An exhibition of intentional and inadvertent irony
On May 7, it was announced that The Art of Banksy would stop in Toronto. The exhibition was set to premiere June 13 and run until July 11. Due to popular demand, the show was extended until September 2.
Despite exhibiting $35 million of Banksy’s art, the essence of Banksy seems absent in the isolated warehouse. This is Steve Lazarides’ curation and little else. Banksy’s name has come to be associated with his signature cynical anti-capitalist and anti-establishment art. He is one of today’s most popular contemporary artists.
Often creating and displaying art in visible and accessible ways, his shows are lauded as innovative and incredible experiences. His free 2006 exhibit Barely Legal protested the willful public ignorance of the treatment of alleged terrorists. He took the figurative phrase “elephant in a room” and made it literal, to drive his point home. His 2008 show, The Cans Festival, mocked the elite Cannes Film Festival. He invited other artists to put up old works and create new ones. The public was even invited to graffiti the exhibit. One of Banksy’s more recent shows, Dismaland, was a literal theme park, filled with his own artwork and that of his contemporaries. Press coverage was extensive, as the site selling tickets regularly crashed, unable to handle the server traffic, and the host town received $30 million in tourist revenue. However, even with all the hype, the show was still accessible: admission to Dismaland was £3.
What we expect from a Banksy show is exactly what The Art of Banksy fails to offer. Steve Lazarides, Banksy’s previous manager, curated the show. He proudly gathered works amounting to $35 million, announcing the price on the show’s website. On the other hand, Banksy responded to an art auction of his work in 2007 with a new piece titled: “I Can’t Believe You Morons Actually Buy This Shit.”
As expected, the announcement of this show was met almost instantly with negative reception. Critics pointed to Banksy’s lack of approval for, or presence at the exhibit of his own work. University of Toronto professor Elizabeth Legge chimed in to the CBC, calling the show “cheesy and tacky.”
Since opening, the show has continued to undergo turbulence, including a $38,000 print theft and an act of protest from a local artist. Toronto artist Tharanga Ramanayake, poking fun at the absurdity of paying to see street art, hung up his own work, “FREE-FOR-ALL,” in the gallery, which read: “Theft is bringing street art inside and then charging an admission fee.” While Ramanayake’s artwork was immediately taken down, the act grabbed global attention, as Banksy might have done in 2005 in New York. There is not an ounce of irony lost regarding the turning of these tables.
However, while there are countless articles of criticism, the hashtag #BanksyToronto is flooded with selfies and appreciation. There is an ironic humor in anti-capitalist artwork sold at a giftshop on mugs, t-shirts, and bottle-openers. The whole show practically exudes irony.
My experience of the show was defined by an emptiness. In hindsight, it was stupid, but thinking of Dismaland, I expected more. The warehouse was empty, as was the meaning behind the framed art. I was caught off guard by the lack of impact. These messages of activism had no power. Staring at the anti-consumerist art ten meters from the giftshop made it feel like I was in an episode of Portlandia. Kate Taylor, critic for The Globe and Mail, explains the experience fantastically: “if Banksy’s simple work does have power, it is out in the city where its subversion works its quick magic in the double take of a passing pedestrian. It is work to be glimpsed rather than savoured.”
Banksy’s street art is simplistic and accessible, created to surprise people and provoke thought, which makes it ill-suited for a dark warehouse show. Googling Banksy’s art will achieve the same effect as seeing it in print at 213 Sterling Road. Save your time and money, especially with school starting. I’d like to conclude this article by copying Lazarides’ conclusion to his description of Banksy’s work, which he copied from Banksy: “Writing graffiti is about the most honest way you can be an artist. It takes no money to do it, you don’t need an education to understand it, and there’s no admission fee.”
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