elizaskinner.net - the jambox

I am staying at my friend, Brian’s, apartment while I’m in LA to do some shows this week. While here, I have been using most of my energy to avoid breaking or spilling anything, and the left over scraps of attention I’ve been using to read his books. Most notably, his copy of “Banksy: Wall and Piece” that actually I gave him after I stayed here a couple of months ago. I say this not just to point out that I give great gifts, but also to tell you people that this shit is good.

If you don’t know of him, Banksy is a british street artist who does brilliant, clever graffiti all over the world. Some of my favorite pieces are just words, such as “Caution: Concealed trap door in operation” stenciled onto a walkway, or signs reading “I’m a celebrity get me out of here” given to monkeys in a zoo. But he is more well know for this kind of thing:

Look familiar? Yeah, so that guy.

I love his stuff because it’s not saved for a gallery (although Angelina Jolie apparently bough $400,000 worth of it in one). It’s out on the street for anyone to see, and it is sure to change their day, or at least their moment.

My friend, D.Billy is similarly interested in public art that speaks to people with a sense of humor. Who doesn’t want to have their normal old day broken up by a little clown graffiti?

Stuff like this is surprising and empowering - it doesn’t take that much to change a wall, or to send a message. And in this world of constant virtual messages and advertisements it’s exciting to see something real - in your same space and time - that isn’t trying to get you to buy or do anything except think.

Keep your eyes open people!

And start making some art.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 6th, 2008 at 5:23 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.