Banksy • Choose Your Weapon Print, by niaudiasbrother on Dec 4, 2010 14:19:42 GMT 1,

Dec 4, 2010 12:45:23 GMT 1 Smith and Stuff said:

Dec 4, 2010 12:26:39 GMT 1 hupster said:

Agreed. But some of us need a 3 hour drive to get to london so midday before the release would be great....

The drive from the southern midlands down to bristol (to pick up a fellow fan) then across the M4 is not a great drive. Sometimes POW must understand that there are fans all over the country and not just London because if there was not would Banksy be the same person now without the Bristol scene backing him?

I think you and your friend will be fine if you don't make to M&S the instant the release is announced. Last year I remember that the last person in the que who managed to get a print arrived at around 4am and the shop opened at 9ish so that was around a six hour wait. Plus its colder this year, much colder so only the real crazies will put themselves through this ordeal.

Does anyone think there will be more grief from passers by in this location as opposed to commercial st... que will be near that seedy little porn street... I suppose we'll spot a few embarrassed dads emerging with suspicious paper bags tucked under arm.

I've really enjoyed reading the speculation of this release and the various opinions.

Someone mentioned the role of Bristol in Banksy's career as if he owes his hometown something. Banksy could have easily exhibited in any city in the country last year, but he chose to put a show on in Bristol. That show brought tens of thousands of people to the city, boosted the economy and was a respectful and classy thing to do. For anyone to use the 'Banksy owes Bristol' argument is poor. It's like saying Bowie owes Brixton or Hirst owes Goldsmiths.

The only responsibility any artist has is to try to produce quality work.

London is fortunate to have Marks and Stencils, but I don't think there is a better city in the UK an event like this could take place. Banksy might be the spark that draws attention to the show, but this is a celebration of the work of a range of artists and I think it is really poor if any of us forget or choose to ignore this.

I don't know how many of you have spent more than an hour outside since the cold snap started. It's much, much colder than it was for the release last year which by comparison was tropical compared to what we have at the moment. Spending the best part of 12 hours outside in the cold is not something I think any of us wants to happen and that includes PoW.

One thing this thread has shown is that there is not one perfect way of handling a print release. Whatever PoW does someone is going to be put out.

I don't think they can seriously legislate for people travelling any great distances because Londoners are always going to have an advantage getting to Berwick Street quicker than someone coming from outside of the capital. That is why the online release was such a great idea last year and I hope that PoW continues that trend this year.

I would love it if PoW announced the release late for an early morning release. E.g announce at 2am that the print will go on sale that morning at 6am. The randomness will level the playing field a bit more than 24 hour notice and the legions of professional campers/flipper teams etc it would attract. Also if someone e.g in Manchester is up at 2am when the email arrives they have a realistic chance of getting to Marks and Stencils before many Londoners have even woken up. The early opening time will stifle really long queues and no one has to freeze their arses off for any longer than necessary in Soho.

Of course this would penalise potential buyers who don't own cars or have access to transport that can get them into central London quickly. That's why I think idea of a 'dawn raid' could be a great leveller.

Dec 4, 2010 12:45:23 GMT 1 Smith and Stuff said:

Dec 4, 2010 12:26:39 GMT 1 hupster said:

Agreed. But some of us need a 3 hour drive to get to london so midday before the release would be great....

The drive from the southern midlands down to bristol (to pick up a fellow fan) then across the M4 is not a great drive. Sometimes POW must understand that there are fans all over the country and not just London because if there was not would Banksy be the same person now without the Bristol scene backing him?

I think you and your friend will be fine if you don't make to M&S the instant the release is announced. Last year I remember that the last person in the que who managed to get a print arrived at around 4am and the shop opened at 9ish so that was around a six hour wait. Plus its colder this year, much colder so only the real crazies will put themselves through this ordeal.

Does anyone think there will be more grief from passers by in this location as opposed to commercial st... que will be near that seedy little porn street... I suppose we'll spot a few embarrassed dads emerging with suspicious paper bags tucked under arm.

I've really enjoyed reading the speculation of this release and the various opinions.

Someone mentioned the role of Bristol in Banksy's career as if he owes his hometown something. Banksy could have easily exhibited in any city in the country last year, but he chose to put a show on in Bristol. That show brought tens of thousands of people to the city, boosted the economy and was a respectful and classy thing to do. For anyone to use the 'Banksy owes Bristol' argument is poor. It's like saying Bowie owes Brixton or Hirst owes Goldsmiths.

The only responsibility any artist has is to try to produce quality work.

London is fortunate to have Marks and Stencils, but I don't think there is a better city in the UK an event like this could take place. Banksy might be the spark that draws attention to the show, but this is a celebration of the work of a range of artists and I think it is really poor if any of us forget or choose to ignore this.

I don't know how many of you have spent more than an hour outside since the cold snap started. It's much, much colder than it was for the release last year which by comparison was tropical compared to what we have at the moment. Spending the best part of 12 hours outside in the cold is not something I think any of us wants to happen and that includes PoW.

One thing this thread has shown is that there is not one perfect way of handling a print release. Whatever PoW does someone is going to be put out.

I don't think they can seriously legislate for people travelling any great distances because Londoners are always going to have an advantage getting to Berwick Street quicker than someone coming from outside of the capital. That is why the online release was such a great idea last year and I hope that PoW continues that trend this year.

I would love it if PoW announced the release late for an early morning release. E.g announce at 2am that the print will go on sale that morning at 6am. The randomness will level the playing field a bit more than 24 hour notice and the legions of professional campers/flipper teams etc it would attract. Also if someone e.g in Manchester is up at 2am when the email arrives they have a realistic chance of getting to Marks and Stencils before many Londoners have even woken up. The early opening time will stifle really long queues and no one has to freeze their arses off for any longer than necessary in Soho.

Of course this would penalise potential buyers who don't own cars or have access to transport that can get them into central London quickly. That's why I think idea of a 'dawn raid' could be a great leveller.