Art Critic: "Banksy Should Have Been Put Down At Birth"

This miserable-looking specimen is art critic Brian Sewell. In today's Guardian he is quoted as having said "Banksy should have been put down at birth". There are a few things wrong with that one sentence:

1) Brian Sewell advocates murder.

2) Brian Sewell advocates the murder of infants.

3) Brian Sewell likens humans to aging or disease riddled animals.

4) Brian Sewell has no concept of what constitutes art.

The whole quote goes like this: "Any fool who can put paint on canvas or turn a cardboard box into a sculpture is lauded. Banksy should have been put down at birth. It's no good as art, drawing or painting. His work has no virtue. It's merely the sheer scale of his impudence that has given him so much publicity."

OK, so I agree with the first sentence but don't believe graffiti fits into that category of modern art. Banksy's work, whether you like it or not, is provocative, aesthetically pleasing, intelligent and political - all characteristics of works of art by many classic artists that no doubt Sewell is a fan of.

It's not just Banksy that Sewell hates. He hates graffiti and graffiti artists ("The two words 'graffiti' and 'art' should never be put together"). He hates Bristol Council (calling them "bonkers"). He also hates the public ("The public doesn't know good from bad."). So, he hates everyone, then.

The reason Brian the art bigot got a chance to get his ridiculous views aired this time is because of the story that Bristol Council have decided to let the public vote on which graffiti murals in their city should be kept and which should be removed. If you are interested in preserving works most worthy of the modern art label then keep an eye on their website; the poll isn't up yet but keep checking back there and vote to keep the pieces when it goes live.