bikes and disbikes
Thread started by
tern at 03.19.08 - 12:38 pm
Certain things related to bike culture, trends, their growth, are somewhat disconcerting. Is it just me?
Sort of like animal collective. (I will admit that I was one of the first ones to jump on that boat...now I am one of those who have jumped right back off.)
discuss?
reply
Elaborate a bit.
I trends, no matter how small or large, are result of a dynamic social network. It's natural for styles to come in and out. Ultimately, it all becomes cyclic. I think its healthy.
Bicyclic, perhaps.
SPOOK03.19.08 - 12:48 pm
reply
I agree, spook.
Here, for example: I saw this bike, and thought, wow....what a nice bike.
Then, I found out it is manufactured for 2008 by fuji bikes.
And, I had a sinking feeling in my gut....
Behold the fuji OBEY track bike.
tern03.19.08 - 12:51 pm
reply
oops heres the right pic along with the response.....
I agree, spook.
Here, for example: I saw this bike, and thought, wow....what a nice bike.
Then, I found out it is manufactured for 2008 by fuji bikes.
And, I had a sinking feeling in my gut....
Behold the fuji OBEY track bike.
tern03.19.08 - 12:54 pm
reply
ooohhh... clever title.
I dunno... i couldn't really wrap my head around the idea of cycling as a trend... until I saw a paul frank bicycle in a clothing store. Ghey. My bike is my vehicle & hobby... so the bandwagoners can hop off and kiss my padded ass.
canadienne03.19.08 - 12:56 pm
reply
It looks like a custom bike....right down to the brooks saddle and crown fork, but it is mass produced....to the tune of 1500 bucks
tern03.19.08 - 12:57 pm
reply
tern,
would you like to write at length, for a 'zine, about the matter you are currently discussing? We're interested in talking to you more about this issue..
la.bike.mag (at) gmail.com
e-rock03.19.08 - 12:57 pm
reply
yes. I'll mail you.
tern03.19.08 - 1:00 pm
reply
I mean have track bikes come to the fate of the Paul Frank beach cruiser??
tern03.19.08 - 1:02 pm
reply
people jump on trends all the time. the ones that stick with it reap the benefits of getting everything for super cheap when the posers all jump ship and sell their bikes or records or whatever so they can have money to move on to the next thing.
ruinedbyidiots03.19.08 - 1:05 pm
reply
I think that the 'track bike' or fixie trend will diminish. However, with the push of this trend now, I feel, that cycling as a whole gains from the momentum. Anything that gets people on bikes is okay with me.
SPOOK03.19.08 - 1:07 pm
reply
tallbike is the new fixed gear
discuss..
e-rock03.19.08 - 1:09 pm
reply
while it does, it doesnt get them in it for the long run. so it sort of cross cancels itself. but those people are probably dicks and we dont want them at our parties anyway.
ruinedbyidiots03.19.08 - 1:09 pm
reply
everytime the topic of "trends" comes up, my legg goes down
Lil Baby Leg03.19.08 - 1:12 pm
reply
true, true, but i think he's saying that while the superficial trend might get people on bikes temporarily... it also forces them to experience the true AWESOMENESS... thus creating potential lifers.
canadienne03.19.08 - 1:16 pm
reply
drew, even if cycling is on the rise because it's trendy... should we really care? I am glad for once there's a trend that isn't super retarded, like BIG CARS. or those "bow biters" for your tennis shoe laces...I guess sometimes I get the icky feeling that I am "being trendy" then I shake my head and ...no no, not ME. But the way I look at it, whatever the lure is, getting people on their bikes and out of their cars... it's a good thing.... even if they get back in there cars as soon as it's not that cool anymore... We have them now! I feel partially responsible for keeping people in the community once they have made some effort to come out on a ride or get a bike or just introduce themselves here on the forum. The obey bike is bizarre to me but WHATEVER. that's cool. more bikes good.
mixtemotions03.19.08 - 1:17 pm
reply
You guys, I used to blog about riding my bike almost every day.
I talked about how I wasn't really interested in riding in spandex for racing. I talked about how awsome it feels to ride further than ever...or to find some set of details about your surroundings that you have never noticed before....how the coastal wind and the east-west wind along the San Bernardino mountains sometimes collide and create 'tiger stripe wind' of warm and cold as you ride through
I had been involved in bike culture in Arcata CA in the '90's...track bikes tall bikes, trailer bikes, bike library...but I thought that when I moved down to LA bike culture was different or disperse...because we are so spread out.
But, I couldn't find anyone to ride with.
Then I finally started to find small groups of people who like to ride around on bikes...not to train....not to show off at the beach...just to ride and have fun.
Then I was introduced to an MR ride....
WOW!
I'm not really afraid that bike culture is on the way out...thats not it.
I just have a sneaky feeling we might just see a "fixed gear bicycle gang" on a saturday morning cartoon in the near future
tern03.19.08 - 1:20 pm
reply
hey remember the BMX boom in the 80's?
well people still ride BMX.
.K
onethirtynine03.19.08 - 1:22 pm
reply
You guys just aren't hip like me, I guess. Trends are always following me around. I built my first fixie in 1993 and now look what has happened. I grew sideburns in high school and then seattle in the 90s happened. I shaved my head when I went bald, and now I look like every other guy I see in hollywood (but fatter). So you know what's next, right? Everyone is gonna have to gain 30 pounds to be all hip and cool just like me. Its a burden, I tell you.
ideasculptor03.19.08 - 1:23 pm
reply
Exactly!!!!!! Wow.
tern03.19.08 - 1:26 pm
reply
As trends go I don't mind track bikes and fixies. Whatever floats your boat, man.
About the only annoying thing for me is when fashion gets in the way of basic safety. If you're going to take off that front brake, please be able to stop your bike without it.
cabhauler03.19.08 - 1:40 pm
reply
There's several ways to go here...
1. hip vs. not hip
2. hip vs. not safe
3. brand = overexposed and lame
4. we'll ride our bikes anyway, so who cares (re: "skate or die!")
5. I am afraid that I might lose a portion of the friends I've been making when the other shoe drops. ;)
6. The future will include increasing numbers of bikes (for good) and these marketing blitzes are just growing pains.
7. A few will keep it real, and we will remeber those crazy six years with fondness and laughter.
8.
9.
10.
tern03.19.08 - 1:50 pm
reply
Hello, user "tern." On behalf of the year 2005, welcome! It is so good to see you! 2005 is going to be so great!
I wonder who will be headlining Sunset Junction this year? I sure hope it isn't a new version of the New York Dolls! That would be even worse than a major American city being devastated by a hurricane and the government not helping anybody!
Well, anyway, make yourself at home! 2005! Ha, ha, ha!
PAM03.19.08 - 2:15 pm
reply
Yep, totally understand where you're coming from, but there's only so much that anyone can control. We've just got to keep riding our bikes for the reasons we always have, keep the friends we've made, and let other people figure out if riding is what they want to do or not. Nothing stays the same for long and there will always be pressure in our society to figure out ways to make money off of anything. I like to think that more people on bikes is ultimately good.
In other words, like someone said above, "keep it real", don't worry about how you look or what other people think, follow your own lights.
mr rollers03.19.08 - 2:19 pm
reply
some of us skateboarded in the 70's, and it faded for a while, but it came back strong...look at all the public skateparks
some of us started cycling in the 80's, but now there's a "sub - culture"...
I still do both...and I'm just happy that people are getting out there, whether it's a fad or not...
adrian03.19.08 - 2:26 pm
reply
I like ice cream, until lots of people started liking it and companies started selling it. Ha, ha, ha!
I'm pluggable!
PAM03.19.08 - 2:36 pm
reply
you may be pluggable, PAM.
more importantly, is sPAM edible?
spiraldemon03.19.08 - 2:44 pm
reply
next time he passes out, RBI gets a sharecut
spiraldemon03.19.08 - 3:02 pm
reply
In the initial post, I wasn't expressing some sort of anxiety that people might stop riding bikes, just because marketers are trying to absorb the habits of a certain segment of people who ride bikes...
I thinks its funny.
The thing is...I wanted to build a rad track bike that looks like the one I posted above. In fact: fuji bikes figured it out for me. And now, I might as well just buy the fuji, even though I would rather not have snot yellow components. I would rather have snot green components.
I can say now that I a wee bit annoyed when marketers figure out the object of my creativity....and make it in a factory!
but yes...now I'm a little bit anxious.
[laughs!!]
tern03.19.08 - 3:11 pm
reply
It's the pain of admitting that something you like could actually be popular, and vice versa. Most of us will experince it at some time in our lives.
Don't worry, you're still cool by me.
mr rollers03.19.08 - 3:28 pm
reply
hAVE THOSE MUSHROOMS KICKED IN YET tERN?
Joe Borfo03.19.08 - 3:40 pm
reply
@borfo
nope. man, jipped!
@rollers
always the right perspective!
@sprldmn
meh.
okay, I'm done ranting and raving.
tern03.19.08 - 3:46 pm
reply
http://www.slamxhype.com/2008/03/15/rvca-x-cinelli-pressure
adrian03.19.08 - 4:21 pm
reply
I agree with several of you guys- the more bikers the better. If it is just a trend fine, I'll take their trend and have them help us get lanes, routes and more visibility on the streets!
I lived in los feliz and pedaled to santa monica a couple days a week, every day I would see my life flash before my eyes by those crazy ass drivers.
Maybe, just maybe if one of those trendy kids is driving and they will be more likely to see us out there and think "wait I saw that person on a midnight ridazz ride last week" and we get to live another day.
Oh and I say boycott the sellout street artist bike. $1500 for a bike created by a street artist? Has he forgotten about his roots?
spark03.19.08 - 4:35 pm
reply
shepard is in it for the money. just like that hack bansky.
ruinedbyidiots03.19.08 - 4:43 pm
reply
You know one trend I've always seen reappear and disappear?
Yo-yo's.
I first saw these things for myself in 1st grade, then didn't see them again until 6th grade.
They faded for a few, more years until they reappeared once again when I was in 10th grade.
And that was the last time I saw those potential, instruments of hapless, destruction.
Hell, I even like that one commercial they had for them that had the slogan, "If you've got the finger, then you've got the power!!"
However, the trend that died, which pisses me off the most are "hip,or fanny" packs.
The one I have is falling all apart and I can't even find them that easily anymore.
The current thing replacing them are those "Billy-BadAss", chain wallets.
Other than using them as a, makeshift, ball'n'chain mace, you can't stuff all your portable, survival materials into it.
Perhaps I should start following the trend of SG-1, and don a tactical, load-bearing vest.
bentstrider03.19.08 - 5:04 pm
reply
they arent fanny packs, they are chaos pouches, and you can get ones that fit on your preexisting belt at any place that sells gear for production companies.
ruinedbyidiots03.19.08 - 5:13 pm
reply
@ruinedbyidiota's
-Nah, the local, military surplus store will suit me just fine for that matter.
As far as the pack goes, I'll go ahead and peruse the sales aisles for the one or two that might've been ordered and forgotten about.
bentstrider03.19.08 - 5:23 pm
reply
tern wrote:
Sort of like animal collective. (I will admit that I was one of the first ones to jump on that boat...now I am one of those who have jumped right back off.)
There's a word for people who do this kind of thing, you know.
P.S. A year from now, you guise will be complaining that the whole megaphone scene is too commercial. MEGAPHONE CULTURE NOT FOR SALE!
PC03.19.08 - 9:00 pm
reply
I know a bunch of people who have recently hopped on the fixed bandwagon. It makes me laugh cause it's these hipsters that ride bikes costing thousands of dollars, without any brakes even though they lack the muscle to skid. I've even invited a few of them out to rides and they cant or have trouble keeping up on very slow paced rides.
bone_yer_bike03.19.08 - 9:49 pm
reply
Blah blah blah blah fixed gear blah blah blah blah blah hipsters blah blah blah blah blah blah trendy coffeeshops blah blah blah fad blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah next year blah blah blah prices blah blah blah. Blah blah blah.
PC03.19.08 - 10:03 pm
reply
I wanna sell my fixie. I really enjoy riding it, but I'm feeling it too much in my knees. I think I need to accelerate with gears to avoid an injury in the long term.
ideasculptor03.19.08 - 11:11 pm
reply
As far as the fixed-gear riders go, I'll be happy as long as the "true-to-the-game" types stick around.
Who knows when I'll have to hire a few for "intimidation" or "light-scouting" duties.
As for me, I just buy a new bike whenever the current one I have is limiting me in some way.
A good example would be my future, purchase of a 26' or 700c-equipped, recumbent.
This is justifiable since I'll be able to maintain a higher-speed, over a longer, distance compared to the 20'/16' I currently use for in-town.
bentstrider03.19.08 - 11:26 pm
reply
"banksy is such a fucking hack, thank you rbi"
whats with the banksy hating? esplain?
Roadblock03.19.08 - 11:32 pm
reply
Sorry to hear that the mind fuglers have infiltrated your cranium Tern, and stolen your idears.
All I can say is that bike to work week happens 52 times a week for a lot of us. Everything else is the icing on top of the vegan cake.
NEWB31003.20.08 - 12:12 am
reply
"Cycling is like a church — many attend, but few understand."
— Jim Burlant
I know it's a stolen quote but it sums up what little I have to say.
420LaHaRR03.20.08 - 1:58 am
reply
RE: Roadblock
regarding banksy, I know its a cliche teenage "fuck the man" type complaint,
but any "street artist" that sells his stuff to brad pitt, is a fucking hack in my book
the only upside I see to him, is that at least maybe hes inspiring kids to go out and make cities look better with their own art.
hartwick, youre a pussy03.20.08 - 11:09 am
reply
but those kids arent out there coming up with their own ideas, they are just doing whatever he does, because he did it. you know?
you cant force creativity.
ruinedbyidiots03.20.08 - 11:19 am
reply
maybe he'll inspire actual creative people to go
oh shit, im way better than that fucker
and hence make good stuff?
hartwick, youre a pussy03.20.08 - 11:22 am
reply
but only people who are in it for the long run (aka the deep end) have that way of thinking. the posers (for lack of a better term) are perpetually stuck in the kiddie pool with arm floaties, no matter what subculture they are trying to assimilate themselves into.
ruinedbyidiots03.20.08 - 11:31 am
reply
I hates the tight tight jeans thing. They look stoopid and uncomfortable. That's my disbike.
0gravity03.20.08 - 11:45 am
reply
So, if some famous/rich person buys your art it's immediately invalid? By that standard pretty much all art sucks. Do you think, say, Futura has never sold anything to some douchebag? Do Jimi Hendrix or Bob Marley suck because so many frat boys are into them?
Banksy is all right in my book. His shit looks great and it's got a wit about it.
cabhauler03.20.08 - 12:34 pm
reply
I think Banksy is doing things right. I don't like every piece he does, but the ones I do like, it's da shit!
User103.20.08 - 1:06 pm
reply
i didn't say it makes it invalid
it does seriously undermine his ideals however
i just think its funny that someone who consistently attacks the ideals of capitalism so resolutely, would sell his art so unashamed.
I'm sorry, im bored of talking about banksy, i feel like i've had this discussion with 10,000 narrow minded design students before.
hartwick, youre a pussy03.20.08 - 2:23 pm
reply
so if someone buys your art, depending on who it is, you are then judged? wow. I do have a problem with Banksy using animals as part of his work I can't lie. By painting that elephant at the LA show, he supported circus culture and that's wrong... but on the other hand his ideas and cycnical portrayal of commercialism and capitalism ae relly inspiring. You can be against capitalism and still engage in commerce. Life would not exist without trade and commerce... but you can speak out against styles of commerce and you can sell your art to anyone who buys and supports your endeavors to make new inspiring art. He is also one of the very few public mainstream artists to address the apartheid wall in palestine having painted conscious message driven images on the wall itself. fuck it brad pitt bought some of his art. big deal. his books and message are raw and thought provoking and in terms of street art he's one of the only people I've seen who have a real message and a biting one. yeah, his show in LA was like walking through a
universal studios tour and it made me think dude should never display his art in a gallery again, but damn.... we all are in this system and your have to embrace some of it to survive. I give him a major pass.
Roadblock03.20.08 - 2:49 pm
reply
The specific name of brad pitt purchasing art does not bother me nor make me judge the art, its the 30,000 dollar price tag that does.
I am glad that there is someone addressing certain concerns, anyone who seeks to fling their tiny fist against the huge machine of modern society is pretty alright in my book.
What I mean about Banksy is that to me, and i agree that you have to embrace some of mainstream culture to get by, but I am just disappointed by the methods he has chosen, and find them hypocritical, henceforth removing some of the "teeth" he could have.
Given I could be totally wrong as I am young and stupid, but it seems to me that he could accomplish his goals through zines, instead of publishing coffee table books through random house, free art shows based on donation instead of 30,000 dollar sales.
Using commerce sensibly, instead of exploiting his status as a well known artist for profit
hartwick, youre a pussy03.20.08 - 3:33 pm
reply
Maybe it's not evil or anything, but it's just disappointing to see Yet Another "street" artist tacitly admit that he just wanted to hobnob with celebrities and rich people all along.
Admit it, you would be stoked to see just one of these guys out of a thousand tell Brad Pitt to go suck a nut.
PC03.20.08 - 3:39 pm
reply
I wish you'd suck my nut, you Nazi.
PC03.20.08 - 3:41 pm
reply
BORFO = Benefactor Of Racist, Fascist Organizations
PC03.20.08 - 3:42 pm
reply
Somebody please Photoshop Borfo's head on to Hitler's body for me. I haven't really learned GIMP yet.
PC03.20.08 - 3:43 pm
reply
Banksy does free work and gets paid for other work. If someone offered you $600,000 for your work would it be noble to turn them down? I suppose if you are already wealthy then yes but if you are poor than just maybe. but trading cardboard with paint on it for lots of money is an interesting deal.
Fixed gear issue. They've been popular for a long time in other cities just recently popular in Los Angeles. You rarely see decked out fixed gears in NYC, you see fixies that look like garbage, people don't want them to get stolen.
Los Angeles isn't even in the top ten for bike theft in U.S., if you lived in NYC you know what i'm saying, if you have a nice bike people will beat it with a crow bar just to fuck it up.
studiodrome03.20.08 - 4:03 pm
reply
lol
thanks borfo, you made my crappy day a little less crappy
spiraldemon03.20.08 - 4:10 pm
reply
I HATE YOU SO MUCH
PC03.20.08 - 4:15 pm
reply
For the record, Animal Collective has always sucked.
hatehills03.20.08 - 4:39 pm
reply
Not trying to throw down "artists" as a career choice, but if I were that good and was given $600,000 for a particular piece, I would use that money to pay for a fall-back degree.
A little, off-topic, but everytime I hear about persons wanting to work that field, I always imagined there would be much, competition for a coveted position.
bentstrider03.20.08 - 5:30 pm
reply
maybe we should all spend just a hair less time on this website and make more art in the streets ourselves?
vspangle03.20.08 - 5:48 pm
reply
I'm not rich, not poor either. If someone offered me $600,000 for a piece I'd keep $50,000 to live on for awhile and the other $550,000 would go directly into my community, not trickle down, but directly, for bikes, art, better public transportation, business grants, whatever.
I find it extremely hypocritical when people make big bucks off a populist message and yet they don't give back to the people.
toweliesbong03.20.08 - 6:23 pm
reply
oh you are so much better than everyone because you would give the money back into the community. would you also advertise this so everyone knew what you did with your money so you wouldn't get blamed for being a hypocrite?
pacino03.20.08 - 7:44 pm
reply
of course! so i could make even more money FOR MYSELF! because I am a hypocrite! i was being sarcastic before. i'm really the biggest hypocrite in the universe because i really just want to take advantage of my fans and benefactors because i love MONEY. the message is bullshit. I just want money! yeah, I love money!!!!!
toweliesbong03.20.08 - 7:59 pm
reply
okay, so here are some more ways to take this discussion:
7. art popularity v.s. art anonymity
8. brand = dead
9. hijack =-fluffer
10.??
11.??
12.??
tern03.20.08 - 8:26 pm
reply
cycling is dead, long live cycling.
Banksy is alive, and will eventually die.
"For the record, Animal Collective has always sucked." is funny, and made me laugh.
keeping it real, for the TFD.
lackflag03.20.08 - 9:06 pm
reply
"
wow. I do have a problem with Banksy using animals as part of his work I can't lie. By painting that elephant at the LA show, he supported circus culture and that's wrong...
"
the whole point of the elephant was that people would get more worked up over a well-fed elephant with a bit of paint on its side, than they would about millions of children dying of starvation.
i'm fairly sure that banksy only sells work for charity. i'm sure he hobnobs with the usual highend art crowd jetset and i won't deny his powers of self promotion, but he's raised a lot of money for stuff like the world wildlife fund
stevestevesteve03.20.08 - 9:06 pm
reply
I'm really not seeing how Banksy is a sellout, if that's what is being implied here. Take a look at the piece that has fetched the highest money yet. This was on an office wall.
click here I doubt he made anything on this other than more notoriety. Also if you take a look at alot of his work, you'll see he has done MANY pieces out in public. That means free to that neighborhood. So how can you say he not doing his share of giving back to the community? He's giving his whole to it! The reason that his pieces are going for such a high value is because he's good, and there's a high demand for his work. It's a supply and demand equation. Demand is out stripping supply. What should he do, make crappier stuff? Work faster? I don't see a problem with him selling his stuff for what he can get out of it. If anyone can do better, then do it.
Banksy addresses some of the issues raised here, it's somewhat limited but it's
here.
User103.20.08 - 11:43 pm
reply
†his isn'† just about banksy but
speculative bubbles are never good for a market, and I personally think that overpriced art is worse than overpriced stocks.
There is also the related issue of
overvalued art appraisals.
Art pricing is all a scam, and it just puts nice stuff waaaaaaaaaaaaay out of reach of the people.
toweliesbong03.20.08 - 11:53 pm
reply
What I was reading today about some of the stuff sold from Banksy was that it sold far over the estimated value of the piece. This indicates more of people speculating that the price will go higher for his pieces, or a real desire for his pieces. I don't really think it's appraisers driving the price up. Right now there's alot of people that want to collect his stuff. So prices are bound to go up.
There's a dude in Canada that is doing kind of the same thing Banksy does. I saw some of his work once in an art magazine. I can't remember the guys name, but he stuff was pretty damn good. If I was a poorer collector that was crying about the prices of Banksy's work, I would be collecting stuff from this Canadian dude. Or just collect something else that rocks me and isn't expensive. I definitely wouldn't be complaining about Banksy's work being out of reach for me. There's always options in the art world. You just got to find them.
User103.21.08 - 12:35 am
reply
vspangle wrote:
maybe we should all spend just a hair less time on this website and make more art in the streets ourselves?
I would take this message more seriously if it were written on the sidewalk.
In front of Brad Pitt's house.
PC03.21.08 - 3:40 am
reply
my disbike is cobrasnake. He thinks he is da bomb, when all he does is take crappy pics of drunk hipsters that rode their overpriced mass produced fixies to the local trendy dive bar.
spark03.21.08 - 10:11 am
reply
i used to work at ebullition records with the cobra snake. he used to run a venue out of his house in isla vista and called it THE PICKLE PATCH. dim mak is funded completely by benihana and i think thats fucking hilarious. more hilarious than being a globetrotting ipod dj.
ruinedbyidiots03.21.08 - 10:17 am
reply
"the whole point of the elephant was that people would get more worked up over a well-fed elephant with a bit of paint on its side, than they would about millions of children dying of starvation. "
two wrongs dont make a right. but again, I have a couple of Banksy's books and I for the most part love his work because he stirs up commentary through his mostly FREE works of art on public display anywhere he decides. So what he through a show that Brad Pitt bought some of his work. That doesnt take away from his message and in fact whether Brad Pitt is educated enough to understand the work or not (I'm guessing he might actually be ) the fact that a celebrity bought Banksy's work means that Banksy's truly critical message gets exposed to the idiots who worship celebs and you never know, some of them may actually see the light.
and since when does being a street artist mean you dont want to make a living? At least he's putting out a real message in a way that errodes the system we all have to partake in to survive. I have yet to see another "street artist" who puts out such a wicked cynical commentary about our system. every other street artist seems to just put their name up and call it a day. dude puts out some wicked shit. the guantanamo prisoner at Disneyland was absolutely genius. Thumbs up in my book.
Roadblock03.21.08 - 11:35 am
reply
Are you aware that he donated ALL the money he made in LA from that show.. including the money he got from Brad Pitt?
Would you do something like that?
tiare03.21.08 - 6:58 pm
reply
RE: sorry above post was in response to hartwick
but any "street artist" that sells his stuff to brad pitt, is a fucking hack in my book
hartwick, youre a pussy
03.20.08 - 2:09 pm
tiare03.21.08 - 7:01 pm
reply
Banksy is da shit!
PERIOD!
So where's the party at tonite?
User103.21.08 - 7:24 pm
reply
"Fifteen tiny IDF watchtowers, carved from olive wood from a mold designed by Banksy, and covered with various materials, have a starting price of $3,500 per unit. There is already an offer of $16,000 for one of them. The starting price for a steel plate, on which a rat with a slingshot is sprayed, is $125,000."
Let me get this straight. It's not ok for the oil companies, admitted capitalists, to gouge the people, right? But it's ok for an anti-capitalist to use capitalist methods to increase his art sales, yes?
toweliesbong03.21.08 - 7:25 pm
reply
"Let me get this straight. It's not ok for the oil companies, admitted capitalists, to gouge the people, right? But it's ok for an anti-capitalist to use capitalist methods to increase his art sales, yes?"
gouge occurs when one charges exorbatent prices for an item that is needed to survive, NOT when an art collector bids on a work of art.
if someone selling a work of art, and others bid the price up, that is NOT gouging.
If an earthquake happens and a supermarket sells batteries that normally sell for $4 for $30 THAT is called gouging.
Roadblock03.21.08 - 7:52 pm
reply
"The rules set by Banksy are strict: In order to purchase a work of art the purchasers will have to come on their own to the gallery and make their bid. Agents or curators coming on behalf of clients will not be welcome - this is why Abu Zuluf says there is talk of a visit by Angelina Jolie and David Beckham. Even when a particular bid is accepted, the purchaser will not receive the work immediately. The paintings, statues and engravings will be sent to the artists, who will sign them. Only then will the works be shipped to their new owners. "
Look, dude puts out messages that resonate with people to the degree that they are willing to pay thousands of dollars for his work. No one NEEDS to purchase any of banksy's work nor does anyone need to buy art period. one of the things that is wrong with capitalism is that it portends to subject needed goods to market forces which can expose needy people to gouging. oil companies through lobbying and political pressure bend laws so that people's livelyhoods are tied to their product yet they still fuck with prices so fuck them.
regardless, the fact that Banksy requires collectors to travel to the occupied territories (forcing essentially rich people to personally pay witness the horror of the occupation itself) to purchase the work is pure genius. kudos to Banksy in my book. I'm sure the seller who likely lives under harsh and cruel military occupation appreciates the chunk of money he gets for commission. probably helps his family and then some.
Roadblock03.21.08 - 8:08 pm
reply
track bikes at WalMart! Fuck Yeah!
tern03.24.10 - 4:37 pm
reply
Speaking of Banksy, there's a dude that sells Banksy artwork at Venice Beach every so often for $15 a pop for smallish canvases.
He's got a British accent and looks kinda like the few online photos of Banksy, so I can't tell if he's ripping Banksy off, or if he's really Banksy and actually selling his own stuff at a reasonable price so the regular folks can enjoy his work as well and he can enjoy a day at the beach.
Anybody know?
JB03.24.10 - 6:29 pm
reply
bansky shmankshe.
tern03.24.10 - 6:51 pm
reply
-->
Ridazz Roulette!
Emotions... there ought to be a law against them. 
yes, but does he like bikes?