Street Artist Banksy And Southern Illinois University

“In contrast to government-commissioned public art, street art is illicit and subversive in nature. Therefore, most street artists, including Banksy, use pseudonyms to avoid legal prosecution for vandalism.”(Chung 27) Banksy’s street art does not focus on competing with rival artists, but focuses on engaging with a broader audience in a deeper level. He provokes his audience by deeply expressing out various social practices that helps viewers to reflect and confront certain aspects together as a community. (27) The underlying message of Banksy’s art can lead towards an active involvement of street art within the community.

Generally, Banksy’s graffiti idea came from his view of politics, entertainment, anti-war, anti-authority, anti-capitalist, promotion of freedom, and environmental protection. After 21st century, Banksy style graffiti is getting stronger in all corners of the world.

His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine 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.

According to Boyd, through Graffiti is essential to understand as a form of art that crosses the boundaries of location, method, and motivation. He acknowledges that graffiti might include “racist remarks, empty slogans and illegal signatures.”(Boyd 251) Boyd’s piece is also very informative because according to the author, there are two methods for creating this form of art: murals and tagging. The most popular one is tagging because it can be found almost everywhere from fence posts to trains, street walls to buses. The main goal of graffiti writers is to put their signature tags in places to be recognized by their

As stated by Taki, an influential graffiti artist when addressing the concern authorities held about his graffiti writing, “Why they go after the little guy? Why not campaign organizations that put stickers all over the subways at election time?” (Chronopoulos 2011, pg. 81). Though, graffiti is deemed as legitimate when it is used to generate profit, which is seen through the recent increased demand for graffiti with the purpose of beautification and gentrification. Evidently, the growing concern over graffiti in public spaces is driven by the conflict graffiti creates when obstructing advertisements, which generate increased consumption and profit. It also demonstrates the lack of tolerance the dominant class has for the promotion of dominance by the lower class. Moreover, constant “public proclamations” which urged people to see graffiti writing as a social safety issue, has certainly influenced the demand for anti-graffiti efforts and the attitudes upper and middle class whites had towards Blacks and Latinos (Chronopoulos 2011, pg. 87)

As Henry David Thoreau states: “the world is but a canvas to our imagination” is pragmatic in the sense of what is defined as art. The mere act of shaping art onto the simplicity of paper is condoned while walls, streets, and bridges become the norm. A rugged description, yet so valid in this case. This principle is exemplified in the works of Banksy. Banksy is my chosen artist. His works are authentic, yet aesthetically defined in the most unusual places. His method of art is likewise fascinating – for he uses bold sardonic street art and dissident witticisms combined with graffiti performed in idiosyncratic stenciling techniques to portray various messages. As findthemag.com states, Banksy uses “broad, complex abstractions and reducing them into something palatable.” I agree with this statement. Also, the term Banksy is a pseudonym for his unique identity that remains quite unconfirmed. This is enthralling - an artist who refrains from claiming his own art? This idea might sound confounding to some, but it adds fervor to my fondness of his art.

Banksy is a well known, anonymous graffiti artists in England. He started doing freehand in 1194. On June 19, 2002, Banksy's first exhibition debuted at 33 Gallery, a tiny silver lake venue owned by Frank Sosa.

To understand graffiti, we shall open up our mindsets to the perspective that it is typically seen as a form of street art which involves tagging, but also involves the creation of more complex paintings. Graffiti and street art are the most globally operating forms of art we have seen so far: influenced by every culture they visit, graffiti writers and street artists travel the world to paint together and learn from each other. From its earliest days, it was done outside the law, with writers taking big risks when making their works, this sometimes leading to their arrests. Joe Capozzi, author of the ‘Mural Mystery: Was Graffiti Vandalism?’ article for The Palm Beach Post, asked “was it vandalism or a publicity stunt by the artist? And if

Demonstrated all throughout his works, Banksy does not make it clear what message his art actually gives off. Instead, he leaves it up to the onlookers’ own perception to decipher the true meaning behind the image. Most of his art uses no words, by that, it is through the investigation of semiotics that we can contrast between the meaning and the undertone of his works (Bal). For most of his artworks’, its not hard to seize the idea behind them. Some of their meanings are unmistakable and give a clear indication of what message is being perceived. In fact I have the perfect example.

In recent years, Banksy has been recognized as an international artist and filmmaker in 2010 with the documentary Exit through the Gift Shop. The world of fine art and museums have accepted his work and the value of his street art exponentially increased. His work being showcased in gallery spaces willingly along with several installations throughout the world. Banksy’s work is by definition what is considered contemporary art in the aspect of the speculation and the juxtaposition that arises when his work is put on display in fine art museums.

Banksy is a famous- yet anonymous- is an example of a street artist who uses stencils to portray his urban art across the streets of London. His style of work is usually dominated with black and white and sometimes complimented with a splash of colour. This allows the viewer to understand the concept of his work much better as they realise the main focus of the piece. His art works usually involve a political message and is sometimes reinforced humorously. For instance, the image on the left raises awareness of the increasing interest and obsession and technology in younger generations. It suggests a scary future- if not already a reality- that the source of happiness will come from the ‘no. of likes’ we receive on our social media pages.

The nature of Banksy’s work is iconoclastic in the way he blatantly designs images to rebel governmental authority or depict the failings of

As Banksy’s artwork spread throughout the world the prices of his paintings went up as well. A painting of a girl in an astronaut suite holding a yellow bird sold for $576,000. After this picture sold Banksy posted on his website a painting of an art auction with the words, “I can’t believe you morons actually buy this shit.” He calls the art world, “the biggest joke going ... a rest home for the over privileged, the pretentious, and the weak.” Banksy takes pride in telling people his opinion of their actions. His website post against people buying his paintings for a lot of money is a sign of just how much he dislikes the use of money in the world. I think this proves that the goal in creating his graffiti art is not to make a lot of money but to let his opinion be heard on all kinds of controversial topics. His strong opinions may also be because of his anonymous identity.

Within the impoverished urban streets arose a youth culture captivated by infamy and self-pride. A youth culture virtually undistinguishable from members of modern society with a passion, setting them apart from the community. The members of this underground subculture could be your next-door neighbor, your son or daughter, or the contractor repairing your roof, yet you would have no idea that they strive to “bomb” objects and surfaces found in everyday life. It is the subtle differences that distinguish a graffiti artist from the average member of society, such as their, mindset, desires, speech and active lifestyle.

Banksy is a very renowned street artist who keeps his identity unknown. His artwork is portrayed by “striking images, often combined with slogans, [which] engages political themes, satirically critiquing war, capitalism, hypocrisy and greed” (“Banksy Biography”). He first started his bold street art in Bristol, his hometown located in London, but quickly spread to the United States of America. In the U.S., Banksy targeted the most populated cities; this was due to the fact that it was easier for him to spread his messages. With a crowded location, his lessons will extent over an audience much quicker.