from Inti in Paris, colourful, mad and probably a hat shop advert, still fucking mental and all the better for it.
And, Blu hold your breath a slight criticism about this piece!!! Criticising petrol, nice Medusa head connection to evil and yet, this is the man who travels the world and probably in so doing uses a lot of fuel (unless it's by kite).
yeah, but that's like saying that throwing a petrol bomb at an anti-government riot is bad because the government gets lots of tax money from petrol sales!
ReplyDeletemany artists throw away empty paint cans, paint scraps, old brushes etc after painting, and it's a fact that even environmentalists use the earths resources, so it's an empty argument to say that Blu's message is invalid unless he walked all the way to this wall
and even more so because, by making a 'political statement' he becomes a target for attack, while the other mural here, which is just a pretty picture, is free from such comment. should we all have nothing to say in future? should we stick to just making pretty pictures??
fuck the world! or rather, fuck humanity! the quicker we make this planet uninhabitable for humans the quicker we'll die out and leave the planet for the next stage of evolutionary existence
That last paragraph was slightly extreme Dave. Not all humans deserve to die. Humanity is facing some big issues and I know it's hard to see a way out sometimes, but I don't think a bleak nihilistic collective suicide or genocidal approach is necessarily the appropriate response. Some people are trying their best to live frugally within the limits of sustainability. Should they be wiped out as well? Or would they just be classed as 'collateral damage'? And what about all of the animals that would surely perish in the scorched earth scenario? They would be innocent victims too. Why should they have to pay the price for human greed and insensitivity? Some artists do use a lot of polluting materials it's true. Perhaps they should re-evaluate that and try to minimise their impact as much as possible. Personally I don't get the fetishisation of spray cans. To me they're an ugly symbol of a rampant consumer society. Often other means could easily be employed. Same with the current vogue for fire extinguishers...it feels just the same as watching some fat capitalist belching out fumes from their 4x4. It's a kind of selfish egotistical statement that seems completely at odds with the current environmental reality we're living in. Yeah, I know a lot of graffiti is all about ego, but maybe it's time to consider other factors too.
ReplyDeleteAll artists pollute
ReplyDeleteAll humans polluteHaving your computer switched on to read this is creating pollutionMan kind is already killing animals in their millions, wiping out species every dayMy position is that when people whine on about how we must save the planet they are missing the point - the planet isn't going to die, not for a long time, and the one thing that will definately save the planet is the end of at least 90% of human life
So the way for us to "save" the planet is to breed like rabbits until the planet can no longer sustain human life and most of us die out
Sure, lots of animals will die too, but that's part of life. Part of the story of evolution
Hippies like you would go back to the time of the dinosaurs and kill all the mammals so they couldn't eat the dinosaurs eggs and bring about their ultimate extinction!!!
so quit nit-picking about Blu riding in an aeroplane to make a statement about how oil companies are raping the planet. we're ALL raping the planet, doesn't mean we shouldn't point this out from time to time!
Your philosophy is twisted Dave. There's really no hope for you.
ReplyDeleteI just hope that if you get your apocalyptic wish, then you're still alive in the last days to suffer in agony as the world is turned into a giant dustbowl, stripped of all vegetation and animal life...a bleak Mars-like desert where humans have exhausted everything they can possibly predate upon, until finally they have to resort to killing and eating each other.
Who knows, maybe you'll even be the last one left alive, crawling through an arid wasteland, gnawing on your own limbs for sustenance as your flesh blisters in the scorching sun and sandstorms fill your eyes and throat with searing jagged particles of red hot glass.
It's not my "apocalyptic wish" - I recycle like a bastard, I have seperate trash cans for paper, plastic, glass, and biodegradable (food) waste.
ReplyDeletePlus in Germany we get money back when we recycle bottles, so on the odd occasion I don't recycle a bottle someone else will.
I've never owned a car, eat a mostly vegetarian diet, and don't run the water while brushing my teeth!!!It's just a reality check for the hippies. Humans can't kill the planet, as we'd die before the planet dies, and after we're gone the planet will move on to it's next stage of evolution, even if that stage is like Terminator, a desert with sand made from crushed human skulls.And anyway, it was just a vaguely humorous end to a post pointing out the stupidity of Funky bitchin on Blu for being a human while pointing out his fellow humans flaws.You people got no sense of humour, you take words on internet sites WAY to seriously;-)
Well, that's because we know you're such a misanthropic bastard Dave. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you did secretly want 6 billion people to suffer a hideous death.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I often hear the same kind of "it's too late to do anything, so we might as well just carry on as we are" stuff from right wing people trying to justify their continuing unsustainable lifestyles. It's not an uncommon view, so maybe you reminded me of them a bit, although I know you're coming at it from a slightly different angle.
I'm not so sure that we can't kill the planet though...plenty of dead planets exist. Life arose on this one through a series of chance events and conditions. Who's to say that if we alter the balance too much that life will ever be able to recover in any form?
it's not too late to slow things down, but we can't put oil and coal back in the ground, can't make all the species we've destroyed come back to life, can't fix the hole in the ozone layer, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm a father, I obviously want my child to have the chance to grow up with water to drink, air to breath, flowers, vegetables, sunshine, and all the other wonderful things we take for granted.
I try to be as sustainable as possible, always carry a bag so I don't need a plastic one, buy as little as possible, recycle, etc, but I still live in the modern world where I like to be able to turn on a light or a tap at any time of the day or night, eat fruit that has been grown in other countries, watch the occasional movie with an explosion in it! Just like you do!
But I still say the best thing for this planet is the death of the human race, just as a doctor would tell a cancer sufferer that the best thing for their health is radiation therapy to destroy the cancer!
We are just animals, and animal species die every day. We just happen to be the animals that are not able to live in balance and harmony with the rest of the planet. I'm sure if we gave all animals the ability to think like us they'd realise that we're fucking it up for all of them and they'd rip our throats out in a second!
you've still missed the point of my original post and focused on the tongue-in-cheek ending. the "skateboarding duck" story at the end of the news. the fluff that's irrelevant but made to lift our spirits.
I still think Funky's comment about Blu riding in an aeroplane is irrelevant and pointless, that he's just looking for something to bitch about, and that this kind of whining will lead to nobody taking a political stance in art and all we'll end up with is twee little pictures. And how are pictures of kittens and watercolours of farmhouses going to save the planet?
Hooray for Blu and his attack on the oil companies, plane rides or not!!!
Nice quote Dave chimp!
ReplyDelete"fuck humanity! the quicker we make this planet uninhabitable for humans
the quicker we'll die out and leave the planet for the next stage of
evolutionary existence"
Yes obviously its virtually impossible to exist nowardays without polluting, even if it's a particularly eggy cabbage guff.
BTW dont forget were a bunch of namby pamby sissy ass twits here in the "west" You want to see reality look at those poor dudes in africa sifting through our e-waste and sleeping on the sidewalk. Theyre already living the nightmare!
Yeah, I get what you're saying, and I'm glad that Blu is criticising the oil companies. I'm all for art having a message. But at the same time, that doesn't give him a magical 'get out of jail free card' that absolves him from all criticism either.
ReplyDeleteNobody likes a hypocrite. It's a bit hard to take what somebody's saying seriously if they don't themselves practice what they preach. It also damages the very cause that they're trying to promote. Just like when Al Gore made that film about how we all need to change our lifestyles, but was then exposed in the media as flying around in private jets and living in a 30 room mansion that consumes as much energy as a medium sized African city.
I'm not saying Blu is quite as bad as that, but I think it's fair to at least raise the question. The oil companies may be evil, but if we all stopped blithely consuming the shit they're offering us then that would go a long way towards solving the problem. It may be hard to exist without polluting in some way or another, but to always blame companies or governments feels like an easy way of shifting the issue onto some giant abstracted force that's beyond our control...whereas ultimately the responsibility lies with each individual.
Also, as much as I might like art with a message, I also wonder if it doesn't just become another product to consume, which diverts people from taking any concrete action.
ReplyDeleteI bet a lot of people will view this image on their computer screen and feel that's enough. By agreeing with the message and maybe chuckling at the dark humour they reaffirm to themselves that they're a good, caring person, and contentedly feel like they've done their bit for the planet this week/month/year by viewing some political art. Then, with their consciences sufficiently eased, it's straight back to business as usual.
can you all stop having a proper discussion and concentrate on talking shit about forums, blogs and artists you don't like please. thankyou
ReplyDeleteGrafter has got Shergar tied up in his basement.
ReplyDeletewell since Shergar is dead, we must applaud Grafter for his excellent efforts at recycling.
ReplyDeleteBlu painted a mural. It's not a product to be consumed. So yes, he flew in an aeroplane to get to the location. And no doubt there were products derived from oil used in the creation of this piece (plastic roller handle for example) but if we go down this path it means the only political art can be made by naked people who eat other people's garbage and make paint brushes from their own arse-hair.
I'm starting to think you don't want any "political" art as it makes you think about how you're living your life in this modern world, Bill. You can't blame yourself for being born in this destructive consumerist society, but to whine on about one person riding in an aeroplane is a little off-point I (still) think.
I read a great quote about the Russian revolution that I really wanted to post, but I can't find it anywhere, which is a shame as it would have saved me writing all these other posts!
I like political art Dave. All I'm saying is that creating some of it doesn't automatically make somebody a saint who is beyond all criticism. As far as I know there isn't some kind of United Nations resolution in effect where if you paint a political mural you're then given carte blanche to jet around the world for the next X amount of years causing more pollution that the average African or Asian person will in a hundred lifetimes, and all without anybody even being allowed to even whisper the question that this behaviour might be slightly at odds with the message you're preaching.
ReplyDeleteYou sound a bit like you're arguing for a Soviet type system, where we get heroic 'revolutionary' murals painted for us in a totally one-way dialogue....and we have to blindly accept what we're being fed, without daring to ask any difficult questions about the people behind it.
If I were to accept every so-called 'political' piece of street art at face value then that would be just as bad as if I chose to believe everything I saw in tabloid newspapers or TV advertisements.
Anyway, I know this mural isn't a product for sale in a monetary sense. I meant it as being part of a media spectacle...something to be consumed that makes us superficially feel like we're all doing something about the issue by viewing at it on our computers, when in actual fact it's just a way of anaesthetising our slightly nagging consciences for a little while until the next piece of political street art comes along that we can nod approvingly at in our roles as passive spectators. A way of washing clean our sins in the same way that some capitalist banker might be taking part every day in foul practices that rape the planet, but at home in their luxury penthouse they might have a 'subversive' Banksy print on the wall, so that makes it all ok.
once again you're not listening to what I'm actually saying Bill.
ReplyDeleteat what point did I call Blu a saint?
all I said was it's a bit off to disregard what he's trying to say because he didn't walk all the way to wherever this mural is. whether an artist who paints an anti-smoking mural smokes cigarettes doesn't change the fact that the tobacco industry destroys countless lives and creates a huge, unneccersary burden on the health system (for example) For all we know Blu could be making a comment not only on the destructive oil industry, but also about the fact that he is a slave to them since he needs to use plastic and fuel to go about his job/passion/preaching.
and what a fan of street art feels about a painting is a very different thing to what the average person might feel when confronted by this piece on their way to work.
a piece of this kind is only really of any power went encountered in the real world. very little viewed on the internet has any effect on people because the screen/size of image/desensitizing effect of being in your cosy home renders things ineffectual.
street art in general is only of any real use when seen in the street. this internet thing is totally fake, which is one of the main reasons I think blogs have ruined the "art form".
and the quote I was thinking of was about the Russian revolution, and about how the revolutionaries didn't stop revolting because the pick axe handles they were using to smash stuff up were made by what amounted to slave labour. just as Blu didn't let the fact he had to burn some oil stop him from saying that oil companies are fucking things up for us all, as can be seen by the massive damage the BP oil spill caused earlier this year, environmental damage Blu couldn't cause even if he flew non-stop for the rest of his life!
Have some perspective sir!!!
Well, we're going round in circles a bit here. All I'm saying is that people who criticise things, as he's doing with this piece, then have to accept that opens them up to criticism too. You can't expect to hold others to account and then get a completely free ride yourself.
ReplyDeleteIt's like for example the police force...there's just been some revelations of corruption here in the UK. So if a copper tries to tell me that I should be obeying certain laws, but they themselves aren't following the law, it kind of invalidates their argument and whole point of existing. This is why hypocrisy can be so damaging to a cause...it causes a resentment and loss of legitimacy that obscures the central issue.
I take your point about having to see this on the street, but I also ask myself who this is aimed at. If it's trying to directly address the oil companies then I don't think they really care. If it's directed toward the general public and is telling them that oil companies are evil then I think they already know that and it's a bit condescending really. If it's trying to get people to change their behaviour by reducing their consumption of fossil fuels then that's all well and good, until people find out that the person preaching at them probably has a much greater carbon footprint than they do, then it becomes a bit ridiculous really.
It's like a chronically obese person calling you a fat bastard and telling you what to eat, or a paedo priest giving sermons on morality. People just aren't going to take what they say seriously, and are likely to feel a bit patronised and insulted to be honest.
I know the oil spill was bad, but these companies only exist because people keep on buying their products. I think it's actually an easy way of abdicating personal responsibility to always blame things on massive evil companies, when in actual fact the blame lies a bit closer to home. It's like all the people who were so outraged against the paparazzi when Princess Diana died were mostly the very same people who buy tabloid newspapers and thus created the situation in the first place. People always want a convenient scapegoat to hang the blame on, and which allows them the luxury of not having to look too deeply at their own actions.
Take recycling for instance, which you mentioned earlier. Recycling actually uses massive amounts of energy. A far better way would be not to consume all of that disposable material in the first place. It's somewhat difficult I agree with the way society is structured, but with some forethought it's not impossible for an individual to greatly cut down the amount of waste they produce.
But most humans are too lazy, this is the problem. So they convince themselves that recycling and viewing a bit of anti-corporate art is enough. Then, happily lulled into a false sense of security that they're doing their bit, they remain oblivious to the real scale of the problem. That's why I'm postulating whether protest art such as this might actually be counter-productive...in that basically it's just a superficial stunt that allows everybody an easy way of paying lip-service to the issue without having to engage in a meaningful way.
There's even a term for this kind of thing. Slacktivism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacktivism
This is relevant too... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcotizing_Dysfunction
ReplyDeleteFFS
ReplyDeleteGuest, you'd probably be better off on .info instead. Things don't get challenged over there. Probably more to your liking.
ReplyDeleteTalking of Spunky's car boot sale, anyone interested in the latest gem of wisdom from little fat dumplings face RYCA? Pretty fuckin rich coming from someone who,s never been near an illegal wall in his life.
ReplyDeleteStick to Star wars and road signs, mate.
dont forget about acting like a shelf so Eine can rest a can on his ample behind and ride him around the east end to his next PR oppertunity.
ReplyDeleteJust saw the print. What a fucking abortion. The print quality is absolute shit too, my desktop laserjet produces better. I wouldn't even give him 5p for it, let alone 50 quid. Remi loves it though, which gives some idea of the mental level it's aimed at.
ReplyDeleteYes it's so good Remi swapped one of his books he never could shift for one.
ReplyDeleteSpeaks volumes if only we could mute the Hip Hype gnome.
it's all too true Bill. recycling does use a lot of energy, but it also keeps things from being buried in the ground, where it might seep chemicals into the water supply. it uses a lot of energy and water to recycle paper, but it uses a lot of energy and water to grow trees, chop down trees, and make paper. we've basically created a world to live in where we're fucked from all sides no matter what we do.
ReplyDeleteand it's a system we didn't make. I have to give money to the government, a lot of which is spent on stuff that is useless to me, like bombs. if I don't give them this money they'll throw me in jail. which means I have to work all the time. which means I don't have time to grow vegetables, so I have to buy them. and then the man selling vegetables wants me to buy HIS vegetables, not the other guys vegetables, and so he starts wrapping them up in plastic so they last longer, putting fancy stickers and labels on them, putting them in boxes so they look sexy and I buy them. I'm caught in a trap. sometimes it makes me very unhappy. but then I get distracted by the internet, by arguing with strangers about things like some mural somewhere, things I don't actually care about, and I forget what I should really be caring about, which is working less and growing vegetables...
Yeah, I agree, people should grow more vegetables, and fruit too. Maybe you could highlight this in your street art. Perhaps a portrait of Tom and Barbara from the Good Life, heroically holding bunches of turnips aloft in the style of socialist realism, while Margo looks on in disgust.
ReplyDeleteHere's a nice quote I just saw Dave. The author of which is proposing that "within the capitalist order there is no space to conceive of alternative forms of social structure". Which reminded me of what you were saying, and also probably explains why Vanda£og and his ilk feel so compelled to regard everything as a commodity...
ReplyDelete"Capitalist realism as I understand it cannot be confined to art or to the quasi-propagandistic way in which advertising functions. It is more like a pervasive atmosphere, conditioning not only the production of culture but also the regulation of work and education, and acting as a kind of invisible barrier constraining thought and action."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalist_realism
I prefer the project Akim made, where he found lots of different fruit trees around the city, picked the fruit, made jam with the fruit, then gave the jam to friends (with a little map of the location of the fruit tree he'd used stuck to the lid)
ReplyDeletenot only do I like this as a (street) art project, but the jam was some of the best I'd tasted too!
now you're just making me depressed, making me want to go paint an anti oli company mural, an anti capitalist mural...
ReplyDeleteYeah, urban foraging and jam making is all the rage right now, just like urban knitting was last year. I heard that the Women's Institute are actually the new radical wing of street art.
ReplyDeletewhen someone knits a whole car, then I'll be impressed
ReplyDeleteBy the way before giving people shit you should do some research ,BLU is always travelling by train,you smart asses!!!!
ReplyDelete