Banksy's valentine message.

[placemats]

I'm unsure about the message it sends. Women do not need to lose teeth or get a black eye to experience domestic violence. Nor should the answer to violent and coercive men be to throw them in the freezer. Will men who are violent get this message? www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-64635362

Raising awareness of domestic violence is a good thing. His atheistic might not be to your taste but you cant argue with the message. And I interpret the message as a being fairly simple one most people can get behind: 'abusers can get in the bin'. As PP states, job done. Its street art not a museum piece, what it does is to reinforce the message that kind of behavior is socially unacceptable (as well as illegal).

Yeah, I don't think the message is "if you haven't got a black eye, then you're not being abused" - I don't really see how you got to that conclusion from this image. I don't think he's suggesting that victims are responsible for getting the men to stop by literally throwing them in the freezer. It represents a victim of domestic violence being freed.

You also complain that many men might not get the message. I think it's pretty self explanatory, but even if they did miss the message - so what? Is art made exclusively for men? It's fine to have artwork that speaks mainly to women.

Ah. I quite ike it. I like his work, generally, especially Dismaland and the shredding painting.. Always nervous to open threads on people I like, only to discover they've come out as misogynist. He's not done that, thankfully; it would absolutely undermine his other work if he did.

Why? Do you think that most men are stupid? You got it, why wouldn't men get it?

So why then do two women a week die from domestic violence if men don't get it?

some woman are.

So do you think that's the message Banksy is making?

No I don't. That was in response to a post. No idea why it hasn't shared that.

Whatever the reason that men kill women, pretty sure it's not because Banksy's messaging is too complex for them.

Thank you so very much for explaining that to me. So grateful to your superior knowledge and you phrased it so well.

I bow to you.

Yeah op he's obv a dick, doing art work that basically takes a stance against DV. How very dare he!!

How dare he not convey all the myriad of ways it can occur, and showing the woman dealing with the issue legally to see the man gets legal punishment all in a painting he does quickly in the dark whilst no one is looking 🙄

It's hardly like one could misinterpret this and think Banksy thinks DV is good, and whilst it's hardly likely to stop a man hitting his wife, surely voices against DV are only a positive thing? I don't get how you're so offended by this.

It’s art.

Goya painted Saturn eating his son. Gentileschi painted Judith Slaying Holofernes.

You can’t stifle art and free thinking because you don’t agree with the subject matter.

I agree with this.

Because getting what a random person is saying about DV being bad isn't enough to change entrenched behaviours and beliefs. Because they won't take it personally. Because if the way to stop DV was a simple diagram explaining its bad, there wouldn't be a DV issue. He isn't claiming he's solving DV is he. He's expressing his opinion on it.

I didn't say I didn't agree with the subject matter. I've seen Banksy's street art and adore it. I love that he provokes discussion and not just blanket admiration.

Artemisia Gentileschi is one of my favourite artists.

I like it.

References the polished happy house wife image you'd see on postcards and advertising from the 50's, as does a lot of of his stuff. Whereas the reality was probably the opposite and they would have happily stuck their abusive husbands in the freezer.

I like the way Banksy is opportunistic and responds to the environment when graffiting.

Shredding art was pure class

Banksy is a random person?

It's also been timed with galantine's day which speaks volumes

Valentine's Day!

Also probably commenting on the hypocrisy of Valentine's Day.

I think she's closing the lid.

I don't get your attitude. You said: this pic is no good because it's too subtle for men. Others said: men will get it, don't worry. You said why do they kill women then? My response was not supposed to exhibit superior knowledge, I was trying to point out how men who kill women don't care.

The message behind this art is: fuck off, abusers.

Great if would-be abusers understand the message and change in response. But it's also important that women see and understand the message, and that this type of message makes regular appearances. I think it's more about reminding people that DV is a problem than about reforming abusers. It's a show of solidarity with DV victims.

Oh I certainly get the hypocrisy of Valentine's Day. It's a money making machine that Woman's Hour discussed this morning - plenty of posts on AIBU about people who didn't get that recognition on Valentine's Day. I also understand the disparity of wealth shown on the message. Women should be grateful to get the fridge freezer - it might cost her a few missing teeth and a black eye but at least she looks great in her outfit.

Absolutely dump this nonsense. But absolutely please make men aware that the likes of Andrew Tate is a backward step.

It reminds me of the story from a good few years back...
Man from the Thirsk area, meets an Australian woman on line. Things develop and eventually, man goes to Oz to meet her.
He is scheduled to stay for a month but she can only take a fortnight off work, which she does and by all accounts, they have a good time.
When she goes back to work, he decides to cook her a meal to come home to and goes to the chest freezer to see if there's anything in that, that he can use and there he finds the womans husband!
It is a true story but sadly, i can't seem to find reference to it now.

To most people, yes. He makes no material difference to my life, we don't know who THEY are, he's an artist but unless you're into art or politics, he'll just be a random bloke doing paintings in the dark to many people.