Voina x eBay x Banksy's Identity

by Rachel Schwerin
The two leading members of the Russian performance art collective Voina have been imprisoned in St. Petersburg without a charges or a trial for four months now. For those who aren't familiar, Voina has been responsible for numerous confrontational and political actions including the painting of a giant penis on a drawbridge that faced the building that housed former KGB offices.  Banksy, a fan of the collective's antics, announced a while back that he was going to donate the proceeds from his latest print release to fund their bail. Voina's lawyer offered the court 2 million rubles ($66,000) bail for each, but the judge denied the request. He cited a "lack of information about the person providing the money" for the bail as his justification to keep the Voina members locked up.  No doubt Voina’s imprisoned idealogist Oleg Vorotnikov doesn't appreciate the irony that Banksy's anonymity had just been available for purchase through an auction on eBay.


The highly scrutinized auction on eBay was posted by someone who claimed to have used tax records in some capacity to secure proof of the mysterious artist's identity.  Evidently the auction seller felt that this was marketable information, and that people looking for bargain electronics and obscure collectables would be equally interested in purchasing the documentation.  The auction was pulled before it was completed, but not before bidding reached nearly a million dollars for the promised info.  Speculation was that Banksy himself may have been behind either the auction listing or it's removal.  Either way, Banky’s identity can now be valued somewhere between $1 million and freedom.


Learn more about Voina (which translates from Russian as 'war') and check out the Free Voina page for the latest developments in their case.

performance art from Banksy?

Banksy has been at it again.  He has updated his website and posted pictures of some recent outdoor stencil pieces near the British seaside, and his guerilla installation at Brighton Pier of the reconditioned dolphin ride he originally showed at The Village Pet Shop and Charcoal Grill in New York, which has now been updated to include a ruptured BP oil drum and a wave of crude oil.

Then there was posted a video, "Royal Visit Glastonbury 2010", in which Banksy presents us with a hilarious encounter between a costumed hippy hemp enthusiast and the heir to the British throne. We were dumbfounded that the interaction was permitted to take place, as here in the US you wouldn't even get that sign up before security would be all over you. And throwing a sample bag of weed at "Charlie, Charlie" would be out of the question.  The episode displays the cunning of Borat, the brazen recklessness of Jackass and the irreverence towards celebrity of Punk'd.

And it raises numerous questions. Who is the hippy? Is it the same person who posed for the portrait in Times Square wearing a black ski mask back on May 19, 2010?  Is Banksy creating another "superstar" (in the Warholian sense) the way he created Mr Brainwash?  Are these "pranksy" pieces part of the next big Banksy project or just a diversion? Is it Banksy himself doing these actions? Is it a friend of Banksy's? Is it Robin Gunningham?

For those who don't follow the British tabloids, The Daily Mail ran an article in July 2008 claiming that it had tracked down the identity of Banksy, and that he is Robin Gunnigham (pictured above right). Comparing these two pictures, we cannot rule out that it s the same person in both.  Is this Banksy? And if so, what's he up to?

Check Banksy's website banksy.co.uk for future updates.

Metamorphosized

Metamorphosized, originally uploaded by Poster Boy NYC.

Posterboy has a Flickr account. On his photostream you can see some of his most recent work, like the Kafka inspired Metamorphosized who's picture was just shot and uploaded today.  Like we needed a reason to be spending more time on Flickr...

Click the bug to go to Poster Boy NYC's photostream on Flickr.

"encounters with the terrible sublime" / why we love Tom Sach's SPACE PROGRAM

We have been big fans of Tom Sachs since the late 1990's when he first popped into onto our radar with his cardboard and thermal tape constructions of designer branded objects like the Prada toilet and the Hermes value meal.  Since those days his constructions have become more ambitious and his staging has grown to mythic proportions.  One of our favorite Tom Sachs moments of all time is captured in the movie above.  In 2007's Space Program Sachs recreated a lunar lander, all the associated astronaut gear (like flight suits and equipment)  and a mission control center.  Then he and his staff recreated the moon shot from lift-off, to moon landing, to splash down, all with breathtaking attention to detail and a wicked sense of humor.  As the press release for the project summarizes:

In addition to the huge, intricately built lunar module that is the centerpiece of SPACE PROGRAM - replete with such classic Sachsian features as a fully stocked booze cabinet, toolkit, and soundtrack necessary for survival on an alien planet - visitors will find a fully functioning mission-control unit. On a grid of monitors, the liturgy of space exploration unfolds in a live demonstration by Sachs and his team, involving countless rituals and procedures, from instrument checks to moon-walking and sample-collecting to splash-down. Thus the gallery becomes a sort of reliquary of both the material traces and special effects of the artist's encounters with the terrible sublime.


Learn more about Tom Sachs on his website www.tomsachs.org.  While you are there be sure to check out the art goodies in his store, including the Stanley Kubrick Tape Measure which made us smile.
Video and press release from tomsachs.org.