Can Banksy keep it real any longer?

Now that Banksy is making actual money off his fame, some of his fans are reconsidering...

But the Banksy buzz is getting old. For years, we’ve debated the identity of this British graffiti artist, whose work began appearing on Bristol streets in 1993 and now sells for record prices. (Though his auction prices have fallen between 30-50% in the recession.) Is he a talented prankster from Bristol? A subversive art collective? A dinner guest at Joan Collins’s house? A man named Robin Gunningham? Did he just paint his own self-portrait? And what do his spray-painted stencils really mean, anyway? Do we give him too much credit? Not enough? These riddles have long been fascinating, largely for their Rorschach-worthiness: Banksy's anonymity has allowed us to turn him into what we want him to be.

... I’m bored of Banksy. Sure, I enjoy stumbling across his work in alleys and splashed on buildings throughout London. And occasionally the artist has created work both bracingly timely and incisive (”NOLA", is a particularly good example). But it is impossible to contain the raw energy of street art in a formal art space, where any anti-establishment strains in his work are bled away beneath the expensive track lighting.

'Keep it Real', Banksy, Stencil and spraypaint on canvas, 2002, 8" x 8"

From here: The Banksy show now on at the Andipa Gallery in posh Chelsea, until May 16th, rekindles the conversation. Acoris Andipa, director of the tiny gallery, has gathered his personal collection of 35 Banksy originals (some signed) together with several more common prints. Andipa told me he’s paid up to six figures for Bansky works, which he describes as “brilliant” with a “poignant social narrative.”