Finally got to read Banksy’s ‘Wall and piece’. There is no doubt he has a very easy appeal. What I liked was his description of galleries as a trophy room for millionaires. I liked the description but felt it highlighted my disdain for his attitude. There can be times when art is just a trophy room and artists I know get the same feeling when they get collected by millionaires. It is a divide and fame and success seem fraught with this feeling that you are waiting to get put in someones trophy room. The facts though it isn’t always millionaires or billionaires but collectives and individual collectors who are far from rich. I am sure they hope they can get some return but a lot of it is just about collecting interesting artists. It is hard because you need more of these types and there is a trophy room mentality a lot of the time. I once met a collector who collected to keep up with the trends in his set.

What Banksy tries to do is get people organising their own affairs. What I think of is that you need to keep faith in organisations and institutions. That is really important these days. But its just as bad to feel you just spectate the trophy room or find yourself in it. Banksy has found his way in the trophy room and in a sense that doesn’t take away from his art but takes little from his attitude.