Dela Torre 1
Ienna Dela Torre
Rhetoric 130
Professor Holler
17 October 2011
Banksy: Secret Street Artist Extraordinaire
Artistic Career
 Started as a freehand graffiti artist in the early 90s (Wall and Piece).
 At the young age of 14, he was inspired by local artists as a teenager (Wall and Piece):
“Bristol Underground Scene”
Nick Walker, Inkie, 3D
 His artwork can be found internationally (WebUrbanist):
United Kingdom
United States
Australia
Israel/Palestine area
 Spray painted 9 images along the Israeli West Bank barrier
 Frequent art exhibits and art shows in the UK & US
Primarily in London and the United Kingdom
Took place in warehouses and museums like MOCA - Museum of Contemporary Art)
 Gained celebrity attention in 2006 to 2008 (Encyclopedia of World Biographies):
Auction house Sotheby’s sold millions to A-list stars
Christina Aguilera, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Maculay Culkin among fans
Used celebrities as a muse for several paintings
 Organized the Cans Festival in 2008 (Wall and Piece):
Duration of 3 days, from May 3rd to the 5th
Took place in an abandoned tunnel
39 artists around the world attended
The name of the festival played on the French Cannes Film Festival
Technique
“I use whatever it takes. Sometimes that just means drawing a moustache on a girl’s face on
some billboard, sometimes that means sweating for days over an intricate drawing. Efficiency is
key” (Wall and Piece).
 Mix between simple and elaborate designs (WebUrbanist):
Simple as embellishing a sign or wall to creating a whole new design
 Combination of spray paint and stencils to minimize time and color overlap
(WebUrbanist):
When he was younger, he was too slow and either got caught or never finished his work –
started using stencils and spray paint
Common stencils include the Banksy rat and storybook-like children
 Creates both indoor and outdoor graffiti (WebUrbanist)
Dela Torre 2
Themes
 Banksy’s cynical, anti-establishment, pro-anarchy
 Works portrayed largely satirical elements
 Deals heavily with social and political themes
Anti-war, anti-capitalism, anti-imperialism, anti-authoritarianism, anarchism, nihilism and
existentialism
Human conditions of greed, poverty, despair, alienation and absurdity
But! He does have a sense of humor from time to time
So… who is Banksy?
 No one really knows!
 Rumors surfaced about a man named Robin Gunningham in 2004 (Joseph):
Pictures uncovered in Jamaica at Two-Culture Clash Project
Always seems to be wherever “Banksy” seems to be
Although records confirm the existence of a Robin Gunningham, the supposed parents do not
acknowledge the existence of a son
However, Banksy’s agent neither confirms nor denies claim of Robin Gunningham being
Banksy
 What we do know? (WebUrbanist):
From Bristol, UK
Sports a silver tooth
According to some, looks like “an unassuming, typical man”
One of the most popular, influential, notorious modern artists of today
Dela Torre 3
Works Cited
"Banksy." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2007. 16 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2007-A-Co/Banksy.html>.
"Banksy in San Francisco." San Francisco Luxury Living. 24 Apr. 2010. 16 Oct. 2011.
<http://sfluxe.com/2010/04/24/banksy-in-san-francisco>.
"The Banksy Paradox: 7 Sides of the World’s Most Infamous Street Artist." WebUrbanist. Web.
16 Oct. 2011.
<http://weburbanist.com/2007/07/19/banksy-paradox-unofficial-guide-to-the-worldsmost-infamous-urban-guerilla-street-artist/>.
Banksy. Wall and Piece. London: Century, 2006. Print.
Joseph, Claudia. "Graffiti Artist Banksy Unmasked ... as a Former Public Schoolboy from
Middle-class Suburbia." Mail Online. 12 July 2008. 16 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1034538/Graffiti-artist-Banksy-unmasked--public-schoolboy-middle-class-suburbia.html>.
McAuliffe, Garrett. "Banksy, Satirical Stenciling and a Graffiti Manifesto." Mission Loc@l. 2
May 2010. 16 Oct. 2011.
<http://missionlocal.org/2010/05/who-the-heck-is-banksy/>.