Banksy

Banksy

            Banksy is a graffiti artist from England, who also works with paint and film.  Banksy believes graffiti art is just as natural as any other medium, and does not believe that it should be labeled as vandalism.  His art can be found on public spaces and he employs the use of stencils to help him create the pieces.  His film Exit Through the Gift Shop is a documentary following street artist Thierry Guetta and his journey to becoming famous.  His work auctions off for extremely high prices, which started a chain reaction of the growing popularity of street art, and new artists emerging.  Often Banksy’s works, such as his Pulp Fiction-inspired mural get painted over, which usually elicits an artistic response from Banksy.

            Banksy’s work inspires me because it is a nontraditional form of art, yet the pieces auction off at just as high of prices as famous painters’ pieces do.  I think that Banksy’s use of stencil on his street art is an efficient and imaginative way to create his pieces in a shorter amount of time and more accurately.  I was also interested in the anonymity that Banksy has attempted to retain.  His anonymity is so important to him that he works under a pseudonym and has frequently not shown up to collect money from auctions of his work.  I think part of the public attraction to his work is from the anonymity and the idea that the artist could be anyone, which is an interesting and appealing idea to play with.