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[Host] This month at the Bristol Museum,

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there's an exhibition by the British Artist Banksy,
which is causing something of a stir.

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The reason for this, is that nobody thought Banksy would have an exhibition like this.

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So, for this weeks' podcasts in English.com

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we're talking about Banksy and what makes him so special.

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So Richard why does the exhibition seem so unusual?

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[Richard] Well Banksy isn't someone who creates
pieces of art for people to buy and sell.

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He's a street artist, he's a graffiti artist,
so his work can be seen

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on the sides of buildings, alongside rivers, 
on walls, mainly IN city centers.

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[Host]And he's become something 
of an urban legend, hasn't he?

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His work isn't the traditional graffiti,
you know, sprayed on walls,

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they're images which often
have a subversive message,

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they kind of make you stop and look again.
I think they're quite clever.

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[Richard]Yes, graffiti artists just usually write
their names, but he actually does paint pictures,

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and they're often very funny. 
Now of course painting on public walls is illegal,

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and so Banksy has done two things
to avoid getting caught.

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For the first thing, he's remained anonymous, 
no one really knows who he is.

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[Host]Yeah, Banksy's just a pseudonym, isn't he?

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[Richard]Pseudonym, yes, we don't know what
his real name is or who he is,

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and also secondly, he doesn't just paint on walls,
he has this technique usings stencils.

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So that means he can do the pictures very quickly,
prepare the images in advance,

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and then he just quickly sprays 
through the stencils onto the wall.

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So, it's a different technique,
and it is real art I think,

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there's a lot of his work on the streets, 
in Bristol, and in London too.

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[Host] Yes, in fact, one of his early works
that made him quite famous

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is on one of the wall of a main street in Bristol,
it shows a naked man

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hanging from outside a window, 
while another man is looking for him.

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The councili in Bristol, asked residents
if they wanted it to stay,

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or if people didn't like it, they would
get rid of it,

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but apparently, nearly everyone said they 
wanted it to stay.

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If you go to Bristol, you can still see it.

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[Richard]Great, and he's also done some
huge paintings in the United States.

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A popular Banksy symbol is the rat,
and he's got some gigantic rat images

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on walls in New York.

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[Host] Lots of rats, but monkeys are 
popular with him too.

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[Richard]Yes, and a lot of his work is political,

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but it's anti-establishment, anti-war, anti-capitalist,

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and things like that, so it
wasn't a big surprise he went to the West Bank,

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where the Israelis are building 
the enormous barrier,

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to separate Isreal from Palestine.

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[Host]Yes, and that huge wall, I mean it's
just a blank canvas for artists like Banksy,

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and of course, the images are therefore quite political.

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I like the one of the girl flying over the wall 
with a huge bunch of balloons.

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There's another one of a girl frisking a soldier.

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[Richard]Yes, that's my favourite.

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[Host]Rather than the other way around,

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and they're also images of beautiful views
showing through the wall.

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[Richard]Yes, but the question is,
is it unlawful vandalism, like so much graffiti?

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Or is it inspirational art work?

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[Host]Well one of the things, 
do you remember Richard?

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One of the things I didn't like about Madrid,
was all the graffiti,

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[Richard]Yes

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[Host]So it does seem hypocritical to say,

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I like Banksys' work,
because, he is, after all, a graffiti artist.

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I don't know, but I feel it's got
more of a point, somehow,

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and I enjoy the messages.

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[Richard]Yes, that's the problem isn't it?
The point of view.

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I think it's art, but what do the listeners think?

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Are people like Banksy artists, and therefore 
get lots of money for their works,

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or are they vandals? Or maybe even both!
So we'd love to hear from you.

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That's it for this week's podcast in English.

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(Music)