Q Why does all generic street/urban art have to be ironic?
A So twats can feel superior cos they 'get it'.
Immediately on beholding a work they must reference their external knowledge of the content of the work to place and assess an irony, if they find no irony in a work they are lost. When they find one and 'get it' they feel enlightened, superior to those who 'don't'; when really they are aesthetically inferior as they are incapable of enjoying non ironic art as they recieve no ego reaffirmation and sense of group belonging and tribal integration from their supposed 'superior' understanding of postmodern ironies.
Conclusion
Many people who don't like generic street/urban art, actually understand the irony in it perfectly well, they just dont feel the value of it as they have no need to use it as a prop with which to make themselves feel self affirmed as they recieve self affirmation from themselves already.
Therefore the irony is useless to them and they are faced with the grim actuality of the work with its' ironic 'merit' removed, but also are freed to enjoy art that transcends the ego, and as such transcends continual external conscious referencing. Therefore the viewer is freed from this banality to appreciate art which is a beatiful aesthetic fact with its' own intrinsic beauty and meaning.
The only really relevant irony in modern visual artistic expression therefore can be one which has no monetary, status or ego attachment, but instead a higher moral purpose.
Therefore ironic commercial art is outdated and defunct to all but the insecure, pompous, vain and shallow.
Discuss.
'insecure, pompous, vain and shallow.' I'm out
ReplyDeleteI couldn't quite work out if the person who wrote this was being ironic or not. There's so much of it around nowadays that it's coming out of my bumhole as I type. But yeah, I agree with the points made and feel the same applies to humour in street art as well. Most of the childish jokes used make me wince. Some other played out things that really piss me off are humans with animal heads, stencils of people with brushes painting slogans, people/animals painted so it looks like they're breaking through surface of the wall, massively oversized typography and anything by Grafter.
ReplyDeletestreet art has become anti-ironic, is that moronic? the meaning is totally transparent whatever the image, this is for sale enjoy my message it will make you buy me when I'm released as a print, canvas, tea cosy.
ReplyDeleteif I see one more stencil of someone's face I will puke
ReplyDeletewhy? who are all these people? what do they have to say?
Free Mumia. OK, I get that, but what about the other cats?
It's so boring
Is it because, in olden times, only the rich could afford to have their portrait painted, and thus the modern (stencil) artist is saying "everyone is equally important"?
Is that what they're saying?
Because if it is, why do they always stencil THEIR name next to the pieces, and not any old name, a different name each time?
Writing your name in graffiti has a purpose. It makes you exist, it is a battle with your peers, but also some kind of proof of your skill/courage/whatever. like a youth in Africa has to go out to the bush and kill a lion, or jump from a tree with a rope around his leg, to prove he is a man.
But writing your name next to a street art piece doesn't prove anything of the same, as street art is so accepted now. It is simply there as an advertisement for the artist (even worse if they put their web site address)
Writing your name draws focus to who made the piece, and away from what the message is, the thought is, the idea is.
I find this worse than all the bad jokes, supposed irony, etc
But give it a few years, something else will come along, Banksy will be assasinated, people will realise those 18 colour D*Face prints are worth nowt, whatever, and the public will move on to the next thing.
And then people will make art in the streets because they have something to say, not because they have a new show opening.
Couldnt give a shit, just pictures innit.
ReplyDeleteCan Banksy produce an image that is not cheesy?
ReplyDeletecan someone think of a Banksy image that is Not cheesy?
take ANY Banksy image eg.. Nola
There's a young girl holding an umbrella...
but HANG ON!!!!
it's raining inside the umbrella, making her wet!!
Applause:
There's a jet fighter about to take off on an aircraft carrier..
but HANG ON!!
the ground guy signaling is holding an applause sign!!
If you like a cheesy joke on your wall, there's no one better.
Bit off topic, but does anyone remember that old sitcom series "Reginald Perrin"? There were a couple of moronic corporate yes-men in it, one would always say "great!" to which the other would reply "super!". I'm often reminded of them by VNA and Vandalog, One can't stop saying "Dope!", the other "Awesome!" They're like a lobotomised version of Tweedledum and Tweedledee or Bill and Ted
ReplyDeleteHey, let's not forget middle age(s) man, Champagne Charlie Evil's use of 'sick!', and 'trip!'.
ReplyDeleteTruly, that funny shaped man is his own dad. Fuck off you twat.