all the small scale individual works its does, the murals, even the concept of visiting and adding to the wall. That could all be art within this reality of helping the area and bringing awareness to the situation with a real hotel.

However, the publicity of Banksy, the includance of it becoming Banksys website (the only subject), that Banksy is running it, yields that the whole thing is a work of art. Surely, it could have been opened, managed by some 'third party', there could have been a couple photos on Banksys site showing some of the individual works. This would have created the same awareness, interest, movement to the area.

But for now the hotel is a performance by Banksy, that seems like it will end, that all the art will go somewhere else and the hotel will close. If thats the case, it is a shame. It degrades all the good of the original concept and leaves it as just art.

Only the future will tell if thats true and what will become of the hotel and the art within. Conceptually, the concept is great. I understand how it came to be. But, when you really break down the factors, the components, the details I'm afraid that 'it being art' distracts from the purity of the concept and the goal of awareness. Yes, it sparks discussion, helps the economy, brings awareness, etc.But it also becomes about the artist, who made it, the greatness of the artist pulling it off, the greed that maybe if I hit F5 for 10 straight hours I'll luck out. Its a distraction to the original concept and pure goal.

"""But it also becomes about the artist"""

 When John Lennon wrote and sang "Give Peace a Chance"

 Was it about John lennon?

I guess we could compare a banana to a pea....