Oh everyone is all a twitter and a twatter about the not so secret “secret” opening

of the reigning king of street satire, Banksy, at the Bristol Museum this past Sunday, June 13th.

Billed as “Banksy Versus the Bristol Museum” the show features a great number of smart-aleck visual puns and devilish devices throughout the 3-story Edwardian museum, mostly toying with traditional art subjects and such as that and so on and so forth as you like. Look at me, I’m speaking British just describing it! That’s not mockery, mind you, just watched too many episodes of “Brideshead Revisted”.

At any rate, we’re not possibly going to be able to write a review of this very varied collection, so we’ll just show you the promo video below and tell you that the true Banksy fans are picking their favorites already – among them the painting of the obese American tourist couple sitting in a rickshaw taking their own picture with a cell-phone while the tiny boy attempts to pull them along.

photo credit: unusualimage

Not precisely the subtlety in cultural criticism one might expect from the main partner of  the Coalition of the … what WAS that called again?

photo credit: unusualimage

Another favorite of Banksy fans is the house-mom making final adjustments to the kerchief of her adorable anarchist son before he goes out to protest the capitalist pigs.

We thought for sure the winner would be the “Greek God Gone Hellbent for Leather” installation because it takes something revered and respected and with the ADDITION of clothing re-contextualizes it in a Christopher Street backroom sort of way. What’s that in his hand, lollipops?  Don’t say it! I KNOW what you are thinking.

photo credit: unusualimage

Alas, everyone has an opinion when a show of this size by someone of this infamy is suddenly sprung on us.  And since we tend to trust the word of the guy or gal on the street, let’s just see what this cheery lad Dannyreillyboy from Ireland has to say on the Youtube rollcall of opinion,

“i never heard of banksy until tonight and i really enjoyed the content of this video. Very amusing and it visually conveys a unique message that the bulk of the populous can savour!
i love it when all you pretentious, obnoxious ‘art’ knobs get so threatened by works that don’t conform to your arrogant expectations of what art should be! This guy is a 1000 times more interesting than that prick who pickles sharks! Oh, I don’t conform to your views therefore I am a ‘lesser’ intellect! Toss off..”

238

138

45