Banksy as Fuel For Good Debate in New York City
The graffiti grandmaster is back in the Big Apple.
His team was here in 2013 when I first moved to New York. I remember it being like a treasure hunt followed by deep political and socio-economic debate. His works have a way of slicing an issue to its core, exposing his viewers through their reactions and interpretations.
Over the last week, several of his works have appeared in the form of murals in Staten Island and on Bowery to the not-so-obvious clockwork in Union Square. I was in a cab over the weekend and unwittingly passed by a huge mural that was lit up. Above the mural, there was a projection of a painting superimposed overtop a photograph. (The two are side-x-side, below.) At first glance you could tell this was an important piece. People were clustered around in front of it watching the slides fade back and forth. My cab stopped at a red light diagonal from the work so we sat there and just looked at it for a while.
This is Banksy’s centerpiece. A depiction of Artist / Journalist Zehra Dogan who was imprisoned for painting the Turkish Flag over the rubble of a bombed town.
“Free Zehra Dogan”
The 70’ wide mural sits over one the busiest portions of Manhattan, and is composed of bold black tally marks indicating how many days Dogan has remained in prison. The artist herself is portrayed in the mural behind the tally marks (drawn as a blend of prison bars and pencils). Through his instagram account Banksy has made a few striking statements about his latest work:
"One year ago Zehra Dogan was jailed for painting this watercolour of a photograph she saw in the newspaper. Protest against this injustice…" Banky wrote on Instagram. "Sentenced to nearly three years in jail for painting a single picture. #FREEzehradogan." Source
Fuel for Conversation
I'll do a follow up post after visiting a couple of these pieces in person. There will be more coming. Last time (in 2013) Banksy captivated the city not only with his blitzing humor in the face of tough and complex issues... but in the way his street art became fuel for bigger conversations. Here's a clip I rememeber from 2013, when Banksy painted a rat on a block in East New York. A few guys covered it up with cardboard and started charging $10 - $20 for people to see it...
"Ya'll wouldn't come here, if this wasn't here."
It's amazing how such a subtle stencil can churn up all of this debate over ownership and neighborhood. Here's hoping the same fuel is cast over this wave of Banksy in NYC...
When we look at the Government for what it is, we're tempted to call for a revolution, change relatively quickly. The transition to a society that is truly free is not going to happen overnight, nor should be. Obviously, this is a process of evolution, not revolution. As we have seen in the past, the revolution without a change in paradigm has produced more of the same things. In some places, the revolution will be necessary. Hopefully, they will be supported by policies to avoid turmoil, violence and the formation of a new Government. The core of the message of freedom not just to clear all the Government, but to remove the all the tolerance because it ruled. With the speed of a fast information, the shift from the paradigm of statistics can occur relatively quickly, but build a new society will take years, if not decades or even centuries. The shift will not be smooth. Governments around the world were already hard pressed with the revolt, censor vital information, and silence activists with incarceration. In some places, it will be worse than the other. In some places, will be faster than others. When we look at how people in other areas benefit from embracing the message of freedom, there will be effects that flow. There may be a revolution in this global process, but this is far bigger than any revolution. The transition to a free society, which started deliberately by a critical mass of people, would be the evolutionary turning point that is bigger than anything that can be called a revolution. Obviously, we're capable of a lot more than we accomplish as a species, but to reach the potential we need a dramatic change in thinking. The only useful revolution is a revolution with a fundamental change in the paradigm. The new paradigm will insist on nonviolence, and thus the removal of the Government. Anything less than that will only generate a new dispute about how or who use force against the Government. Understand freedom leads to more than just a slight preference for violence and coercion. This creates a passion for Justice is based on the principles of absolute. If we do not resist any violation of freedom, we might also recognize that freedom is not important, and we prefer to live like slaves.
Thanks for this @voronoi
You said!
A Word from the dreamer
@dreamzar because I was the pemimoi who love classic and art.
Thanks for this @leotrap
Thank you for sharing your thoughts @dreamzar. As you say, "a process of evolution, not revolution." is healthy and important and celebrates a change (a reorientation) of thinking.
I'm a believer that blockchain will help accelerate a reorientation of the 21st century. But we need it to carry arts and culture, just as it carries finance.
All the best - voronoi
Most people do not believe in EVOLUTION But I firmly believe and am sure there will be changes if we want to strive for.
Then in the country, the dreamer is brave. They are Knights in the land where they matter. Medals should be worn on the neck of the dreamer
Last you the best @voronoi
Oh I didn't know about this , however it is quite frustrating to live in a country without any justice or a goverment that respects human rights and free speech. I wish Banksy's street art had a power to change anything slightly in Turkey
I had no idea about this story either. Who knows man, maybe this issue will resonate with some powerful people...
Banksy is ace, I love his art. Meaningful and portrays a strong message of truth!
I went to his Dismaland theme park in England when it was open and it was truly amazing, I’ll post some pictures actually now I’ve remembered. It was great :) nice post!
Please post some! Feel free to comment here once they're up, I'd love to see them :)
Awesome! I’ve just posted about Dismaland, uploaded some of my pictures I took when I was there and a small review - feel free to check it out I think you will like it :D it was so cool being there :)
Banksy is just mindblowing, please @voronoi if you find him around tell him to be a part of the Blockchain! :) Imagine how great could it be ha... Hope you enjoy that Arty visit! NO DOUBT is one of the best artists of the past century...
Wow, I actually saw this painting “Free Zehra Dogan” in Soho a few days ago. I live in NY. I didn’t know the meaning. It’s even more interesting to know it. I have to get there again to take a closer look.
so well said!
great to see this Free Zehra Dogan piece which is new to me; we are fortunate to witness this poignant talent in real time...such a talent!
Today's post has been touched by many beautiful posters,
many beautiful posts
thank you for sharing @voronoi, your writing is very useful for all who stop at your post. for @jhoni this is the latest one I read.
Anyone who lives in ny and has ever been to east ny or any rough neighborhood knows this is not staged.