Fri Dec 02, 2011 7:45 pm
Hmm. I remember this one mostly for being in the news after it was painted over by a shopkeeper who'd never heard of Banksy a few months back. Although I thought it was a fun stencil, for some reason I don't care for it as a print as much. The urban art assoc guys say it dates back to 2007 or so, and it's been called a "classic image," and I suppose it belongs in the canon of Banksy primates like Monkey Queen, Monkey Parlament, Laugh Now, Monkey Detonator (that would've made a nice print), Monkey Bomb, etc...but all of those have a more political message than this. With all of the stuff happening this year -- London riots, Occupy Wall Street, the ongoing wars, the double dip, etc etc etc, I guess I was hoping for something with more impact or greater resonance than this. Plus I agree with gonzo303 -- it is kinda reminiscent of MBW...
Still totally going for it, though.
*edit: according to Bristol24-7, the image is actually over 10 years old, which would make it one of his earliest stencil images. Okay, for some irrational, superficial reason that makes it a lot more desirable to me...