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Banksy - when graffiti becomes art
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When people hear the word 'graffiti', they
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often think of annoying, sometimes
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meaningless symbols or messages
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sprayed on walls. And, as graffiti is seen
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as vandalism in the eyes of the law, you
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can be fined a lot of money if you get
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caught spraying. But although some graffiti
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was initially sprayed illegally, it has become
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extremely famous all around the world. Some
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is even considered artsuch as Banksy's 'Girl
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with Balloon'.
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Banksy, who has successfully hidden his true identity from the public, is today's most popular
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street artist. He puts a huge effort into staying anonymous, for example by using e-mails or a
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voice-change app in his rare interviews. Various speculations suggest he is a Bristol native
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by the name of Robin Gunningham, but this cannot be fully proven.
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Talking about his youth, Banksy says he was an unhappy schoolboy who expressed
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himself through freehand graffiti. At the age of 18, he was nearly caught by the police
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while vandalizing public buildings with his graffiti crew. His friends could flee from the
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scene, but Banksy had to hide behind a dustbin lorry. There he noticed some stencil letters on
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the vehicle and got inspired. Knowing that freestyle spraying was not his greatest skill,
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he then changed his style and became a stencil graffiti artist.
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By the early 2000s, Banksy moved to London. First, he just imitated his idol French artist Blek
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le Rat, who was also using stencils for his graffiti. But soon, Banksy started creating his
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own style and began communicating public opinions and concerns in a provocative and often
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humorous way to influence many people. And, as he carefully chooses the location of his
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graffiti, his political themes reach the crowds.
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In 2004, one of his most impressive stencil graffiti, the 'Kissing Coppers', decorated the wall of a
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pub in Brighton. It attracted people's attention with two male policemen kiss- ing each other. This
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way, Banksy demonstrated his solidarity with the city's LGBTQ+2 community. In 2011, Bruton
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Street in the heart of Mayfair, one of London's wealthiest districts, became home to one of
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Banksy's most popular artworks called 'Falling Shopper'. The graffiti shows a woman with
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a shopping trolley falling from a building. Many believe this Banksy graffiti criticizes
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people's uncontrolled shopping behaviour in Western capitalist societies.
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These days, Banksy's work has even expanded into sculpture, prints, paintings and
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films - artwork which is often collected by wealthy celebrities. But Banksy has always
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had mixed emotions about making big money with art. He even donated a series of paintings to
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auction in 2020 to raise money for social causes.
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Two years earlier, the auction of the print 'Girl with Balloon' clearly showed Banksy's
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opinion about selling and buying art: Everybody in the auction room was shocked, when,
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at the moment the print was being sold for £1.1 million, it started to pass through a
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shredder. "I wanted to destroy the print completely", Banksy later admitted, "but the
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shredder, which was hidden in the frame, stopped working". In September 2021, the partially
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shredded artwork was retitled 'Love is in the Bin' and sold for £18.58 million. The fact that
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Banksy has become so famous has also caused some problems. What should be done with the
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growing number of Banksy's artworks sprayed illegally in public spaces? Now that the
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artworks are valued enormous amounts of money, city councils are facing the dilemma
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whether to protect, sell or remove them.
Adapted from ['Spotlight 2/2022, Spotlight Verlag GmbH, München; https://www.streetartbio.com/artists/banksy/ (20.04.2023); https://www.theartstory.org/artist/banksy/ (20.04.2023); https://www.britannica.com/biography/Banksy (21.04.2023); https://learnenglisht- eens.britishcouncil.org/blogs/life-around-world/graffiti-crime-or-culture (21.04.2023); https://www.gwr.com/stations-and-destinations/travel-inspi- ration/blogs/banksy-street-art-london (27.10.2023); https://banksyexplained.com/issue/graffiti-consumerism-and-capitalism/ (27.10.2023); https://magazine.artland.com/banksy-street-art-best-graffiti-essential-city-guide/ (27.10.2023) picture source: CC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_with_Balloon#/media/ File:Banksy_Girl_and_Heart_Balloon_(2840632113).jpg (21.04.2023)]
Bildnachweise [nach oben]
[1] LYDIA and her SALAD DAYS, BANKSY LONDON, CC BY-SA 2.0
