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Underground > Radio & Music >

Banksy VS Paris Hilton

All Acting Regiment

11:47 / 05.09.06

(This could go in art and design or music and radio, see what happens I guess).

So, Banksy, everyone's favourite graffitti artist, has gone and fiddled several hundred copies of Paris Hilton's album by adding such phrases as "What have I done?" and "Why am I famous?" to the liner notes, and, notably, altering the cover so that she appears topless.

While those two phrases could be seen as interesting questions, one wonders why they are being asked of Paris Hilton (who is fairly obviously famous for being good looking, having her sex tapes stolen, and going to places where the cameras are) and not someone like, I dunno, Bob Dylan (in which case you could add "still" between "I" and "famous").

But as for the topless thing- am I the only one smelling a rat here? Or, to be more precise, smelling a very tired excuse for sexism: it's intended to be revolutionary, presumably.

Anyone who thinks that punishing a woman for doing well in life, enjoying her sexuality (Gah! The nasty prostitute!), and, indeed surviving what could have been a terminal attack on her self-image and confidence (the sex tapes), by, let me see, exposing her breasts, is "revolutionary" as opposed to "wilfully misogynistic dickery", step into the ring.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

20:36 / 05.09.06

I suppose the breasts out on the front cover could be that she came to prominence only because her sex tape was released on the internet.

But I'm sorry, did someone accidentally elevate Banksy to Sainthood while I wasn't looking? Has someone claimed that He's perfect in all He does?

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

23:14 / 05.09.06

I'd never heard of Banksy before, and reading up on him (good ol' Wikipedia), I'm not blown away by his brilliance. Most of his stuff seems to be mediocrity writ large rather than genius... mainly Far Side retreads like "we're tired of fish" in a penguin cage or a caveman painting with a shopping cart. Easy gags, easy targets, just on a larger or more public scale.*

Paris Hilton is a very easy target... once Jay Leno is making fun of you, you're pretty much a no-brainer as somebody you can pick on without repercussions.

I don't think it's either "revolutionary" or "willfully mysognistic dickery." I think it's "an easy, cheap shot," but less woman-hating than "everyone cool seems to hate Paris Hilton, so I'd better milk this while I can."

*Granted, I'm basing this opinion on a half-dozen articles I've read, and Wikipedia: I am, again, new to Banksy. I could be missing something.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

00:55 / 06.09.06

Pictures here.

I'm interested to hear the remixed CD... rumour has it the musical jiggery-pokery was done by Danger Mouse.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

18:12 / 06.09.06

MattShepherd- I think you've got him pegged about right, he's a 'make you laff' artists rather than a particularly 'make you think' one. I don't know whether you'd appreciate the stuff he did for his book.
There's also the other Banksy thread.

All Acting Regiment

18:58 / 06.09.06

I suppose the breasts out on the front cover could be that she came to prominence only because her sex tape was released on the internet.

Hmm. But to me, that would seem to be saying "Look! You are wrong to appreciate this person as a pop singer, because she once had sex on the internet doncha know, which means that said sex act is the most important thing anyone can ever say about her, more important in fact than her saying herself 'I am a pop singer'".

Which strikes me as double dodgy being as, as far as I know, it was the guy she was having sex with who released the tapes, against her will.

To twist the sticks- imagine somebody "remixing" the Pete Doherty records so that they said "I have had drugs trouble, so you should not appreciate me as an artist", or someone saying that the Spice Girls were less valid than other artists simply because one of them used to be a cage dancer...

(I know you were "supposing" and "could"-ing there. I'm not arguing with you, just working out what I think.)

Professor Silly

06:07 / 07.09.06

What does that say about the (random) fan that picks up a doctored CD, sees the bare breasts, and assumes that it was Paris' decision to appear that way? Shouldn't an alarm go off? Instead they apparently assume Paris is just being "controversial" and accept it. Last I read none of the doctored Cd's had been returned...is this an example of wanting to keep a potential collector's item?

pointless & uncalled for

10:11 / 07.09.06

Hmm. But to me, that would seem to be saying "Look! You are wrong to appreciate this person as a pop singer, because she once had sex on the internet doncha know, which means that said sex act is the most important thing anyone can ever say about her, more important in fact than her saying herself 'I am a pop singer'".

I was more of the opinion that this was about reminding people of the source of PHs celebrity and repeating the questioning of celebrity culture which no longer celebrates unique or valuable talent. The correlations with her sex vid are more often drawn because this is essentially what people recognise as the brand of Paris Hilton. That, I think, says a lot more about the commentators than the artist.

The problem with Banksy is that he is repeatedly diverting from his true strength, being his graffitti work. He has said though, that he really would be just another tagger if more people had the gumption to pay some attention to what they see rather than just accepting it. As it happens, his stunts receive such high media attention because they, in general, needs pointing out.

All Acting Regiment

11:28 / 07.09.06

no longer celebrates unique or valuable talent.

You may be missing my point- originally, she may only have been famous for the video. Now, she has an album out- that's your unique and valuable talent right there (seeing as valuable is entirely subjective and everyone is unique). She, at least, is now doing something other than being the person whose video was leaked on to the net.

I rather feel there are better targets for banksy, and much more intelligent critiques to be made...

Regrettable Juvenilia

11:42 / 07.09.06

Indeed. I must admit that, perhaps like you, Legba, my view of this was coloured by imagining the sort of approving responses this might generate - the idea that it's "subversive", that it's in any way saying anything about Paris Hilton that is either insightful or new or unique, that it strikes some kind of blow against TEH MAN or whatever - all abhorrent responses, really, and likely to be accompanied by the kind of I-fear-ladyparts shrieking that has been many people's reaction to Paris Hilton making an album at all. However, I have to admit that while I've seen plenty of the latter, I've not seen specific responses to the Banksy thing anywhere, so I am speculating, and that's dodgy territory.

The interesting thing about this is not the content of what Banksy has done, but the process, as is the case every now and again with his work - the "how did he do it?" element. Unless anyone specifically wants to talk about the Paris Hilton album, I might move for this thread to go to the Art forum...

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

13:30 / 07.09.06

(I would have thought Art too, really... unless anyone's heard the remixes?)

I'm guessing... again, as Fly says, speculation is always dodgy... but I'm guessing it was intended as a comment on the commodification of both sex and music. The conflation of those two concepts (and, indeed, the argument about what each of them actually MEAN) can lead into some dangerous territory (as we've seen far too many times in this very forum alone) and I think he's giving out a fairly strange message by the time it reaches the public.

As I say, that's just a guess- that his intentions were possibly better than the reading most of us seem to be getting from the finished product. (I said "product" rather than "piece" there, too... DO YOU SEE???)

All Acting Regiment

14:38 / 07.09.06

Aye, both good points. I guess I was just pre-empting the beard-stroking smug-jugging I envisage every time this come up in conversation.

I wouldn't mind talking about the Paris Hilton album, but I reckon it could do with it's own thread. This could probably move ot Art.

17:43 / 08.07.07

Paris Hilton has an album?
LOL
LOL
LOL
PMSL
ROTFLMAO

17:53 / 08.07.07

as last year's mainstream pop went, it wasn't really all that bad.

All Acting Regiment

18:16 / 08.07.07

It wasn't as good as Robyn or Rihanna, or Marit Bergman; and it certainly wasn't as good as Girls Aloud. Can't say it hurt anyone, though, and I preferred it markedly to the sum product of every single old band (Pixies, etc etc) which at that point was re-uniting, in a kind of mass-armada of tedium.