2. Banksy is an England-based graffiti artist,
political activist and film director of
unverified identity. His satirical street art and
subversive epigrams combine dark
humour with graffiti executed in a
distinctive stenciling technique( stencils are
traditionally hand drawn or printed onto
sheets of acetate or card, before being cut
out by hand, and it is assumed he uses
computers for some images due to the
photocopy nature of much of his work. There
is dispute in the street art world over the
legitimacy of stencils, with many artists
criticising their use as "cheating".)
3. His works of political and social commentary
have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges
of cities throughout the world. Banksy's work
grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which
involved collaborations between artists and
musicians.
Banksy once characterised graffiti as a form of
underclass "revenge", or guerilla warfare that
allows an individual to snatch away power,
territory and glory from a bigger and better
equipped enemy. Banksy sees a social class
component to this struggle. Banksy's work has
also shown a desire to mock centralised power,
hoping that his work will show the public that
although power does exist and works against
you, that power is not terribly efficient and it can
and should be deceived.
4. Banksy's works have dealt with various political and
social themes, including anti-war, anti-
consumerism, anti-fascism, anti-imperialism, anti-
authoritarianism, and existentialism. Additionally, the
components of the human condition that his works
commonly critique are greed,
poverty, hypocrisy, boredom, despair, absurdity,
and alienation.
Some people assert that Banksy's street art glorifies
what is essentially vandalism and "his work looks
dazzlingly clever to idiots."
He has also been long criticised for copying the work
of Blek le Rat, who created the life-sized stencil
technique in early 1980s Paris and used it to express
a similar combination of political commentary and
humorous imagery.
Several artworks by Banksy have been vandalised,
painted over or destroyed.
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28. DISCUSSION
• Do you think art can create social
change?
• How much power do you think
street art has?
• Do you consider street art and/or
graffiti to be a
respectable way of making art?
