Fauxreel/Vespa and Banksy horrors

Montreal is known for its amazing street art, so I wasn't suprised when a friend of mine showed me a photo of a beautifully done wheatpaste on a city wall. However, I soon learned that the piece of art wasn't really original or independent: a well-known street artist was commisioned by Vespa to do these wheatpastes around town (they've appeared elsewhere across the country as well) as an alternative-style advertising campaign. You can read an article about the whole thing here.

Now, while I commend Vespa for being pretty suave and creative about their marketing, I have a problem with the artist himself. This artist, Fauxreel, is riding on the waves of another "street" artist that I don't have much respect for.

If you know anything about street art, you've probably heard the name Banksy before - but if you haven't, he's pretty much the most famous street artist around. While some of his stuff is pretty interesting and can be creative, on the whole I find him a little boring and hugely overrated. But that's not really the reason I don't respect him. Anybody who's actually out there trying to make art has my respect as long as they aren't being destructive. What bothers me about Bansky is that he sold out. Last year, one of his paintings sold for £102,000. I know most artists would kill for something like that, but Banksy is a street artist, which means that the art he makes is a cultural thing - it's meant to influence others or get people thinking... at the very least, entertain the masses with wordless wit. One of the things I like best about making street art is knowing that people get to enjoy the stuff I've been working on without the glory and without a price tag. So needless to say, I'm sure you can understand why Banksy selling the art which should never have had a price bothers me.

This Fauxreel/Vespa ad thing bothers me for the same reason. It's an awesome idea in theory, but paying an established artist is a little lame, as is accepting the paycheque. I know I change my mind about a lot of stuff, but I would never sell out my art for commercial gain. One of the major mindsets of the street art and culture jamming movement is that pop media or "the man" have a lot of say over the way the general public thinks, and art doesn't need to do the same thing. it's pretty sad when someone involved in this sort of underground culture turns around and becomes the propagandist.

Something to think about, I guess.