When Banksy first started getting noticed, he was kinda fun. His work was witty and playful enough to warrant the attention. However, he then started to enjoy the smell of his own bullshit and slowly turned into an art-world Bono.

From being someone who was refreshingly cheeky, he became patronising and holier than thou – just look at his intro for The Simpsons for evidence of that.

A good number of people stopped enjoying his work, yet still wondered who he might be. And he’s going to be unmasked next week by a fellow artist in an oil painting, which really, is a pretty funny way of telling everyone who he is. Fight art with more art.

Of course, part of Banksy’s schtick is how notoriously secretive he is. And now, an artist called Mason Storm is going to show us the man behind the stencils.

Banksy’s face will be portrayed in a 6ft high oil painting to be exhibited in a Gallery show in London on the 28th October 2010 at Warehouse 45 Gallery in North London in a show called ‘Revelations’.

Naturally, the papers have been ‘revealing’ Banksy for years, with no-one really giving the impression of knowing for certain whether they’re right or not. It was like the press intrigue that surrounded The Stig. When The Stig was revealed, it turned out he was a very boring looking man who looked like he could’ve been sat on the BBC Breakfast sofa talking about badminton.

It goes without saying that this unmasking of Banksy has caused quite a stir in art circles. Will this painting be a lifelike representation or will it be some bollocks statement piece? More to the point, is it ‘moral’ to out someone who has chosen to be vaguely anonymous?

A source said:

“The whole thing has kicked-off. Mason Storm has been getting death threats from people… people following him around in black Range Rovers.”

“As a result, artists have refused to have their work shown in the same galleries, some of them removing their work from galleries showcasing him.”

Mason himself states:

“After 10 years of nefarious activities and stalking I have managed to capture the illusive Banksy at work, face on and will reveal him in a new oil, hopefully finished by Sept. Don’t rant it’s high time the mystery was revealed!”

You can’t ever trust what an artist says because they’re all barefaced liars (and god bless them for it),  but Mason’s work has been noted (in some circles) for it’s realism.

We can only hope that isn’t some punk-ass stunt and that something really fun goes down next week. Just no deaths please.

And what is Mason Storm’s reaction to it all? Well…

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Banksy is, let’s be honest here, vaguely amusing but ultimately, irritating as piles. He’s the art-world’s Bono, constantly asking us to look at ourselves like we’re brain-dead scum. Of course, fans of his will claim a moral victory because he’s managed to put into his work what they couldn’t say in words. Or, more realistically, they like to be seen to care about… y’know… stuff.

And with his fame, Banksy has managed to make a decent living out of being unknown. He’s done pieces in war-torn areas, New Orleans and various famous landmarks, all the while, telling us how we’re hopeless consumers, willing to lap-up anything we’re told… then selling a shed-load of books.

And now, he’s managed to land the gig of creating the title sequence of The Simpsons. And it’s oh-so bloody controversial.

The intro was shown in the US last night and opens with the graffiti artist’s tag doodled all  over Springfield. That’s all well and good.

Then comes the controversial part.

It switches from the Simpson family’s living room to a massive sweatshop, with depressed looking workers in an austere warehouse painting cartoon cells and making Simpsons merchandise, filled with dead animals and blah blah.

Amusingly enough, this weak-wristed attack on mass-production will no doubt end up on a Simpson’s DVD at some point, made in some unpleasant warehouse somewhere. That’s nice isn’t it? It’s like Radiohead advising their fans cycle to their shows while jetting around the world in planes fuelled by rocking horse shit.

Apparently, this extended intro was inspired by reports that the show outsources the bulk of their animation to a company in South Korea.

Banksy has stated that his storyboard led to delays, disputes over broadcast standards and a threatened walk out by the animation department.

Then, Al Jean, The Simpsons executive producer, showed Banksy how to be funny by dismissing the furore with:

“This is what you get when you outsource.”

ZING!

The episode, called MoneyBart, will be shown in the UK on 21st October or, if you’re cod-political, you’ll get it on a torrent.

Here’s the intro.

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10 – Banksy decides to tart up New Orleans after its recent bout of storms – Banksy

9 – Some tosspot pays $60,000 for a lipstick drawing of Kate Moss – Bellasugar

8 – Want to smell like a cheesy-looking ponce? Then the Hollyoaks line of fragrances is just for you – Now

7 – Are you fat and dependent on takeaways? Don’t worry! Jamie Oliver plans to help you out - Channel 4

6 – Geri Halliwell has written a screenplay. Surely it can’t be worse then Tropic Thunder – Holy Moly

5 – Yves Rossy creates something we all want for Christmas at hecklerspray towers – BBC

4 – Save up those pennies! Britney Spears is threatening to tour in 2009 – MTV

3 – Ever considered a mannequin on the toilet to be art? Neither do we, but the Turner Prize committee does – Guardian

2 – Peep Show gets the glossy treatment and over-the-top camerawork for its American makeover - BBC

1 – Martin Luther King ponders over the decision on Deal Or No Deal