Mere days after I got asked to remove another Banksy from the desktop of our lab computer, I was again asked to remove the admittedly more confronting "Napalm" from 2004. It features Phan Thị Kim Phúc from the iconic Vietnam war photo holding hands with Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse.
While I appreciated the somewhat anti-war and anti-corporate message, this sentiment was not shared by others. Although, the fact that other people found it offensive did make me think about it more, and what exactly it was I appreciated about the image. I also read the wikipedia entry's for both the photographer who took the shot (still working for Associated Press) and the girl who is the subject (living in Canada and doing work to help child victims of war). If art is meant to make you think, then Banksy has definitely succeeded with this work.
While on the subject of street art, this is also one of my favourite images.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
i wanted to ask you some questions about the cultural symbolism in this painting...maybe your gut reaction to it as well. what was it that your peers found offensive about it?
what do you think banksy is trying to say with this painting?
it's for a paper and i need some critical perspectives..
please shoot me an email me at aleksandrakartoffel@gmail.com if you've got some time
thanks!
dude, the reason they made this pic was not because they tried to make an "anti-war" message; they were trying to say that mickey mouse and ronald mcdonald were secretly evil pedophiles.
Post a Comment