iBanksy is a vending machine created by iArtistLondon that sells stencils of Banksy graffiti and a can of spraypaint for just £9.99!
When it comes to ideas striking the right note, this is a complete symphony! It might be just a hoax, but even if it is, it’s still a brilliant idea.
What does it mean when the work of an artist whose work sells at auction for upwards of £1 million can be reproduced by anyone with a stencil and a can of spraypain? What is relevant about the art? Is it the content, or the artist? What is “real” art? It’s not a simple question. One might assume that an “authentic” Banksy would mean that he cut the stencil and spraypainted the wall himself. This particular standard of authorship is far from universal. Most of the grand masters had teams of assistants working for them. A painting by Monet might actually have been done by Team Monet, with the majority of actual brush strokes made by anonymous assistants. Since Banksy encourages people to appropriate his images and reproduce them however they see fit, couldn’t these faux Banksys be seen as his assistants, and all reproductions of Banksy’s work real Banksy? If Banksy himself cut the stencil and handed it to someone else to spray, would it be real? If Banksy bought a stencil at JoAnn’s Fabrics and stenciled it himself, would that be real?
At the same time, we’re actually assuming that there is a real Banksy. Banksy chooses to remain anonymous. Banksy could actually be a group of people claiming to be the same individual, like Alan Smithee. Further complicating matters is Banksy’s own ambivalent attitude toward authenticating his (or her or their) own work. Pest Control, the allegedly official group that authenticates Banksy’s work, has this to say:
‘[Banksy] would encourage anyone wanting to purchase one of his images to do so with extreme caution, but does point out that many copies are superior in quality to the originals.
”…Banksy has a casual attitude to copyright and encourages the reproduction of his work for your own personal amusement, so it’s with regret that he finds himself having to deem pieces either “real” or “fake”.’ (source)
Which is all just to say, we need vending machines like iBanksy in the world, to raise such questions in such a fun and interactive way!
