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| Wall and Piece | 
 enlarge | Author: Banksy
Publisher: Random House UK
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $14.64
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Avg. Customer Rating:  53 reviews
Sales Rank: 2743
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 8.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 1844137872
Dewey Decimal Number: 751.73
EAN: 9781844137879
ASIN: 1844137872
Publication Date: April 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Banksy, Britain's now-legendary "guerilla" street artist, has painted the walls, streets, and bridges of towns and cities throughout the world. Not only did he smuggle his pieces into four of New York City's major art museums, he's also "hung" his work at London's Tate Gallery and adorned Israel's West Bank barrier with satirical images. Banksy's identity remains unknown, but his work is unmistakable—with prints selling for as much as $45,000.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 48 more reviews...
Art like a land mine December 7, 2005
64 out of 67 found this review helpful
Think art has lost its edge? Witness the art of England's Banksy and reconsider.
His message: that if the powerful and wealthy get to force-feed consumerist propaganda to citizens via giant billboards... then citizens have the right to reply in kind. To that end he's trekked around the world throwing up politically pointed, often funny, always eye-popping street art wherever he damn well pleases: On sidewalks, on train trestles, on the West Bank wall between Israel and Palestine, in monkey cages at the zoo, in the world's great museums (unbeknownst to the curators, of course), and on farm animals (yes, ON them).
"Wall and Piece" is a "best of" overview of Banksy's career, and impresses on a lot of levels. There's the skill and variety of Banksy's techniques (stencils, illustrations, paintings, screenprints and sculptures are all on display). There's the caustic wit of his writing (expressed here in almost epigrammatic blurbs about art and politics). And there's his genius as a prankster. Example: Not content merely to graffitti a blank wall in Westminster, Banksy instead throws up an official-looking "This Wall Is A Designated Graffitti Area" stencil (complete with a "royal" crest swiped off a pack of cigarettes)... and watches others do the work for him.
For those yearning for art that's active... that excites and inspires instead of merely placating... this is the book of the year. One warning: it sits on your coffee table like a social land mine. Guests come over, crack it open, and it obliterates conversation for a while as they get sucked in. Completely Addictive. Highly recommended.
Never mind the bollocks - here's Banksy May 11, 2007
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
In a time when most works of art consist of either inconsequential pseudo-intellectual "abstractions" or fatuous entertainment, it can be a great relief to stumble upon something like Banksy's paintings/writings on the wall. And here we have a nice compilation by this growingly famous pseudo-anonymous artist for all those who do not plan to bother travelling to London, Barcelona, San Francisco, Palestine or whatever other hellish place that has been blessed with his striking graffiti creations.
Incidentally, the Oxford Dictionary defines graffiti as: "drawings or writing on a wall, etc. in a public place. They are usually rude, humorous or political." Banksy's work, of course, is all three simultaneously. Perhaps that's one of the elements distinguishing him from other (half)underground artists (or just assertive kids) trying to get their message through by painting public buildings without official permission.
For better or for worse, Banksy's art is loaded with meanings - and they're not that difficult to figure out, either. No wonder that no self-respecting "modern art" museum showed much interest in him - at least until he made himself noticed by blatantly breaking the rules. Don't we all love a non-conformist!
In many ways, Banksy represents the good old punk ethos at its best: he is an exemplary practitioner of Do-It-Yourself techniques (up to his famous pranks of sneaking his works into big international museums); his themes are often (if not always) anti-authoritarian; his art is oozing with cynicism and (self-)mockery. Even the leitmotiv of the (nasty, snide, irredeemable) RAT as a reverse mirror of mainstream values, empty promises and not-so-subtle state disciplinary measures is reminiscent of the height of punk insubordination. Those were the days!
Still, as we all know, Punk is Dead. Anarchy didn't even come close to becoming more than a cute slogan. The "System" hasn't collapsed (yet). But that doesn't mean one should stop kicking and screaming, does it?
Fortunately, Banksy isn't just a "retro" artist - quite the opposite, he manages to reflect his own time and culture in a unique and very convincing way. Which is a hell of an achievement, considering how quickly any defiance is turned into a (boring) spectacle these days, with cheap t-shirts and mugs thrown into the bargain.
Whether in his mockery of paranoia-inducing surveillance cameras, ever-present police officers, soldiers and impressive arsenal (of the peaceful West) - or his caricatures of a commercial culture incorporating everything from revolutionary anti-capitalist icons to flesh-coloured Christs that glow in the dark, - Banksy twists symbols and turns meanings upside down to shed a light on the contradictions lying beneath a stifling pile of stupefying nonsense and outright lies. Plus he's funny about it. What else could you wish for?
Although there are lots of pictures of Banksy's art on the internet, this book offers two advantages: 1) it's much nicer and more comfortable to look at the (many) printed pictures; and 2) the artist has added some interesting personal thoughts/experiences which only contribute to his image of a smart, somewhat riotous but also admirably understated RAT. And a wise self-promoter.
Comming from an art school dropout October 2, 2006
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
Most graffiti artists are of the same school of thought, that being; advertisements are everywhere - Shepard Fairey the OBEY guy, everywhere you look theres someone visually shoving something down your throat and usually they want money for it. So why is it illegal to put some of your own art up just as much as they do? This is true and valid opinion for someone to have, but not when its coming from a guy who just sprayed his tag name on the side of the highway in 8 foot indiscernible lettering - that is what gives graffiti a bad name. In my opinion it should be against the law to sign your name on a train or a building - no matter how big it is or how many colors you used or how fast you had to run when the watchmen saw. It just misses the point of having a public exchange of ideas.
Banksy gets graffiti, he is someone who's ART you can respect, it has a message, and he has balls of steel from what I gather from this book.
PERIOD THE END May 24, 2006
4 out of 14 found this review helpful
THE BOOK BY BANKSY
" WALL AND PIECE"
IS GREAT
PERIOD THE END
THANKS
MELTON MAGIDSON
love his work July 3, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a delightful book of a very creative graffiti/street artist. Banksy is unarguably a massive egotist and shameless self-promoter, and one may argue with his approach to what a street artist can do (anything he wants, according to Banksy). But those are mere quibbles compared to the amazing vision and wit that he possesses.
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