Just when I thought The Simpsons couldn’t surprise me anymore, yesterday’s 10/10/10 episode had the most acid, on-your-face title scene I’ve ever seen on TV. Not surprisingly, it was storyboarded and directed by legendary British graffiti artist Banksy. Update: video back up.
Banksy, whose real identity remains unknown, is the author of some of the most brilliant satirical and anti-establishment art you can see in any street around the globe. And inside some sacred buildings too: my favourite pieces are his fake paintings at classic museums, installed without anyone at the museum noticing for hours and even days. Here’s an example from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York:
The title scene was a surprise. Nobody knew it was coming, and according to the Wooster Collective, the secret was kept until the day of the release. If you are not familiar with his work, I highly recommend you visit his website.
Update: Fox censored the video on YouTube and Vimeo, so we’ve re-uploaded it here. [Wooster Collective]
Video
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 8:00 AMThe vids down.
Greg Randolph
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 8:15 AMErm, it’s “Banksy” not Bansky (his Russian rival maybe?)
Nick Broughall
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 8:23 AMFixed.
RawPrawn
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 8:29 AMhttp://vodpod.com/watch/4645346-controversial-101010-simpsons-intro
TheTom
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 9:12 AMAnd I highly recommend everyone watch Exit Through the Gift Shop. Very entertaining. Doco of the year.
Viddy
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 4:10 PMhmmm… not fixed??
CrowdedTrousers
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 7:17 PM@TheTom +1, Exit Thru the Gift Shop is amazing.
Banksy combines brilliant stencil work with biting satire. Probably the best living artist of our time. If you haven’t seen his stuff, crawl out of your cave and google it already. Guy’s a genius.