BANKSY Tags Springfield : The infamous Vandal Imortalized in Simpsons Intro

Earlier today, I noticed a substantial jump in site views for an old article that I wrote a little over 2 years ago.  The post was about the notorious UK street artist, BANKSY and an animatronic pet store that he had set up in NYC and made available to the public during that time period.  Not unlike his other work, the project was a remarkable and innovative effort, charged with abrasive tongue-in-cheek social commentary.  Sure, it was a fascinating endeavor, but why all of the interest now?  Why today?  I didn’t know myself, until the latest episode of The Simpsons aired and the introduction had BANKSY‘s name written all over it (literally).

According to a post today on Wooster Collective, the artist is responsible for both storyboarding and directing the intro.  In BANKSY‘s typical irreverent fashion, the elusive stencil-master utilized this “unheard of” opportunity to design one of the most legendary opening sequences in television history to take jabs at the program itself.  References regarding heartless and unapologetic capitalism/consumerism are addressed through biohazard containers, a sweatshop unicorn, and kittens in a woodchipper.  Serious subject manner?  Yeah… but, BANKSY‘s strength has always lied in his ability to fuse these loaded topics with light-hearted humor and biting wit.  Judging by our own search stats alone, seeing BANKSY‘s name on Matt Groening‘s program was enough to intrigue unfamiliar viewers and set them off on a Googling mission.  We’re sure that this latest platform will result in some additions to the graffiti hooligan’s fan base, but we’re also confident that it will, undoubtedly, rouse up quite a few more haters… as usual.  He seems to have that  polarizing effect on people.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX1iplQQJTo[/youtube]

For additional info on BANKSY and to view footage of the Village Pet Store & Charcoal Grill CLICK HERE

For a solid chronicle of information and images from BANKSY, we highly recommend picking up a copy of the hardcover book,  BANKSY Wall & Piece.