Book Legion
May 2010
About the Book: When it comes to art, London is best known for its galleries, not its graffiti. However, not if photographer Martin Bull has anything to say about it. While newspapers and magazines the world over send their critics to review the latest Damien Hirst show at the Tate Modern, Bull, in turn, is out taking photos of the latest street installations by guerilla art icon Banksy.
In three guided tours, Martin Bull documents sixty-five London sites where one can see some of the most important works by the legendary political artist. Boasting over 100 color photos, Banksy Locations and Tours also includes graffiti by many of Banksy’s peers, including Eine, Faile, El Chivo, Arofish, Cept, Space Invader, Blek Le Rat, D*face, and Shepherd Fairey.
US edition has locations updated and 25 additional photos.
Our Take: Banksy is one of the best graphitti artists of our time. He is an innovator and a rebel. His social and political satire is amongst the best I’ve seen. He manages to create some of the most provocative and interesting imagery possible with his stencils and a can of spray paint. Its really quite remarkable. Most of these works can be found in London and, in our opinion, it only added to the city. Unfortunately, the officials don’t feel that way and many sites have been painted over or just plain removed.
This book takes you all around London to 65 sites and shows you an image of the original work and what the site looks like today, along with a written status of the artwork. This small-sized book is a fantastic and handy guide for anyone wanting to do a tour of London and see the sites of Banksy’s historic work, or just a fan that wants to flip through it for the sake of knowlege. Either way, I cannot recommend this title enough!
Back to Banksy’s Artist Page | Back to Martin Bull’s Author Page
