For someone who has been following both of these artists pretty extensively over the past six months, it’s quite a joy to see one of them interviewing the other. Not only does Shepard Fairey ask good questions, he gets honest, refreshing answers out of the most mysterious man in the art world: Banksy.

How Swindle Magazine managed to pull this off would be my first question, but then I’d read the “about” section on their website and realize it was founded in 2004 by Shepard Fairey himself.

This interview comes from issue No. 8, which I believe was released quite some time ago. But with the massive incline in the popularity of both these guys– and the fact I’ve never heard of this article before today–it seems like a great time for this thing to get some serious publicity.

Here are a few of the most impressive quotes; one from Fairey about Banksy, and the other two from the man himself.

Click here to read the interview in its entirety.

So dope!

“BANKSY’s work embodies everything I like about art and nothing I dislike about it. His art is accessible rather than elitist, since he does it on the street; it has a powerful political message that’s conveyed with a sense of humor, which certainly makes the bitter pill easier to swallow; it’s pleasing to look at, because it’s technically very strong but not overly complex and intimidating; and he pulls it off in such a way that its presence in its context communicates not only his message but his dedication to effecting the change he promotes in that message, whether he’s defying Israeli hegemony by painting the separation wall in Palestine or bypassing the elitist review board of a museum by hanging his work himself. He definitely has his share of critics, who say that he burns too many bridges by rejecting countless opportunities to gain money or fame, but he simply has no interest in doing anything that falls outside his goal of making provocative, powerful artwork. He’s a good friend and a tremendous source of inspiration; he’s The Great Communicator of our time, and the most important living artist in the world.” -Shepard Fairey on Banksy

“I think Andy Warhol got it wrong: in the future, so many people are going to become famous that one day everybody will end up being anonymous for 15 minutes.” -Banksy

“My favorite graffiti is done by people that aren’t in books. I’m really into the amateurs, the people who just come out of nowhere with a marker pen and write one funny thing for one night and then disappear.” -Banksy