“For 20 years, the identity of notorious street artist Banksy has been one of the art world’s best-kept secrets,” Riordan Lee reports for Techly. “But now, thanks to some pretty bonkers sleuthing by British scientists at Queen Mary University, that secret has been revealed.”
“The research, which was published in the Journal of Spatial Science, was finally released after a clash with the pseudonymous graffiti artist’s street team,” Lee reports. “It found that Banksy is most likely a man by the name of Robin Gunningham from Bristol, England.”
“The 34-year-old was educated at the prestigious Bristol Cathedral School, somewhat surprising given his anti-establishment streak,” Lee reports. “The enigmatic artist’s former school pal Scott Nurse told The Daily Mail, ‘He was one of three people in my year who were extremely talented at art. I am not at all surprised if he is Banksy.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Interesting and scary how powerful geographic profiling can be!
Banksy: the last true artist.
It isn’t somewhat surprising that he went to a fee-paying school. Everyone in the UK arts scene does these days. The only people who have time and resources to concentrate on the arts in an increasingly expensive UK are those who have money behind them to begin with.
Well, art is oft the province of the upper middle class. Perhaps because they’re the only ones who have the time…
I’d rather not know who he is and keep on enjoying his work.
Not surprising at all that a rich silver spoon toff is Banksy. Indeed we have known if for sometime so this simply confirms it. But there is a long history of such posh time wasters playing the anti establishment card at least until they find the good life is rather appealing, they have done their bit for the revolution and sit back in their mansion dictating to us how we should all live our lives. Indeed that word ‘dictate’ is the operative one here such people just can’t lose that privileged habit of lording it over others so they just focus it in another direction to try to escape their guilt. However that is mostly a superficial attitude that plays to their sensibilities and need to be ‘fashionable’ and relevant (if only in their own mind), that need to be appreciated by the adoring masses. After all your average Public schoolboy just can’t stand being irrelevant. One presumes his mysterious image is both an acknowledgement of marketing power his middle class background would have knocked into him and perhaps the fact that people like him prefer to be seen as more ‘working class’ and thus real, has street cred, talent over who you know. Of course that farce only works in the formative years when you aren’t outed, the lie revealed and the real motivation shown clearly to all. However he’s through that period, he can smile no doubt, as he is now so established that the band wagon is not going to lose his wheels any time soon. I suspect in 10 years we will see the truth of the man and his hypocrisy outside of his sycophantic fanbois anyway.
Sounds like somebody’s j e a l o u s.
That is a lot of hate, spyintheskyuk…
I can relate to the anger against the establishment. Our current government is made up of an over privileged upper class elite who have no understanding nor empathy for anyone outside their own limited and spoiled social circle. When politicians like Iain Duncan Smith, a man who has been given everything on a plate his entire life and lives rent free on his father in law’s large estate, can penalise people with disabilities under a supposed policy that “people shouldn’t get anything for nothing”, and George Osborne, the man in charge of the nation’s finances can bemoan spending on health services whilst the near-billion Pound company he has INHERITED 15% of hasn’t paid taxes in years, are running the country for the benefit of just they and their friends whilst the rest of us a told everything must be cut because the country has lived beyond its means, well yes, I can understand people being angry at those born privileged.
Especially since the greatest lie they are telling everyone is that the country lived beyond its means, when in reality the country is in the financial crapper because we near doubled our national debt turning private losses run up by the banks into taxpayer liability. All whilst the banks, the people that own them, those that work for them, the whole corrupt little cabal of chancers and tossers who fell out of Eton into high paid jobs the feel they are entitled to and trust funds that cushion them against any negative the real world might throw their way pop open the champagne and step over the increasing numbers of those dependent on food handouts.
Yeah, I can understand people being angry. I’m surprised people aren’t actually out on the streets rioting to be honest.
Bitter, bitter, bitter!
““The 34-year-old was educated at the prestigious Bristol Cathedral School, somewhat surprising given his anti-establishment streak,”
How is that ‘surprising’? There are plenty of people who go to high-profile schools and grow disenchanted. It’s a cliché.
Grafitti is a crime. In this case, perpetrated by an anonymous coward.
A true artist would get permission to paint in public. A truly great artist creates work that can preserved for many generations to enjoy.
Why coward? Anonymous yes, till now, but he is one of the very, very few graffitists who displays any kind of wit, and leaves the world a better place for his work.
There is a huge chasm between that and the moronic vandalism of most graffiti.
So who gets to choose what is moronic vandalism? The owner of the property that is vandalized, or you, the casual observer?
A true artist would get permission to paint in public. A truly great artist creates work that can preserved for many generations to enjoy.
Graffiti may be a crime, but I have to respectfully disagree with you regarding the above statement. Art is not created for the public. They are the lucky bystanders who may or may not appreciate it. Art is often created for the artist, as an personal expression.
And art should not be rated based on how long it lasts. Take a look at Christo’s work. Or the environmental work of Andy Goldsworthy.