One definite sign of a trend, and perhaps one now nearing its “sell-by” date in the contemporary art market, is evidenced by the inclusion of Banksy — the British “Street Artist” — at Art Miami.

The trend is “street art”, (the art formerly known as graffiti) and if Banksy and his now commercial colleagues are any indication, the “groove” and rebellious nature of this type of artistic expression is conking out.

Banksy’s contribution will be part of mainstay Art Miami‘s new contemporary fair CONTEXT. The outdoor exhibition “Banksy Out of CONTEXT” will feature four walls weighing 6-and-a-half tons — each with a piece of the pseudonym-happy artist’s signature stencil work.  Although the privately owned walls will not be for sale, collectors itching for a piece of the elusive artist’s work will be able to purchase unique and “editioned” works.

One of the reasons that Banksy has perhaps become more popular than many other street artists, is that his work is often humorous, self-deprecating, and not angrily political.

There are often political or social messages in Banksy distinctive style and themes, yet one gets the sense that the viewer is brought in on the joke, rather than being shouted at by an alienated artist filled with frustration, vitriol or violence. This is irony, not revolution. And that sits especially well with art world insiders, man of whom see themselves as “ironic” in the extreme.

In addition, although Banksy began his art on the  London “streets”, he purportedly hails from a middle class background, and his references are often fairly cerebral,.

As Owen Heathersley wrote recently in London’s Guardian newspaper,: “The best-known speculation as to Banksy’s identity – the Daily Mail’s unmasking of him as Robin Gunningham, educated at the very exclusive Bristol Cathedral School. This is more than supported by the fact that he started out with the tag “Robin Banx” before plumping for the less obvious “Banksy” …not to mention the way his stencils and prints already fit a certain earnest/ironic Bristol stoner profile, with their easy giggles and a somewhat defeated, half-hearted sticking-it-to-the-man.”

He goes on: “Although he once declared that ‘every other type of art compared to graffiti is a step down,’ in recent years he has produced his share of traditional works on canvas and on paper, suitable for hanging indoors, above a couch. His gallerist in London, Steve Lazarides, maintains a warm relationship with Sotheby’s, authenticating Banksy pieces that the house offers for auction, and thereby giving Banksy’s tacit endorsement of their sale on the secondary market.” 

Uh-Oh. Rebellious? Contrarian? Not so much. Maintaining a “warm” relationship with Sotheby’s is not usually the first “gangsta” move.

Perhaps the death knell for Banksy’s street cred, came with the following painfully serious piece, written in the often painfully self-regarding journal of the New York elite, The New Yorker magazine. It begins….

“Having fashioned himself as a sort of painterly Publius…”

Publius!! Really.

“Banksy surfaces from time to time to prod the popular conscience. Confronted with a blank surface, he will cover it with scenes of anti-authoritarian whimsy… Typically crafting his images with spray paint and cardboard stencils, Banksy is able to achieve a meticulous level of detail. His aesthetic is clean and instantly readable—broad social cartooning rendered with the graphic bang of an indie concert poster.” Sleeping yet.

Yet The New Yorker plods on: “Whoever he is, Banksy revels in the incongruities of his persona. “The art world is the biggest joke going,” he has said. “It’s a rest home for the overprivileged, the pretentious, and the weak.”

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Banksy’s success has been brought on by a recent confluence of art world and social and political currents. Jeffrey Deitch’s much-covered, and debated 2011 “Art in The Streets” exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, and the role played by many of the graffiti artists that have bubbled up like social media prophets throughout the Arab spring — are perhaps, two factors that made this type of “artwork hip again.

And the vandalism and sometimes violence-eliciting consequences of it– in its politically agitating form — has been largely ignored or sidelined, as least in the West.

This re-interest in “street” art, — a medium that really got its start with the idolatry of Jean Michel Basquiat — a boy plucked off the New York City streets and treated as a Savant by the glittering cognescenti, — is perhaps now more to do with the anonymity and collectivity of self-expression spawned by social media outlets such as Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter — than it is to do with art.

These social media sites — benign near-obsessions for the pre-teen and teen set — yet serious  and often controversial forums for the free expression of ideas for those living in the midst of “democracy” movements, have perhaps made the art world a bit more “Populist” again.

“Posting” text, photographs, sayings, slogans etc., has put into common currency the idea that anyone with a computer or a smart phone might have something meaningful to say.

And, perhaps even more importantly, the final arbiter of the legitimacy of one’s self expression is not doled out on high by academics, or art and literary critics. In fact, the validation for one’s ideas, art etc., is measured in the number of “likes” of gets on a FB page, or the number of followers one attracts to their “tweets”.

Perhaps, the final act in the “mainstreaming” of street art,  is a link on the Tate Modern’s website with a game for children called: “Create Your Own Street Art”  — giving kids the facility to virtually spray-paint, or chalk a personal creation onto a photograph of the museum.

Rich kids with liberal, arty parents, doing “safe” graffiti on Mommy’s IMac. Its a long way from Basquiat shooting heroin, and Keith Haring drawing homages to AIDS victims on New York City subways.

- LAURA STEWART