Guerrilla Graffitti
Art, Politics

Whilst screwing about on the web, I found a little snippet of a 'Guerilla Artist' named Banksy, and I have to say that I find it kind of appealing. He just uses stencils and spray paint, and gets it on buildings in a flash before the bobbies can get'im. His graffitti usually magically increase the value of the properties he puts them on! So I first saw images like the one shown, which were just kind amusing - a maid painted on a wall in a dirty neighborhood. Most of his stuff is more political, sort of the anti-fascist, anti-consumerism stuff you see in a lot with artists.

I do like the sentiments, although of course I am immersed neck-deep in consumerism with my Zuma scooter, bubble tea, RAZR phones, etc. It at least makes me think about it; my view is that consumerism creates a blandly pleasurable, albiet empty, existence, where at least people can coexist peacefully in mutual dependence. Other people may think of the political strife, exploitation, and environmental destruction associated with it. Who knows? I think the first statement is probably more true, although I don't believe my level of consumerism is environmentally sustainable on a global level. I can get into my political wishy-washiness in other blog entries...

Back to Banksy, he also painted his stencils on the wall separating Palestine and Isreal, which seemed very poignant to me in ways I can't really figure out how to express. It's a sad state of affairs, of course, and I do feel a little wierd blogging about it especially after an entry about a high school buddy who just shot up a Jewish center. But to me, maybe just on a fundamental level of the engineer I am, a wall seems like a very humane and effective way to limit the violence, and it could be taken down in the future, should things ever calm down. It does seem to me that where the wall actually is (i.e. it looks like a 'land grab' to my untrained eye) complicates the issue, but again maybe thats another blog entry.