So this Saturday I went to the big Banksy ‘underground’ show in downtown LA. I say ‘underground’ because it seems like 1/2 of LA knew about it. Jess commented that it was a lot like going to a rave- seedy part of town, palpable excitement, secret location released the day of the event, thousands of people trying to park on side streets, etc. As we walked up, they told us it was closing, that no new people were being let in. We talked our way through the guards and got all the way to the door (that’s two city blocks of security guards we had to convince our way past), where the final guard just let us in. The warehouse was filled with Banksy creations; paintings, drawings, sculpture, a video of his older work, the Paris CD, and we missed it, but there was a painted Elephant during the day. My overall impression is that I have never seen a collection of an artist’s work that just exudes good taste to the degree that Banksy’s does. I often like selected pieces by any single artist; I have trouble naming anything of Banksy’s that I do not like.

Banksy is not subtle at all; there is very little subtext in his art, but he is poignant and effective, and a talented artist. There were so many pieces that I loved, and even though we were rushing to take it all in before they closed and kicked us out, I feel that I was able to take in most of the pieces. He makes simple, easy to digest art, but that said, every single one of his pieces had an effect on me. Most made me laugh, but the one pictured above and several others got me a little verklempt, and some just made me pause. I hope you saw it if you live here in LA, and if you did not, you really did miss something very special. Here are a few more pictures, taken by Jess:

The Prank Paris Hilton CD, Displayed in a glass container with giant hissing cockroaches: