BANKSY

The “guerilla” graffiti artist Banksy is “perhaps the most famous, or infamous, artist alive” because though his work is famous, no one knows who he/she/??? truly is (dailymail.co.uk 7/12/2008).  Speculations of Banksy’s identity are vast and some even believe Banksy isn’t just one artist but a union of many.  Banksy uses his public guerilla graffiti art to critique add irony, humor, and critique to our everyday lives.

When I first saw Banksy art, I was surfing the Internet, but I can only imagine what it would be like to see it on a building wall in your city.  I love Banksy because Banksy uses everyday environment to create art.

 

An ordinary street sign in London – turned into a hamster wheel by Banksy - forces a second glance and a smile at the simplicity of the art.  

In this example, also from London, Banksy adds irony to (what I assume to be previously drawn) graffiti by adding his own graffiti art.

Finally, this Banksy in Toronto critiques our society and particularly the humanity of corporations and “the business man.”

I think Banksy’s work is hugely important for society.  Being a Cleveland girl, I am constantly faced with news about the erosion of Cleveland and other cities in the “Rust Belt.”  Though London and Toronto, just two of the many cities Banksy works in, are no where near the critical level of Cleveland, public art for the masses can turn a wall of an abandoned building into a place of beauty – or even a tourist attraction.  The fact that Banksy’s art is “for the masses” is another important detail.  I enjoy art history and museums, but I do recognize that the audience who can afford to attend museums and feel comfortable there is limited.  Public art, and especially an art form like graffiti, is for everyone, whether they enjoy it or not.   Anyone who passes Banksy’s work can stop for a moment (or more) and admire it or dislike it, may it be a businessman with “0% interest in people” or a homeless person resting for the night.  It is a public art form that can not be ignored.  The Banksy “shop” on his website encourages that his work be used freely for everyone.  I put the word “shop” in quotations because it does not sell his work but rather lists what viewers can “Please feel free to [do]” and what to “Please do not” (www.banksy.co.uk).  Under “Please feel free to,” Banksy even asks that people “pretend [they] drew it [themselves] for art homework.”

The question of whether graffiti art is a legitimate art form (compared to expert opinions on Rembrant or Picasso) is trivial.  We live in a consumer culture today, in which museums and galleries don’t allow pictures to be taken in the hopes that viewers will buy postcards and mugs and umbrellas and prints and calendars and cooking aprons and on and on and on.  Banksy rejects this culture by creating critiquing, ironic, and funny art for the masses.