Banksy — “Arguably The Most Controversial Street Artist in the World.”
Banksy is a mysterious street artist whose identity still remains unknown to this day, although his is widely acclaimed within the art atmosphere as being the greatest and most disputed creator. To this day, despite all of the credit given to him for his work, he still refuses to be interviewed and keeps his identity maintained. The inspiration that Banksy leaves his with his fans is often referred to as the “Banksy Effect.”
His work began to take off after being involved within the graffiti scene for many years starting at age 18. His motivation for the graffiti art lifestyle was due to his admiration for Blek Le Rat, a French graffiti artist whom Banksy admired, as he often recycled his old ideas. His own graffiti scene began with a graffiti crew in Bristol known as DryBreadZ or DBZ. Later, he began to partner with Inkie, anther notable street artist.
To this day, Banksy’s identity is still questioned as to who he or she is. Banksy’s identity is is widely talked about and rumors may suggest that Banksy is a woman. However, Banksy is most commonly referred to as a man.
Blek Le Rat’s work:
The Turning Point. . .
A turning point in the artist’s career was when he was caught vandalizing by the city police. As his crew fled the scene, Banksy hid behind a garbage truck where he found stencil letters upon its surface. From that point forward, he decided to dedicate his street art to strictly using stencils.
In the early 2000s, Banksy moved to London where he began to gain notoriety and even worked on a series of international exhibits. His work exploded in popularity after years of traveling and most specifically when he travled to Palastine and the West Bank, where he stenciled nine images on the Bethlehem Wall. He even went as far to open a hotel directly viewing the graffiti known as the Walled Off Hotel. The wall depicting Donald Trump however was actually not done by Banksy, although many people are mislead to believe it was him. The work is actually done by Australian graffiti artist Lush. This is a misconception by many, but the artwork on this wall is ever-growing and now features different artists aside from Banksy.
Iconic “Dismaland”:
Another one of his most interesting and controversial concepts was that of “Dismaland,” which was a large scale group show lampooning Disneyland. He described this project as a contrast to Disneyland as a “family theme park unsuitable for children.” In an article by The Guardian, this project was described as “sometimes hilarious, sometimes eye-opening, and occasionally breathtakingly shocking.”
Social Media:
Within the realm of social media, Banky’s work has become a popular trend. I first heard Banksy’s name when I joined the Tumblr community about 5 years ago. I saw a trend that was reposted often showing Banksy’s various work with the Instagram comments, likes, and followers button, typically with a crying boy. Discussing Banksy in relation to social media is controversial. In many of his works his message describes how consumerism and social media often takes over the mind of many people. He describes the 21st century world as consumer-driven where social media platforms are the driving force for a “mask” that people hide behind. The piece of the crying boy alongside a happy couple reiterates these theories in showing a young boy holding his mobile device crying because he has no comments, likes, and no new followers on Instagram — however, this interpretation can apply to any other social platform.
His prints and stencils started racking up breaking record sales and displayed in art auctions such as Bonhams of London. This was the beginning of getting his pieces into the commercial business.
His Instagram does not have all that much content, however the aesthetic and posts that he does put out to the public have meaning and substance to them. He has hundreds of works, but chooses thus far to only have 89 posts on this social platform.
Key Accomplishments:
□ In 2010, he became the successful author and filmmaker for the film “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and won the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards for Best First Feature 2010.
□ Undertook a residency “Better Out Than In” beginning in October 2013 which began as a one-month show on the streets of New York City. Each day he would unveil at least one piece of his art documenting it on his Instagram account. Tourists seeing these works could purchase original art for only $60.
□ Gave a rare interview to BBC’s Nigel Wrench discussing his work.
□ Gained much fame in 2004 for his spoof British £10 notes substituting the picture of the Queen’s head with that of Diana, Princess of Wales and changing the text to, “Banksy of England” which one sold for £24,000.
Moco Museum — Amsterdam:
One place that I was especially eager to visit during my time in Amsterdam was the Moco: Banksy Museum. To the left are two photos that really resonated with me.
In Banksy’s work, he reiterates hope — and how hope is often lost within our world because of war, loss, police brutality, loneliness, hunger, etc. In particular, the photo below of children looking upwards towards the sky captures a sense of hope for future generations. This picture reveals how this strong sense of hope lies in children’s hands, and how the curiousity of our youth can change the world.
Banksy’s Impact:
Banksy’s work has made a lasting impact on many people across the globe. The driving force behind his art is hope and change — and people such as Zehra Doğan respond to Banksy’s positive outlook. One post on his Instagram that stuck out to me were screenshots of a letter that had been written to him from a prison cell in Turkey.
There are very few videos on Banksy’s work for two reasons, one being that he tries his hardest to be incognito and not be recognizable to the public, and two for having all his work being extremely controversial with many opinions subjective to each person.
However, here are some gifs of “his work in action.”
Original Quotes:
“If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” — Banksy
“Your mind is working at its best when you’re being paranoid. You explore every avenue and possibility of your situation at high speed with total clarity.” — Banksy
