The Street Work of Banksy: The British Graffiti Artist

The Street Work of Banksy: The British Graffiti Artist

The Street Work of Banksy: British Graffiti Artist

Banksy is the pseudonym of a British graffiti artist, political activist and painter, whose identity is unconfirmed. Using a unique stenciling technique Banksy’s artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.
Here we’ll show you some of the best work from this international street artist Banksy.
Be sure to check out Banksy.co.uk
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Banksy.co.uk

Banksy, the artist, is expressing their opinion globally by creating graffiti around the world using words and illustrations.  Each of these pictures of the art is telling the world something different.  The artist is expressing political and social controversy through the use of words in the artwork.  In the picture at the top, the Native American is holding a "no trespassing" sign while sitting on the ground.  Banksy is reinforcing the illustration with the words "no trespassing" to relay the idea of trespassers on Native American land, a.k.a. English settlers.  I feel that using "no trespassing" makes the graffiti a powerful message.  The relationship of the language and the image in the picture of the little girl swinging from the A in PARK(ING) is really moving.  Using the word PARK with the suffix of ING in parentheses  as a piece of playground equipment makes us aware that our parks are being taken over by parking lots.  The picture of the man wearing the "0% interest in people" sign is using a play on words to get a message across.  Banksy is using the common phrase "0% interest" to express that there is no interest in people, only in money.  Again in the next photograph, Banksy is using a common quote to express political opinion.  The wall reads, "If at first you don't succeed - Call an air strike", and this is placed above a picture of someone in a gas mask.  This is expressing Banksy's feelings towards war.  The next photo shows a wall with "One nation under CCTV" being painted on it.  Banksy is using a powerful line that means a lot to many American's to express that TV has become more important than "God".  In the following picture, there is "Follow Your Dreams" with a "cancelled" sign through it.  "Follow Your Dreams" is an extremely popular slogan that is said to and by many people everyday.  This slogan, to me, seems like an American ideal.  America is supposed to be about opportunity and making your dreams come true.  By placing a "cancelled" sign through this slogan, Banksy is expressing that all hope is gone for this idea.  I find the picture with the little boy praying "Forgive Us Our Trespassing" significant because it looks like it's outside a factory or something similar, and all you can see is rocks and concrete.  I feel this shows that we trespassed on the Earth and turned it into rubble.  Banksy is using a distinctive line from a commonly read prayer in this photo.  This allows for many audiences to understand the meaning.  "One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings" is a powerful statement.  The wording of this statement allows us to recognize that just because we can quote lines from brilliant minds, does not mean we're brilliant as well.  I believe Banksy used this idea and this wording in order to express that people need to use their minds and not be mindless drones of memorization.  The photo of the little girl with a string connecting to "No future" makes me feel sad.  I feel this message is really strong.  The use of "No future" to coincide with a  picture of a child is heart wrenching.  If the children have no future, it seems no one does.  Banksy is using this message to express that we should be thinking about the future of the next generation because if the children have no future, it's our fault for letting the world fail.  The graffiti on the building surrounded by rubble reads, "I remember when all this was trees."  These words make the setting in the picture seem devastating.  The phrase used in this painting along with the word PARK(ING) in a previous painting are lexical items.  They are meant to express the same meaning.  Banksy is making us aware that our beautiful world is becoming ugly.  I love the way Banksy makes us aware of who is creating the graffiti art.  The way Banksy is painted is sloppy and dull and secondary to the people looking at the name.  I feel that by doing this with the name, Banksy is telling us that the message in the art is more important than the artist.  Banksy's words and illustrations appeal to people's emotions.  The graffiti is placed in places where everyone can see.  This makes Banksy's street art famous around the world.  This is being done in order to express political and social opinions universally.  How do you feel the images' meanings would differ if the words were not present?  Would the images themselves still portray powerful messages or would they just become graffiti?  Can these images stand alone and continue to be politically and socially controversial?  How about the words?  Can the word order or the words themselves be changed to portray a different meaning for the artwork?