Posted: September 5th, 2023

Who is Banksy?

Who is Banksy? That is what everybody has been asking each other for the last couple of years. Although he is quite famous nobody knows much about him. All we know is his real name might be Robert Banks or Robin Gunningham and he was born in Bristol, but what we do know Banksy is an anonymous England based graffiti artist, film director and painter. He is known for his sarcastic street art and subversive fun combine cheekiness with dark humor with graffiti done in a distinctive stenciling technique. Such artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.
Banksy's work was born out of the Bristol underground scene which involved teamwork between artists and musicians. According to wall and piece book, banksy was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s. People have different perceptions on what art should be. People often use art as a tool, which helps people express there point of view on life and art has different categories that range from looking at a tree in the bush in depth to a famous piece of painting in the museum or Art gallery.
Banksy defines art as something that should be looked at in depth so the person that is looking at the art should look at it longer and in more detail. In the book Wall and Piece book by Banksy artist quotes he is quoted interpreting art as “The holy grail is to spend less time making the picture than it takes people to look at it. Banksy thinks Art is an amazing way for individuals to express themselves, and people always link it to controversy. Art can be for a person’s individual desire, motivation, or hobby, but it can also be a political message or inspiration for an entire world.

A lot of famous artist use there own techniques, styles, and structures in order to implement there ideas into a form of art. An secretive artist from England by the name of Banksy is famous through his notorious and unique forms of art, usually graffiti art, and has inspired many people around the world. They call his work Monkey Parliament is incredible because it is addressing many political issues and creates a different perspective of the world.
Although many people have diverse definitions of art, several believe that controversial art is brilliant due to the fact that it portrays symbols that often cannot be expressed in words and exposes a message that can inspire an individual or an entire world in many ways. Is Banksy's work art or vandalism? define:vandalism The willful or malicious destruction, injury, disfigurement, or defacement of any public or private property, real or personal, without consent of the owner or person having control. define:art uman endeavor thought to be aesthetic and have meaning beyond simple description. Includes music, dance, sculpture, painting, drawing, stitchery, weaving, poetry, writing, woodworking, etc. A medium of expression where the individual and culture come together. Based on these two definitions Bansky's work is both art and vandalism. The problem with street art as I see it is that those who mainly consider it vandalism doesn't recognize it as art whereas those who mainly think of it as art more often can recognize it as vandalism as well.
I think Banksy does some good for this problem since his pieces often are so thought provoking and technically good. How does Banksy make money while keeping his identity hidden? Banksy has friends that ARE willing to keep his identity secret, they find art dealers that are also willing to trust that the banksy art is the real deal. money to the dealer, from the dealer to the friend. There is no real definition for what is beautiful or appealing to the human eye. Banksy is said to be an artist by some and a graffiti lawbreaker by others.
Basically, it is up to the person to define Banksy as someone who is doing the right thing verses doing the wrong thing. Banksy creates his graffiti pictures to make a stand for what he believes is the right way to look at controversial issues. Some people may not like Banksy’s graffiti because they do not have the same views as him. Some people might not like it because graffiti is vandalism and they see no art in vandalism. People who dislike his stencil graffiti art consider Banksy a lawbreaker. I personally believe that Banksy is a unique artist that will make a statement with his art, all the while