Banksy's London Olympics

"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 ? [...]"

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Street art is seen by the Olympics as a problem to be solved. It's not, it's part of London's identity, and a reason why people visit [...] The Guardian logo  to read the article by Jonathan Jones (July 20, 2012)

"In cleaning up London's graffiti for the Olympics city authorities threaten to squelch the work of one of its biggest celebrities, the street artist Banksy, but on Monday the secretive graffiti artist showed he wouldn't be deterred from creating Olympics-related art while the whole world is watching. The new pieces that appeared on  Banksy's website put police, who've threatened to remove any graffity they find, in the position of having to power-wash valuable artwork. [...]"

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