'Clown Town', painted by Mau Mau. Photograph: THTC Ethical Clothing/Light Factory Studio
Some day a real rain will come and wash all the trash off the sidewalks, as Travis Bickle psychotically says in Martin Scorsese's film Taxi Driver. That rain is the Olympics, and it is threatening to wash London's streets clean of irreverent images like this portrait of a corporate clown carrying the torch.
This week a graffiti painter who claims he only works on legally sanctioned projects was among several individuals banned from Olympic venues and London public transport, in a pre-emptive police strike against supposed threats to public order on the eve of the London Olympiad.
This attack on one of contemporary London's most renowned traditionsreveals how deeply uncomfortable the cultural relationship between this city and the Olympics really is. An event that is all about massive finance, colossal scale, hyper-organisation and culture delivered from above is being superimposed on a capital that happens to be best at improvisation, dirty realism, punk aesthetics and low art. It's likeVersailles versus the sans-culottes. And this time Versailles is determined to win.
Will the cultural fame of modern London survive this summer?
The Olympic suppression of graffiti and street art is a chilling sign that instead of magnifying or rekindling the reputation London now has for outrageous art and irrepressible creativity, this corporate behemoth is cancelling out the capital's attractions and drawing attention to its weaknesses. The very mess and rawness of London that for decades, going back to the Sex Pistols and the Clash, through the Young British Artists in the early 1990s to today's street art, has made it a filthy fleapit palace of avant garde energy, looks from the Olympic point of view like a problem to be solved. HOW old did you say that tube system was? Water flooding the Central line you say? And NONE OF THAT GRAFFITI PLEASE.
Tourists don't come to London for shining perfection. They come for old and new in chaotic ungainly juxtaposition. And they come, partly, for Banksy. The prince of street art is our most famous contemporary artist, however much the moneyed art world would like to believe otherwise. Banksy postcards and canvas Banksy reproductions sell alongside royal memorabilia in London west country man as he may be. So how is the Olympics benefiting London by enforcing a clean-up of its most globally recognised art movement?
This is not just about the freedom of a few artists to mess up the pristine Olympic bubble. It is about the identity of London.
This city has never been about absolutist grandeur or spectacular architectural spaces. The total control of Rome by the popes, that produced Bernini's staggering colonnades that encircle the piazza of St. Peter's, or the absolute ancient regime followed by Napoleonic imperium that gave Paris the Louvre, had no equivalent in London when it was growing in the 18th century into a world city. Instead of state projects, the look of London was defined by competing commercial enterprises. The posh end of the market that created beauties like the Adam brothers'Adelphi Terrace competed with a low, scabrous, popular culture.
You can see the ancestors of today's street artists in the works of William Hogarth. In his picture of a Covent Garden brothel in Marriage a-la-Mode, a Georgian Banksy has decorated the walls. In his caricature of a classical musician trying to concentrate while urchins and ne'er-do-wells make riotous noises in the street outside, he tells us that the true culture of London is rowdy and discordant.
In Regency London, people stood outside print shops looking at the latest obscenities by Gillray in the windows a cartoon shows them slipping in the mud as they enjoy their street art. This wasn't just about commerce, but politics, too.
The emergence of political debate in 17th century London is probably the origin of this city's appetite for graffiti. In his diary in 1660 as the Rump Parliament collapses, Samuel Pepys records "a picture hung up in the Exchange, of a great pair of buttocks shitting of a turd into Lawson's mouth, and over it was writ: 'The thanks of the House.' Boys do now cry 'Kiss my Parliament' instead of 'Kiss my arse' ...".
London will never be a shining city on a hill, a clean and crystalline utopia. Its finest culture has always been its most scabrous culture from Hogarth to the street artists who are so unwelcome at the Olympics. Were ever a city and a sporting spectacle so ill-matched? http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/...-clampdown
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
When Adidas wanted to create a mural to illustrate the launch of its new football boot last year, it turned to "professional graffiti artist" Darren Cullen for help. Cullen, 38, runs a firm providing spraycan artwork and branding to major international companies, and says he has never painted illegally on a wall or train.
But despite having worked with one of the Games's major sponsors, on Tuesday Cullen was arrested by British Transport Police (BTP) and barred from coming within a mile of any Olympic venue, as part of a pre-emptive sweep against a number of alleged graffiti artists before the Olympics.
BTP confirmed that four men from Kent, London and Surrey, aged between 18 and 38, had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage, two of whom were also further arrested on suspicion of incitement to commit criminal damage.
They were bailed until November under strict conditions restricting their access to rail, tube and tram transport, preventing them from owning spray paint or marker pens, and ordering them not to go near any Olympic venue in London or elsewhere. None has been charged.
The arrests were in connection with "a live and ongoing criminal investigation into linked incidents of criminal damage between January 2007 and July 2012", said a BTP spokesman.
But Cullen, who says he has never painted illegally and whose firmGraffiti Kings has worked with major blue chip firms including Microsoft and NPower and the Royal Shakespeare Company, said he was not questioned over any alleged incidents of criminal damage.
Instead, he said, he was asked about a website he had set up two years ago on behalf of a client, frontline-magazine.co.uk. The website was "all about the history of graffiti", Cullen said, but did not promote it. "I don't condone or promote illegal graffiti," he said. "I always say to young people: 'Don't do it. It's no good for you.'"
The arrests come as the Metropolitan police's strategy of halting potential disruptive action in advance of major public events was given high court endorsement. The tactic is a key plank of police planning to ensure the Games are not disrupted.
In the high court on Wednesday, Lord Justice Richards and Mr Justice Openshaw ruled the police did not operate an unlawful policy by carrying out pre-emptive strikes before Prince William's wedding last year.
The judges dismissed applications for judicial review from 20 people among scores who were arrested or subjected to searches in the days before and during the wedding.
"We find nothing in the various strands of the claimants' case, whether taken individually or cumulatively, to make good the contention that the policing of the royal wedding involved an unlawful policy or practice, with an impermissibly low threshold of tolerance for public protests," said the judges.
Human rights activists had argued the case had major implications for the policing of other major events, including the Olympics.
In addition to his previous work for Adidas, Cullen said he was in discussions to provide artwork with another major Olympic sponsor and had been commissioned to spraypaint a London taxi to be used by a leading broadcaster at the Games. His computer equipment, phone, iPad and his son's laptop had been confiscated.
The four men's bail conditions also forbid them from entering "any railway system, including tubes and trams, or [being] in any train, tram or tube station or in or on any other railway property not open to the public" unless in limited circumstances including attending a written appointment with a solicitor.
They are also barred from possessing "any spray paint, marker pens, any grout pen, etching equipment, or unset paint". One graffiti blog claimed that among those arrested, some "had stopped painting graffiti without prior permission over a decade ago … while others haven't touched a spray can at all in many years". It accused police of attempting to "sanitise" London before the Games. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2...ed-olympic
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
In spirit of the London Olympics, UK street artist, Banksy has created two new pieces of artworks.
His two new works feature an Olympic themewith one artwork depicting a pole-vaulter and another featuring an athlete throwing' a missile instead of a javelin.
However, his new works might be erased as London officials have placed a ban on street artists and their works for the London Olympics, as reported inThe Guardian.
London officials stationed at Olympic venues have also threatened to remove any public graffiti if discovered and arrest individuals caught in the act of creating new works.
The Guardian writes, "The Olympic suppression of graffiti and street art is a chilling sign that instead of magnifying or rekindling the reputation London now has for outrageous art and irrepressible creativity , this corporate behemoth is cancelling out the capital's attractions and drawing attention to its weaknesses."
Should London officials erase London's iconic street artworks, including those by their most famous street artist, Banksy?
Britons play silly buggers with Olympic brand police
The various organizations and bodies behind the Olympic games are notoriously strict with their logos, trademarks and brands.
The rings, the word "Olympics," the names of the host cities and even the year in which the games take place are all protected. If you aren't a sponsor or an official partner of the Olympics, they're off limits.
This poses a problem for businesses who want to cash in on Olympic fever, so some have come up with, shall we say, creative ways of getting around the rules enforced by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG).
Getting around the Olympic brand police at the expense of the pedants. shop in Surbiton.pic.twitter.com/tcWoJL1J
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] tompsk [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/tompsk/status/227016809725956099"]5 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Karl Baird [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=https://twitter.com/jorarl/status/227144726971809793"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
1 like
And if it's not square rings, it's triangles.
This is typical of what retailers are doing to dodge LOCOG's restrictions. Guess, Regent St.twitpic.com/aasxeh
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] john ryan [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/newstores/status/227334400512229376"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Sam Blackledge [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=https://twitter.com/samblackledge/status/227311319714504704"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
And it's not just logo and images. Putting too many words associated with the games in close proximity is a no-no, too. They aren't "illegal to print," as this satirical billboard suggests, but you'll get a call from some humourless lawyers.
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Nigel Gwilliam [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/NigelG/status/227348370916773888"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Freddie S [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/Fredsas7/status/227390791922900993"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
1 like
This ad for the Olympics on Swanston St is hilarious. Yes. Those are condoms.pic.twitter.com/GWxmmb0X
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Ben [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/benjamint/status/227257320609034240"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
1 like
And "unofficial" Olympic merchandise can be found, although it's usually pretty easy to spot.
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Phil Sharp [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/pipsharp/status/227347218804375552"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
1 like
here's another look at our limited run olympic themed snapbacks. Enjoy..pic.twitter.com/eimed0JC
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Starter [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/StarterBlkLabel/status/227347839917899776"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
Our youngest's pre-school's one on the eye for the Olympics brand police. Take that Lord Coe!lockerz.com/s/227550768
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Lee Hayhurst [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=https://twitter.com/leehayhurst/status/227337019502755840"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
Some Britons are wondering just how strict the Olympic "brand police" can be.
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] theflorence [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/theflorencepub/status/227096459114323968"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
If I have 5 coconuts in a box how can I place them without getting in trouble with #locogyfrog.com/oc88671651j
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Healthy Stuff [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=https://twitter.com/healthystuffe8/status/226694830074515456"]5 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
The attitude of the organizing bodies toward their marks, symbols and mascot make it ripe for parody.
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] HAL 9000 [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=https://twitter.com/HAL9000_/status/226768389178281984"]5 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Mr. Edd [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=https://twitter.com/mynameisedd/status/227149745238441984"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Whitecut [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/whitecut/status/227094866033778690"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
Olympics is your friend citizen. Olympics is your kin. Behold Olympic love for you!pic.twitter.com/VjOIvnMS
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Olympics 2012 [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=https://twitter.com/Olympics__2012/status/224974576868798464"]10 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
There are media reports suggesting that people who attend Olympic events with clothing that prominently displays the logos of companies that aren't sponsors - a Pepsi t-shirt, for example - would be asked to remove it.
My cartoon - avoid brand conflict - LOCOG's advice to Olympic ticket holderspic.twitter.com/P83ocXL8
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Martin Shovel [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/MartinShovel/status/226238161125253120"]7 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
Graffiti around London has reflected some of the anti-Olympic sentiment around the city.
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Anti-illuminati [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/FreePatriotism/status/227137566858702849"]4 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
[URL="http://twitter.com/"]
[/URL] Jo [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://twitter.com/jonanamary/status/226247075644448768"]7 days ago
[/URL] ReplyRetweet
Tumblr [URL="http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6zsgyiGty1r7tg1oo1_1280.jpg"]6 days ago
[/URL]
LOCOG don't know who you are Citizen. but we have a particular set of skills. We will look for you, we will find you pic.twitter.com/vLvSoCBj
![[Image: Clown-Town-painted-by-Mau-008.jpg]](http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/7/20/1342783903374/Clown-Town-painted-by-Mau-008.jpg)
'Clown Town', painted by Mau Mau. Photograph: THTC Ethical Clothing/Light Factory Studio![[Image: 2.jpg]](http://editorial.designtaxi.com/news-banksy240712/2.jpg)
![[Image: 1.jpg]](http://editorial.designtaxi.com/news-banksy240712/1.jpg)
![[Image: AyaGle5CEAM7YBc.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/AyaGle5CEAM7YBc.jpg)
![[Image: image_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/2229891352/image_normal.jpg)
![[Image: Ayb67PyCAAAhmsY.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/Ayb67PyCAAAhmsY.jpg)
![[Image: kb2_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1341092517/kb2_normal.jpg)
![[Image: New_pic3_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/748474659/New_pic3_normal.jpg)
![[Image: sam_africa_normal.JPG]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1907469509/sam_africa_normal.JPG)
![[Image: Max_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1312240075/Max_normal.jpg)
![[Image: thierry-henry1_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1181172471/thierry-henry1_normal.jpg)
![[Image: AydhVDvCMAAkqwt.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/AydhVDvCMAAkqwt.jpg)
![[Image: image_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1631594899/image_normal.jpg)
![[Image: AyezF0nCAAEnSHI.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/AyezF0nCAAEnSHI.jpg)
![[Image: philsharp300x300_normal.png]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1829129024/philsharp300x300_normal.png)
![[Image: Ayezp-eCQAASK7_.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/Ayezp-eCQAASK7_.jpg)
![[Image: starter_blk_label_logo_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/2220843789/starter_blk_label_logo_normal.jpg){kind=logo}
![[Image: LeeHayhurst_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/80658695/LeeHayhurst_normal.jpg)
![[Image: AybPBr-CIAA3eZa.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/AybPBr-CIAA3eZa.jpg)
![[Image: twitter_logo_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1323967453/twitter_logo_normal.jpg){kind=logo}
![[Image: image_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/2425043084/image_normal.jpg)
![[Image: AyWkpgOCUAE1rdm.png]](http://p.twimg.com/AyWkpgOCUAE1rdm.png)
![[Image: HAL-MC2_normal.png]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1788506913/HAL-MC2_normal.png)
![[Image: AyUbHCMCUAAhrMe.png]](http://p.twimg.com/AyUbHCMCUAAhrMe.png)
![[Image: IMG00398-20120715-1635_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/2400100065/IMG00398-20120715-1635_normal.jpg)
![[Image: AybNk9SCIAAov1D.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/AybNk9SCIAAov1D.jpg)
![[Image: jtju9td366sbnm0lo289_normal.jpeg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/2379542429/jtju9td366sbnm0lo289_normal.jpeg)
![[Image: Ax9FL4oCMAEe1of.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/Ax9FL4oCMAEe1of.jpg)
![[Image: mw3qf0zxz39ml53ap6dp_normal.jpeg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/2403661430/mw3qf0zxz39ml53ap6dp_normal.jpeg)
![[Image: AyPCaKzCIAEZtNJ.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/AyPCaKzCIAEZtNJ.jpg)
![[Image: photo_normal.JPG]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1815622984/photo_normal.JPG)
![[Image: Ayb0aeQCcAA5Xrb.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/Ayb0aeQCcAA5Xrb.jpg)
![[Image: censoredKilluminati_normal.JPG]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1757706664/censoredKilluminati_normal.JPG)
![[Image: AyPKhD_CIAAdAsA.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/AyPKhD_CIAAdAsA.jpg)
![[Image: newfbme_normal.jpg]](http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/553161628/newfbme_normal.jpg)
![[Image: tumblr_m6zsgyiGty1r7tg1oo1_1280.jpg]](http://stats.storify.com/record/click?sid=500d4cc151a958b40abf2664&redirect=http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6zsgyiGty1r7tg1oo1_1280.jpg)
![[Image: 24.media.tumblr.com]](http://g.etfv.co/http://24.media.tumblr.com)
![[Image: AyemcpyCQAAeqAe.jpg]](http://p.twimg.com/AyemcpyCQAAeqAe.jpg)