Hijacking Banksy:

using a contemporary art mystery to increase academic readership

Authors

  • Peter Bengtsen Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Division of Art History & Visual Studies, Lund University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25765/sauc.v2i1.45

Abstract

In this article I examine the methodological and ethical rigor of a geographic profiling study and resulting article, published in 2016 in Journal of Spatial Science, which identifies by name a candidate for being the artist known as Banksy. I demonstrate that the article is characterized by a number of methodological flaws which fundamentally undermine the researchers’ basis for determining Banksy’s identity. On this background I argue that the researchers’ decision to include a specific name in the article is ethically problematic and I suggest that the main purpose for the inclusion has likely been to attract attention to the study. I further propose that the sensationalist approach to increasing academic readership exemplified by the inclusion of a specific name in the article without solid empirical evidence to back it up may adversely affect researchers who continue to work within the field of street art studies.

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Vol 2 No 1 (2016): Center Periphery: Practice

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Published

2016-11-23

How to Cite

Bengtsen, P. (2016). Hijacking Banksy:: using a contemporary art mystery to increase academic readership. Street Art & Urban Creativity, 2(1), 60–66. https://doi.org/10.25765/sauc.v2i1.45

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2016): Center Periphery: Practice

Section

Invited Authors

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