Living Legends

As many people have become turned on to the works of the famous street artist, Banksy, the more his work has seemed to pop up all over the place. Thanks to a post on his most recent piece in Los Angeles by Bobby Hundreds of The Hundreds I have really started to realize his impact on society and even the world.

Banksy is such a low key guy and many people have no idea what he actually looks like. I think his movie Exit Through The Gift Shop really let us know how he see the world of art and more particularly, street art. His movie involves a pretty complex prank on a personal documentary maker Thierry Guetta giving him the great idea of making his own art and hosting a show. If you have seen the film, you know exactly how it turned out for Thierry and the rest of his career as an artist. 

Banksy makes a statement towards the end of the film that really reflected my personal opinion on any type of art form. He alludes to the fact that many artists spend years training their eye and hands with their chosen medium and begin to establish a style. They practice this style until it comes naturally and it is shown in all of their pieces they present. Thierry seemed to skip all of that and became an artist overnight. 

Banksy pretty much summed up my interpretation of art during present times without me knowing prior to his statement. I feel that many people are just picking up a brush, spraycan, or camera and simply calling themselves artists just because they paint, tag or take photographs. Personally, I don't consider myself an established photographer because I'm still learning. Everyday I challenge myself to learn something new about photography. Whether it's trying different exposures, new and old ways to process film, experimenting with different darkroom techniques, every day is something different. I have begun to develop a certain style but I still find myself breaking that style with new types of art work, so I haven't really found one that fits me perfectly. 

Banksy makes quite a serious point in his movie that was a "roll on the floor" comedy. To all those people calling themselves "photographers" when they really have no right to you can start calling yourselves fauxtographers. Really take some time to decide what it is you are going to do with photography. Are you going to make statements about life or simply just capture stupid pictures that no one really cares about except your friends. Become an artist, not a hobbyist. 

(All Rights Reserved to the Original Image owners: Bobby Hundreds and Thierry Guetta.)