Runnymede Institute

“I have a black eye and a bruised rib”

What happened in Copenhagen to warrant an attack on Shepard Fairey, one of the criminal establishment’s many crypto-manipulators of the minds of youth? It doesn’t really matter, maybe they didn’t like his name, not just the pseudo-politically charged ‘artwork’ depositing mind viruses on the unsuspecting. At the end of the day though, he’s no more than a poster salesman.

Let’s get all artsy for a minute and burrow into the questionably aesthetic mind of this overgrown skateboarder merchandising king. He goes to Copenhagen, post climate change de-bunking, creates an artwork to distract from a youth centre the authorities bulldozed and his art stating PEACE gets tagged with bona-fide Graffiti; “no peace” and “yankee hipster go home”. Before his i was dotted, the HOPE poster creator claims the assailants called him “Obama Illuminati”.

From the mouths of babes, Viking dudes in this case, comes the most accurate depiction of the depths to which the Art Scene has sunk. Could it have something to do with a disconnect from the creative process that blurs the line between talent and marketing skills? Check out Banksy’s most informative documentary ‘Exit through the Gift Shop’, then watch and compare it with ‘We Live In Public’ and notice the difference in motivation Josh Harris openly displays throughout.

The thing that Banksy sets out to mock backfires on his smug self and he doesn’t actually get it, that a non-artistic videographer can buy a few hundred grand’s worth of printing equipment and become an artist in his own right as Mr. Brainwash, denude the hype as the catalyst in their phoney baloney fiat-industry, artistes ‘talk their book’ like Wall Street traders on the make. But Harris went on a voyage of discovery while burning through $80 million bucks of his own money.

Do we ever hear about Josh, where he’s living today, what his new project might be? Well no, somebody’s got to foot the bill for these things and today’s sponsors are the unseen societal puppetmasters who never make a move unless it’s going to line their pockets or forward their agenda. Rupert Murdoch is right up there influencing public opinion with his endless media holdings, shaping perception from pulp editions to satellite-fed mind-warping propaganda on every possible subject line.

So, if Fairey is connected to the bad-guy usurper of the White House, could he also be connected to badder-guy Murdoch? Why yes, glad you asked!

In ‘Exit through..’, there’s an Art Fixer named Roger Gastman who is now incidentally curating a big Street Art show in LA and he’s also an author of several Graffiti books. They’re quite thick and chock-full of pictures one and all, comprehensive both by weight and publisher description. His latest; “The History of American Graffiti” carries a quote from Fairey and it’s published by Harper Collins, which is owned by Murdoch, the same guy who bugs important people for profit.

They wouldn’t want you and I to feel any less bugged or important so they’re profiting from us too by peddling propaganda through ‘artists’ who are supposedly edgy and against all that. We think they’re on our side, people go out to buy their books or rent their DV’s. The world is turned on it’s head, even though some of us still know the difference between shit and shinola and balk at their attempts to tap into our inner psyche promoting these charlatans over their corporate indoctrination networks.

Any way you look at it, this seemingly harmless business relationship has both harmed and libeled many true Graffiti artists across America and the globe. And Gastman’s All-in-One art marketing boutique has a large stable of artists that can at once influence the masses at will by the ability of flashing the ‘right’ image across the world’s media. The young and inexperienced are the target, more easily led by the oh so fashionable hucksters in politics, money and a self destructive point of view.

Harper Collins for some daft reason accepted their authors(?) title for their pretend definitive ‘history’ of Graffiti, which in actual fact only includes the members of his Posse. It’s a little like the now old saying; “If you can remember the sixties, you probably weren’t there!” Gastman through Murdoch is apologetic in his preface for leaving artists out but that doesn’t wash in a court. The sensational title was an un-called for marketing ploy that debased the work of the excluded. A better title would be; ” How Uncle Rupert Has ALL His Bases Covered!”

In legal terms, Murdoch and Gastman are guilty of passing off a Catalogue as historical fact, as their web site attests, they can; “produce one-of-a-kind books, catalogs and magazines to showcase your product or brand. These top-quality collectible publications can stay on coffee tables and bookshelves for years, and reinforce the visual aesthetic of your brand.” Another page boasts; “We can tell you about up-and-coming artists and connect you with them—whether it’s for investment purposes or for use with your brand.”

Where are those lauded heroic scribblers to stick up two fingers to authority and gain our love and respect by secret proxy? Why isn’t the butchery of the Libyan conquest defrocked as a travesty translated by the spray can? They’re busy trying to join some rich guy’s Posse and get rich themselves or die in front of a train tryin! Anything to be noticed by these holier than thou creatures of spin. Wasn’t Banksy co-opted and shut up with a dumptruck full of money, why not?

Please, please rent and watch Banksy’s mock-doc, he probably needs more cash to maintain the lifestyle to which he’s become accustomed and you can confirm for yourself that instead of proving to the world that Mr. Brainwash isn’t an artist, he demonstrated once and for all that he’s possibly the ‘only’ artist in all of LA. Success in the art world is a license to print money but since that commodity is more worthless by the day, there’s little or no guesswork as to who’s really off with the Fairies.