A book by Banksy.

I confess I adore Banksy’s graffiti work, not just for the powerful message but also because, like much street snapping, it has ephemeral appeal.

So when a friend mentioned his book ‘Wall and Piece’ I snapped up a copy. Like Banksy’s ethos, it’s cheap and abundantly illustrated.

Click for the Amazon US site. A poor illustration – the terrorist is actually throwing a bunch of flowers …. on the rear cover.

One of the funniest things is that he not only states how long it took to make many of the pieces – not long as he uses spray paint and stencils to reduce the risk of detection – he also adds how long those in art museums survived before the curators cottoned on to the hoax. In some cases that’s many weeks. Perhaps his finest comment, painted on the gutter outside the Tate, states ‘Mind the Crap’. This, let us recall, is the museum which gave us a crucifix in a pool of urine named ‘Piss Christ’.

His immense commercial success must give him pause for thought, given his Marxist pronouncements, but who could possibly argue with the following sentiment?

“Any advertisement in public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It belongs to you. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.” He refers to this collectively as ‘Brandalism’.

As for the close of the book, his Manifesto, I won’t spoil it other than to say that this one page where he illustrates his beliefs is of such shattering intensity that it will leave you limp and in tears. The book is worth buying for these few words alone.

Banksy is a photographer by circumstance. His graffiti don’t last long so he is forced to record them for posterity.

A great artist.

Banksy does San Francisco – at Columbus Avenue and the Bankster building. G1, kit lens @34mm, 1/3200, f/5.5, ISO320.