Compiled by Gary Shove
Words by Patrick Potter
Distributed by Ginko Press
Hardback 192 pages, 286 X 246 mm
ISBN-10: 0955912113
ISBN-13: 978-0955912115
Project Summary
This was the second book I wrote for ‘Carpet Bombing Culture’. Continuing in the vein already opened by ‘Untitled. Street Art in the Counter Culture’, the aim was to be ‘more Banksy than Banksy’. Taking as inspiration the random short texts from his early books, I expanded on the anarchic, poetic and comedy styles we had already established and moved in to some longer essays.
Untitled is deliberately schizophrenic, speaking in multiple voices, aping various styles of writing in a kind of punk stew. It veers from nonsense to provocation, from cultural theory to just plain silliness while always trying to extend the native language of street art into textual form. Reviewers in the scene were enthusiastically positive.
Clipping
'Do you want to be credible or incredible? You can sit there all day worrying about whether or not you have the right to say something or you could say it and find out if you’re right. We could spend eternity trying to write the blue-print for utopia or we could just start building it and see what works. We could scrap it all and start again every time we hit a problem or we could start from where we are and with what we have. We could paint what is or we could paint what is and what could be.'
Praise for Untitled II. The Beautiful Renaissance
Review by Vandalog...
But the truth is that pictures are only half the story with Untitled II. The text alone is reason to buy this book.
Too many people in art take themselves too seriously. Not so in Untitled II. The end of the book carries this disclaimer: “None of the words and spaces contained herein have any relevance to any of the photographs. They are only included to keep the pictures company and make us look cleverer than we actually are.”
You know how Banksy includes little bits of text in Wall and Piece? Think that sort of thing but taking up way more space. The text either proves that the writers are geniuses, or, much more likely, very good at BSing like geniuses. And those sort of texts are always fun to read when you know there is a bit of a humerous conceit to the whole thing.
Review by CFYE...
Besides the great images and amazing lay-out, the book has some clever text in there as well. Unlike the previous part this time it is not limited to a few witty lines. Now don’t think full pages, but the small stories in there have something substantial. Some of these are just funny, others give some real food for thought as well. The text is a huge part of what sets this book apart from other street art books. I could tell you and give quotes all day long but that wouldn’t bring across how smart it really is, you just have to find that out yourselves.
