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Banksy
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Banksy
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Written and created by Michelle Sandquist
Copyright © May 2013
Image sources:
http://www.stencilrevolution.com/banksy-art-prints/
http://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/index1.html
Interview:
http://www.timeout.com/london/art/banksy-interview-art-time-out-london
Who is Banksy?
Banksy, a street artist whose identity remains unknown,
is believed to have been born in Bristol, England, around
1974. Banksy's identity remains unknown, despite intense
speculation floating around the internet. The two names
most often suggested are Robert Banks and Robin Gunningham. The Pictures that surfaced of a man who was
supposedly Banksy pointed toward Gunningham, an artist
who was born in Bristol in 1973. Gunningham had movedto London around 2000, a timeline that is believed to
correlate with Banksy's artwork Banksy is a world-renowned artist. Banksy is a world-renowned artist who uses
his original street art form to promote alternative aspects of politics from those promoted by the mainstream media. Some believe that his graffiti helps to provide a voice for those living in urban environments
that could not otherwise express themselves, and that his work is also something which improves the aesthetic quality of urban surroundings; others disagree, asserting that his work is simple vandalism. The messages are usually about anti-war, anti-capitalist or anti-establishment. Subjects often include rats, apes,
policemen, soldiers, children, and the elderly. In addition to his two-dimensional work, Banksy is known for
his installation artwork. One of the most celebrated of these pieces, which featured a live elephant painted
with a Victorian wallpaper pattern, sparked controversy among animal rights activists. Other pieces have
drawn attention for their edgy themes or the boldness of their execution. Banksy's work on the West Bank
barrier, between Israel and Palestine, received significant media attention in 2005. He is also known for
his use of copyrighted material and subversion of classic images. An example of this is Banksy's version
of Monet's famous series of water lilies paintings, adapted by Banksy to include drifting trash and debris.
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Exhibitions
Stencil on the waterline of The Thekla, an entertainment boat in
central Bristo
Early Years
Banksy began as a freehand graffiti artist in 19901994 as one of Bristol's
DryBreadZ Crew (DBZ),
with Kato and Tes. He was
inspired by local artists and
his work was part of the
Gorilla in a Pink Mask
larger Bristol underground
part of the larger Bristol underground scene with Nick
Walker, Inkie and 3D. From the start he used stencils
as elements of his freehand pieces, too. By 2000 he
had turned to the art of stencilling after realising how
much less time it took to complete a work. He claims he
changed to stencilling while he was hiding from the police under a rubbish lorry, when he noticed the stencilled serial number and by employing this technique, he
soon became more widely noticed for his art around
Bristol and London. Banksy's stencils feature striking and
humorous images occasionally combined with slogans.
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He later moved on to producing works of apropriation. Some believe this is just copying art and calling it
your own, and discourage and dont accept it. Although
Apropriation is the use of pre-existing objects or images, you do change the artwork by adding your own
too it, but still giving credit to the origonal. one example
is Monet's Water Lily Pond, adapted to include urban
objects such as litter and a shopping cart floating
in its reflective waters. Another example is Edward
Hopper's Nighthawks, redrawn to show that the characters are looking at a bekigerant British footballer.
He's dressed only in his Union Flag underpants, who has
just thrown an
object
through
the glass window of the cafe.
These oil paintings were painted
on canvas, and
were shown at a
twelve-day exhibition in Westbourne
Grove,
London in 2005. Apropriation of Monet’s Water Lily Pond
Apropriation of Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks
Barely Legal
This time frame for banksy occured between 2004-2006. in August
2004, Banksy produced a quantity of spoof British $10 notes substituting the picture of the Queen's head with Diana, Princess of Wales's head
and changing the text "Bank of England" to "Banksy of England" (Image
below). Also during this time, around August 2005, He want on a trip
to Palestinian territories, where he created nine images on the Israeli
West Bank wall (image on right). Banksy held an exhibition called Barely
Legal, billed as a "three-day
vandalised warehouse extravaganza" in Los Angeles, on the
weekend of 16 September 2006.
The exhibition featured a live
painted "elephant in a room.
“Banksy of England”
Unwelcome intervention
The Banksy Effect
while in December, journalist Max Foster coined the phrase, "the Banksy
effect," to illustrate how interest in other street artists was growing on
the back of Banksy's success. The art piece Naked Man by Banksy (Image
on left), on the wall of a sexual health clinic in Park Street, Bristol. City
Council has decided it will be allowed to remain, with popular support.
Like Andy Warhol, Banksy
has almost redefined what
art is to a lot of people
who probably never felt
they liked or even supported art before in their
life. By being an icon, and
in the process becoming a
hero for a lot of people,
Banksy has become an incredible icon in our society.
Ozone’s Angel
Naked Man, wall of a sexual health clinic
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Film: Exit Through the
gift shop
the Interest in Banksy rose sky high with the release
of the 2010 documentary 'Exit Through the Gift Shop'.
The film, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was
nominated for an Academy Award. It is the inside story
of Street Art, a brutal and revealing account of what
happens when fame, money and vandalism collide. Exit
Through the Gift Shop follows a shop-keeper turned amateur film-maker as he attempts to capture many of the
world's most infamous vandals on camera, only to have
a British stencil artist named Banksy turn the camcorder
back on its owner
with wildly unexpected results.
One
of the most provocative films about art ever
made,
Exit Through the Gift Shop is a fascinating study of
low-level criminality, comradeship and incompetence. scene from the movie “Exit through the thrift shop”
"People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and
childish. But that's only if it's done properly."
- Banksy
scene from the movie “Exit through the thrift shop”
"Some people become cops because they want to make the
world a better place. Some people become vandals because
they want to make the world a better looking place."
-Banksy
film cover for “Exit Through the gift shop”
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What does Banksy think?
Banksy agreed to an exclusive interview with Time Out london's, Ossian Ward. Posted: Mon Mar 1 2010.
1. Is this definitely you? After all, some hacks have been duped into unofficial interviews with imposters, naming no
names (the Guardian Guide)
-I wish you were talking to an imposter. I don't have much of a personality, so it's difficult to "be" one. Also I
want to talk up the film, but I don't want to talk about it - I'm worried I might ruin the ending. Can we just run a
blank page that people can draw on?
2. Can you at least say why you've dubbed this the first ever street-art disaster movie? Does that mean it's your
last film?
-I consider this whole experience to be a disaster on many levels. I think it will be known as my first movie, the
one that didn't lead to a career in filmmaking.
3. First came the art, then your move into animatronics, then a feature film, does that make you the next Walt Disney?
-i'd never thought about it like that. I guess opening a giant theme park for vandals would be next. I was at a
holiday camp when "License to Ill" by the Beastie Boys came out. Practically every kid had a VW badge hanging around their necks that they'd stolen off a car in town. I remember the police raided the camp and the mayor
came and gave us a stern lecture by the paddling pool.
4. Now that your mugshot has appeared in the paper, do you get recognised on the street?
-I know a couple of years ago a bloke claimed he was Banksy to get into a nightclub in Shoreditch and when
word went around he got a kicking off some other graffiti writers. It's in my interest not to comment on any of
the photos doing the rounds.
Traditional graffiti writers have a bunch of rules they like to stick to, and good luck to them, but I didn't become a
graffiti artist so I could have somebody else tell me what to do. If you're the type who gets sentimental about people
scribbling over your stuff, I suggest graffiti is probably not the right hobby for you.
5. Can street art ever be shown in a gallery?
-I don't know if street art ever really works indoors. If you domesticate an animal, it goes from being wild and
free to sterile, fat and sleepy. So maybe the art should stay outside. Then again, some old people get a lot of
comfort from having a pet around the house.
6. What do you make of the financial value of your works? Do you mind people trading them like property or luxury
goods?
-My lawyer's opinion is that the cops might not actually be able to charge me with criminal damage any more because theoretically my graffiti actually increases the value of property rather than decreasing it. That's his theory,
but then my lawyer also believes wearing novelty cartoon ties is a good look.
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Recent Work
Girl with baloon
It would be illegal, London 2011
Blank Walls, London
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guard, London
Toronto 2010
Graffiti Removal Hotline
Maid to order
Follow Your Dreams
Cave Painting
No act of kindness No atter how small is ever wasted.
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