Banksy: Completed

Critically insightful look at one of the world's most well known (and perhaps little known in many ways) artists. A really easy and provocative read. Very enjoyable.

It has a dramaturgical quality to it, the was Diehl sets up the conflict: Banksy vs. the Establishment, and I was surprised at how willing I was to invest in Banksy emotionally, like a character in a screenplay.

This is the most beautiful Banksy book yet, much as I admire his own Wall and Piece. It is elegant and intelligent and a fine thing to hold in your hands, balancing the fact that it is foremost a book to read and the wonderful accompanying plates. (Wish I had been to Dismaland.) It is easy to manage, compact yet ample enough for vivid illustration. The full-page plates come on with a bang. And I love that the plates are on the same paper as the text, giving them a bit of texture lost in books on glossy paper. Maybe someone below was unhappy that some of the plates, mostly documentary, are on the smallish side. Interestingly, many of the images in the book seem to have come from Banksy's front office. "Swann", below, sums up the text very nicely. Carol Diehl’s book is a pleasure to read and makes a powerful case for the artistic integrity of the mysterious, intriguing, and always humane Banksy.

Thank you Carol Diehl and MIT Press for this beautifully written and produced book. The many illustrations are clear and illuminating as is Diehl's writing style. As a critic, Diehl's art reviews over the years are known for their insightful perspectives, humor, clarity and, above all, the absence of dispiriting artspeak. So it is with her Banksy book. The provocative art at the center of Diehl's investigation naturally opens out into the realms of politics, art world hypocrisy, and systems of social inequity. Banksy's art creates the conditions for, and invites audiences to, "complete" the art by performing actions relative to the work itself- his street art tactics are designed to be collaborative. Enthralling reading, highly recommended.

Carol Diehl has written a personal yet critical examination of Banksy's work and his uneasy relationship with the art establishment. Banksy represents a challenge to art critics due in part to his insider/outsider status, his anonymity and his use of the tropes of street art, i.e. graffiti.After visiting and experiencing such works as "Dismaland" and "The Walled Off Hotel" in Bethlehem, Diehl is able to provide crucial context for his work, countering various art critics who were content to write off Banksy without doing basic research or visiting his installations.Due to Banksy's cloaking of his identity, Diehl's challenge is part detective work as she deftly leads us through the social, ethical and critical complications and ironies of his work.Very readable and highly recommended!