BanksyGraffiti artist cuts out middle man to get his work hanging in the Tate
The stunt was planned with precision and executed with aplomb. Disguised as a pensioner, Britain's favourite graffiti artist, Banksy, shuffled into Tate Britain and stuck one of his own creations on to a gallery wall.
The picture - a small oil painting of a bucolic scene disfigured by blue and white tape to represent a police line - might have still been there had the glue not proven too weak.
After several hours hanging next to a 19th century landscape, Banksy's painting, entitled Crimewatch UK Has Ruined the Countryside For All of Us, crashed to the floor and the stunt was discovered.
Tate Britain has launched an inquiry. For his part, Banksy was pleased that his work had, albeit briefly, hung on the walls of one of the world's most famous museums.
Banksy, whose real identity remains unknown, and is famous for his graffiti and the cover of the latest Blur album, said his stunt was a "short cut".
He said: "To actually go through the process of having a painting selected must be quite boring. It's a lot more fun to go and put your own one up. It's all about cutting out the middle man, or the curator in the case of the Tate."
Banksy said he believed the picture was "genuinely good". He found the unsigned oil painting in a street market and transformed it by sticking blue and white tape on to it.
"I'm kinda into the message that vandalising a painting with police tape is how a lot of people see the world these days. People don't actually see the world with Constable's eyes with hay and rivers any more.
"The amount of paranoia and fear about violent crime and paedophilia makes mine a more accurate drawing of the English landscape we actually live in."
A caption glued next to the painting read: "This new acquisition is a beautiful example of the neo post-idiotic style. Little is known about Banksy whose work is inspired by cannabis resin and daytime television." The painting, the caption adds, was "presented by the artist personally 2003".
Visitors were bemused by the addition to the gallery. Jill Sanders, a businesswoman, said: "Only when I read the caption and looked more closely did I realise this was some sort of prank."
Paul Newson, an art student, added: "When it fell to the floor a security guard went over to it in a bit of a panic. He then realised something was up and other security guards were called. I think its great - an amusing art gesture."
A Tate Britain spokesman said: "We do not comment on matters of security. The painting was found by a member of staff and is in lost property."
Banksy, best known for his acclaimed images of rats with drills, monkeys with weapons of mass destruction and girls cuddling up to missiles daubed on the sides of buildings, said: "People often ask whether graffiti is art, well it must be now - it's been hanging in the Tate."
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