What does (did?) anonymity mean to Banksy?

The British tabloid Daily Mail claims to have identified Banksy, perhaps the world's most famous graffiti artist. Walls that Banksy has graced with his work have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars but Banksy's myth extends well past pricey pieces of vandalism. We all know a certain level of celebrity tends to grant boundless privilege, however Banksy manages to be inaccessible to famous fans of his like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt despite the couple easily out-celebtritying the street artist. In addition to making Banksy a curiosity to those who have taken traditional routes to fame, Banksy's mystique results in endless mythes and rumors about the artist. Anonymity also serves a functional purpose, aiding in Banksy's ability to pull off elaborate pranks ,such as sneaking his own works into New York art museums during business hours, and generally eluding authorities on the watch for him.

Without question, part of Banksy's allure lies in that he is anonymous beyond his pseudonym. And perhaps to uber-celebrities like Pitt and Jolie part of the allure lies in that Banksy has acquired a particular sort of fame which they could never hope to achieve. One must ask, how should we view Banksy now that his invaluable anonymity has been snatched away?

Pairing an identity with Banksy's body of work does not strip the works themselves of their resonance. And while the Daily Mail may try to make a story of such a world class dissident having a middle class background, that is neither shocking in a historical sense nor once you closely consider the content of Banksy's work. Banksy has long explored themes of authority and the vulnerability of middle class contentment, often delightfully juxtaposing the two.

It seems like anonymity is something less than a conceptual necessity here but I do not want to be too quick to say Banksy as Robin Gunningham does not matter because Robin Gunningham is simply a new monicker for what we knew as Banksy. While it would be much worse for Banksy to be revealed as another artist with an acknowledged body of work that muddies the intrigue of the Banksy persona, as some have suggested before; Robin Gunningham is not simply Banksy by some other name.

There are two basic ways having a name is worse for Banksy than being incognito. The first is that the more his fame grew the more remaining elusive was an impressive feat similar to any of his "quality vandalism" exploits. The other is that it puts some definite end points on a previously boundless mythology. We as fans can no longer sit and wonder. There is a man and an autobiography. While his work always provided hints at his humanity, he could only be truly humanized by being joined with an identity.

More Blogging Coming Soon

I apologize for drawing your attention here and promptly ceasing to post. For the last several days most of my time has gone towards preparing to move. I am leaving for Indiana on Friday where I will be organizing for the Obama campaign. I will be returning to the west coast when the Obama gig has run its course but I still have to move due to my soon to expire rental agreement.

Ratatat Release New Record, Still Sound Like Ratatat

If you were feeling a little lazy, a little crass and a little unbound by racial sensitivity you could call Ratatat the "white Neptunes." On the surface the shoe fits. The literally and metaphorically white Ratatat deliver a bit more consistently when they dwell closer to the realm of indie electronica than the Neptunes rock pet project N.E.R.D. The Neptunes have actual gigs producing for top emcees while Mike Stroud and Evan Mast of Ratatat have thus far only dabbled in (sometimes brilliant) remixes.

It is undeniable that both Ratatat and the Neptunes revel in their distinctive sounds. To someone who has listened to Ratatat's 2004 eponymous debut and its follow-up Classics, Ratatat's most recent effort, fittingly titled LP3, still sounds like Ratatat. Similarly if you have listened to a Clipse album or a good portion of mainstream radio (up to twenty percent of British radio), you know the Neptunes sound.

Ultimately reducing the parallels between Ratatat and the Neptunes to labeling the non-superstars "white Neptunes" is a disservice to both twosomes. On LP3 Ratatat continue to develop and play within the niche they have carved out for themselves. If Classics was an epic soundtrack fitting of its title, then LP3 is Ratatat brooding and prodding.

LP3 plays with mood more than Classics or Ratatat ever attempted to. Opener "Shiller" is the first truly foreboding Ratatat track and for that reason is an odd choice for their first single. "Flynn" has a tropical hook but the mood is complicated by ominous background echoes. "Falcon Jab" and "Mirando" are encouraging steps towards merging Ratatat's two disparate personalities that respectively crank out hip-hop bangers and marching electronica. On the second half of the record "Mumatz Khan" and "Gypsy Threat" respectably add tribal drums and klezmer folk to textures familiar to the band.

Stroud and Mast do slip up a few times along the way through LP3. "Bird Priest" is a lazy romp that could have been a filler track on either of the duo's previous albums, and "Imperials" begins with an out of place beach sample of waves crashing only to never find an identify. In all, LP3, like Classics before it, is a nice next step albeit absent any hint of serious transition. It is a good album but I am a little curious what else Ratatat can do.

The World's Greatest Etch A Sketch

US Cellular Advertisers Have Never Seen Real People on Cell Phones

It is an advertiser's dream to firmly link their product to a positive experience. A shining example of this is Corona's tie to lounging on a Mexican beach. Corona branding is so effective it transcends our awareness that we have been hooked by ad men (at least it did for my roommates and me last summer when we sat on a porch overlooking and industrial park, drinking Coronas and imagining beach life). But of course there are other examples of advertisers striving to fuse their product with an image and falling short. Seth Stevenson at Slate recently described a questionable attempt to redefine Amstel and today I came across an item on the New York Times website that lead me to the following US Cellular commercial:



You don't have to dig deeply to find some problems with this commercial. It is difficult to imagine a stranger walking in public with a cell phone to his ear bringing a smile to anyone's face. In fact I have trouble imagining this has ever happened. If it has, the smile was undoubtedly not a function of the cell phone use, instead perhaps the chatter's bad hair cut or poor grooming, etc. Hence the curiosity that is the commercial above. The positive experience these US Cellular advertisers are trying to associate with their product is not only unconvincing, it is the polar opposite of the everyday reality of urban cell phone use.

Watching this commercial I find myself wondering if the person who devised it has ever walked past a cell phone user in a crowded urban area. The disconnect between the real life experience portrayed and what occurs in the commercial is amazing. If this commercial accomplishes anything, it draws attention to something we all hate about cell phones.

The commercial is trying to capture the moment when two total strangers exchange a smile. Who has never had their day brightened for a second by a smile from a stranger? (Maybe someone who has lived their entire life in New York City?) Yet the commercial completely misses on what makes such an interaction meaningful. If you smile at someone or someone smiles at you, you are sharing something, even if it is an exceedingly small something. If someone chatting on a cell phone smiles, that person is not exchanging a smile with the people nearby. The cell phone smile is extended to the person on the other end of the call. That smile might as well be a scowl to random bystanders because they are always going to be on the outside of the interpersonal exchange.

With that in mind I propose an alternative commercial to US Cellular. In my commercial there is a jerk walking around, chatting loudly on his iphone (after all, you know an iphone user is an AT & T subscriber) and a group of US Cellular customers rally together to teach him some manners and get him to go have his discussion in something closer to privacy, while standing (or sitting) in one place. I think this commercial would have a real populist appeal.

Who am I and why am I here?

Human beings are curious creatures and many human beings do or create interesting things. My aim here is simple, to highlight compelling endeavors and fascinating (and/or obnoxious) cultural phenomenon and hopefully engage in thought provoking discussion. Medium term goals of this blog include moving to a page of my own design and inviting other authors to publish content here. In the meantime I will be the sole author as I try to establish a habit of publishing quality content consistently. Enjoy!