Banksys For Scrubbing

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets has decided to obliterate Banksy graffiti, in line with its policy of removing all graffiti in the borough as soon as possible. One of its councillors points out that graffiti is a crime and that it costs thousands of pounds to remove. If the Banksy graffiti to be painted over are stencilled, they're not truly original and will be no great loss. So the council has a point. But what of an original Banksy? Note: BBC News is suddenly referring to "the acclaimed artist Banksy", instead of the "guerrilla artist Banksy". You see how the art market works: a few movie stars buy an artist's work at inflated prices and all of a sudden he is acclaimed! Really? I regard Guerrilla Banksy as original, moderately talented and lots of fun; but Acclaimed Banksy invites comparison with the masters, such as William Hogarth, and he doesn't reach their kneecaps.