Banksy: Art Terrorist

“We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves.” – Banksy

I’m not a big art person. By that I mean, I know what I like and that’s about it. My personal knowledge of techniques and period pieces is… well… I have none. None whatsoever. I don’t speak art. And beauty is so subjective, I’ve never really bothered to spend much time learning about it – I mean, what would be the point? (I probably sound really ignorant right about now…) Anyway, on with the post.

If you live in or around London/Bristol, you would have been personally familiar with the work of graffiti artist Banksy for some time now. If you have never personally experienced his work, no doubt you will have heard about it or at least seen pictures of it. He has even taken his art around the world.

To some, Banksy is thought to be a breath-of-fresh-air-genius, to others a threat-to-social-fabric-vandal. Where ever you fall, there is no doubt his work is always controversial. He provokes outrage and he inspires in equal measure.

Banksy – the pseudonym of a well-known English based graffiti artist, painter, film-director and political activist has become quite the celebrity (albeit avoiding celebrity status by keeping his identity shrouded in mystery). His street art is satirical, subversive and poignant and he manages to combine dark humour with a political and social commentary. His art appears in public spaces and he has even completed works on the barrier wall which separates Israelis and Palestinians.

He is also well known for his controversial headline-making stunts, such as leaving an inflatable doll dressed as a Guantanamo prisoner in Disneyland, California, and hanging a version of the Mona Lisa – but with a smiling face – in the Louvre, Paris.

But perhaps his most provocative statement, and the one that generates the most publicity, is the fact that Banksy’s true identity has always been a highly guarded secret, known to only a handful of trusted friends.

A series of myths has grown around him. One being that his real name is Robin Banks. Another being that he used to be a butcher. Also, that his parents don’t know what he does, believing him to be an unusually successful painter, decorator and labourer. Then there’s the suggestion that Banksy is actually a collection of artists which belong to a very secretive artist-guerrilla-society and that the individual man doesn’t exist at all.

Of course there are suspicions about his true identity and certain investigative reporters claim to have uncovered his identity, but the truth is, there is still no real conformation… and I kind of like it that way. I think of Banksy as the last Santa Claus/Tooth Fairy/Easter Bunny for grown ups – why ruin the illusion. Whenever I go into London, I look for evidence of his presence and every now and again I have gotten it!

Banksy has characterised graffiti as a form of underclass ‘revenge‘, or ‘guerilla warfare‘ that allows the individual to snatch away power and glory from a bigger and better equipped enemy. His work has also shown a desire to mock centralised power. He demonstrates, through his art, that although power does exist it is not terribly efficient and it can and should be deceived. Banksy’s work deals with an array of social themes including war, social class, capitalism, fascism and existentialism, to name but a few. He also provides a commentary on the human fallacies, such as greed, poverty and alienation. He subverts tradition and plays with contrast.

I think it’s pretty clear that I’m a fan!

I can’t help but feel he’s the Andy Warhol of our time (with our obsession with his works and messages but without the excessive fame).

Through a telephone interview Banksy once told a magazine: “I have no interest in ever coming out. I figure there are enough self-opinionated assholes trying to get their ugly little faces in front of you as it is.”