Yesterday, Banksy's Plato themed Philosopher's tag piece got revealed, then taken off of its hinges and removed. The internet has wailed and bemoaned over the Banksy piece being taken from the streets so soon, but it seems that most everyone has missed the point that Banksy was trying to make with it. Just like a philosopher's quote sounds more profound once you put a dead philosopher's name next to it, any piece of street art suddenly becomes valuable and desirable as soon as Banksy puts his name next to it.
This idea is proven by an interview with Michael, the property owner where Banksy's Plato tag was placed on the door. Michael says that he didn't even notice the piece until people started to come by and look at it. And then the door was removed from its hinges.
As a piece of artwork, a metal door with a smeared graffiti tag is not aesthetically pleasing. The door only has value because Banksy's name comes with it.
M&F is on the left coast (the best coast!) so since we have not been on hand we will borrow this series of photos from AnimalNY who have done an excellent job documenting Banksy's pieces before and after. As the photos show, Banksy's pieces have remained essentially unnoticed--until Banksy claims them. Then, all of a sudden, Banksy's art works become hot spots for toy taggers or hopeful millionaires. Banksy is the street art philosopher of our time. All it takes is adding his name to make any piece more desirable and expensive.
Click the jump to check out all the pics.
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