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An eBay user claiming to know the identity of British “street artist” Banksy had been auctioning off what he claimed to be Banksy’s real name. The bidding started at $3,000 and eventually climbed to almost a million before eBay pulled it. The seller later re-listed it, and it looks like it has since been pulled again. Apparently, Banksy’s identity wasn’t considered “tangible enough” for eBay (unlike, say, my wang, which is considered extremely tangible — it even comes in a box!).
Given the artist’s penchant for pulling fast ones on the public [what is the evidence for this, by the way? being secretive or provocative is not the same thing as deceit -Ed], the recently deleted EBay auction was widely suspected of being a prank, possibly by Banksy himself. Meanwhile, similar auctions claiming to have the identity of the artist have been popping up on EBay, though it remains unclear if the sellers are connected. [LATimes]
I named Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop my favorite film of 2010, because whether he’d invented Mr. Brain Wash or not (he claims he didn’t), I thought it was a brilliant illustration of how art, entertainment, and marketing work. Like the movie, many have speculated that Banksy himself was behind the auction, or that it was just a publicity stunt, or that it was a marketing ploy to get people thinking about Exit Through the Gift Shop during awards season. Either way, no one has any idea, but everyone is free to spout their own bullsh*t theories, which makes it perfect conversation fodder down at the coffee shop.
Meanwhile, I’m planning my own documentary, Exit Through the Gif Shop, starring Christian Bale:
![[avatar]](https://profilecdn-woven.netdna-ssl.com/photo/257/profile)
You know for a quarter of a million they could fix the actual street in front of my house. Yeah, it sucks to get older.
GODDAMNIT I’m going to spend the rest of the day giggling at those gifs. Gahhhh
Sooo, in that last gif is Bale pooping that guy out?
[Crappy emerges from cardboard box. Inside the box a homeless man rolls over and begins snoring loudly]
$1 million so somebody can tell this dude that Banksy is John McCrea? That’s retar… aw FUCK!
Bale is a one-man meme factory.
A tall, handsome one-man meme factory.
Sorry for the serious/earnest comment, but why do people always accuse Banksy of being some trickster/prankster/publicity stunt king? From what I’ve seen, all his shit seems very straightforward.
Son of a…
…there are times that I’m very angry that Barracuda blocks everything but text on this site, because from what elle0 is sayin I’m missing some serious awesomeness.
Christian is either sporting the mysterious Latin lover look or the middle aged hippie look.
I haven’t been this excited since the unmasking of dubstep pioneer Burial (random pasty dude). Maybe Banksy will be a random pasty dude as well!
Not me Luke Walton, mediocre bench player for the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers, I was just making a joke about the rumor that he is JM. And me being stupid. I don’t care what the guy’s shtick is, I think his stuff is entertaining enough and am eager to see Exit, I just have 437 things in my Flix queue.
How much of his identity do you get for $1M?
@Vince Man, sorry for the earnest answer here, but I think it’s just because he hides his identity (tricky) spray paints stuff (pranky) and his work attracts a lot of attention (publicity-y).
Will the seller give it to you for free if you’re good looking?
My people don’t think he’s some sort of trickster Vancey, they think he’s a destroyer of public and private property. Nobody wants a chinchilla in a fucking gas mask popping out of a top hat painted on their wall. Not in my neighborhood anyway.
I’m sure the mystery helps his popularity, but it totally makes sense that a guy who illegally spray paints stuff for a living would want to maintain a low profile. I guess it’s slightly tricky, but it’s also pretty straightforward.
(unlike, say, my wang, which is considered extremely tangible — it even comes in a box!)
your mom’s box! *straightens flat brimmed hat, continues hot gluing rhinestones onto Affliction shirt*
Let me guess. His first name is something girly. Like, oh I don’t know… Ansley, right?
“…chinchilla in a fucking gas mask popping out of a top hat…”
Mom?
Shop, I want that on my wall. Chinchillas are adorable!
I’m not a defender of graffiti by any means, but the places Banksy sprays, it seems like his paintings are an improvement. The idiots he inspires, probably not so much, but still…
Close enough, Crappy.
At least the graffiti star in Delillo’s Underworld had the common decency to be dying of AIDS.
*heads to Home Depot for another gallon of Transgel and scrub brushes.
For the last time, guys, it’s B-U-R-N-S-Y.
That woman’s right eye will forever haunt Him.
Hiding your identity is inherently shady. You don’t see me using a pseudonym on the internet just because I’m ashamed of making dick jokes.
Am I alone in thinking it would be hilarious if everyone affiliated with the film who shows up to the next award show gets arrested for vandalism?
I am alone? Guess it will just be me at my superbowl party… again.
Just saw this on the FoxNews™ ticker:
White guys who spray paint on walls viewed as douchebags by public.
Pretty straightforward.
I read FoxNews ticker and thought Baboon heart!
Magic records and a baboon heart?… (imagines Marisa Tomei anchoring FoxNews)
I was expecting this post to be an Andrew WK squeaquel.
There’s a Banksy original under my scrotum. True story! That dude can strike anywhere, anytime. He’s like if the flu and teenage boners combined.
What am I bid for Burnsy’s identity? Two bits? Do I hear two bits?
“why do people always accuse Banksy of being some trickster/prankster/publicity stunt king?”
How about when he walked into galleries and added his own art? Or the whole West Bank thing?
He sneaks places to put up his art, but after that, where is the subterfuge? The art itself always seems pretty straightforward.