Salon.com > Banksy

Banksy’s identity has not been revealed

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:47:00 +0000

Rumors that elusive London street artist Banksy has been captured and identified are false. The news, which went viral Friday afternoon and has been reported by sites like Jezebel, Democratic Underground and Complex is sourced mainly to this press release that claims to be from the BBC, but is not.

The wire asserts that "London Police say Banksy’s real name is Paul William Horner, a 39-year old male born in Bristol, England. The BBC has also confirmed this information with his PR agent Jo Brooks and the website that acts as a handling service on behalf of the artist, Pest Control."

But a quick Google search indicates that a satire blog with the super unofficial name of "Super Official News" had the same post up 17 hours ago. And at the bottom of the blog, a disclaimer calling its editor (and so-called Banksy identity), Paul Horner, an American hero:

Octogenarian restorer strikes again!

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Remember the infamous 80 year old who “restored” the 19th century fresco in a Spanish church? Some may think it’s a joke, but we think she’s a genius. Her unique brand of restoration foregrounds the meaning of things. What is a masterpiece? Who decides? Why is a crown of thorns better than a fur hat? And why should mouths have to be drawn completely anyway?

The Punk Restorer™ (from her Grindr account)

Whither the Olympic protests?

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 16:57:00 +0000

“No Olympics are without pain,” said Peter Handy, London’s commissioner for transport, this week as miles and miles of the city’s erratic road network closed to the public to create "Olympic Lanes" for athletes, dignitaries and sponsors, bottlenecking London’s already disgruntled drivers. With a dollop of grumbling, Londoners appear to be accepting this Olympic “pain," which also includes razed neighborhoods, perturbing security measures and the barrage of garish corporate propaganda plastering most of the city surface.

The London 2012 Games, which officially open tonight, have much of my home city undulating with waves of jingoistic excitement. However, many tens of thousands of Londoners resent the spectacle for the disruption it’s wrought, the corporatism underpinning it and, in some cases, simply out of the great British tradition of resentfulness (certainly more storied than our sporting prowess). Yet, of London’s many Olympic resenters, there are comparably few actual dissenters. A smattering of anti-corporate, Olympic-critical graffiti and street art decorates the odd street or sign; London’s famed taxis have staged noisy but ordered protest processions against the Olympic lane restrictions; and modest, calm protest marches are planned for the weekend, but the games do not promise to be a flashpoint for unrest in a city that has erupted in riots and unruly protest in recent years.