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Professor Cynthia Brannvall

Art 4

20 May 2020

Stop and Think: An Essay on Street Artist Banksy

In the 1980’s street art began to explode with popularity in the art world. Street Art is

defined as any art on public or private property for public display, whether it be sanctioned or

not. Artists such as Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat sparked the public’s interest by

decorating New York subway stations and brick walls throughout the city. The legality of these

pieces on public spaces is questionable, but that is part of the mystique this type of art possesses.

Artists use their work to make social and political commentary for the public to see. Many of

Haring’s pieces focussed on the current events of his time; with subjects such as the AIDS

epidemic or the assasination of John Lennon. As time progresses, the legacy that artists like

Haring and Basquiat left can be seen heavily in today’s street art. Their legacy’s influence is

most apparent in the artist who has dominated street art since first coming on the scene in the

early 1990’s-- Banksy. The artist known as “Banksy” operates under the alias in order to keep

his true identity a secret. He has done pieces around the world with a variety of different topics,

all while preserving his identity from the public. Traces of Banksy’s predecessor’s style can be

seen in each one of his pieces.. Although his influences are apparent, Banksy is still undoubtedly

unique in what he does. He has produced some of the most recognizable art of the 21st century,

and has art pertaining to almost all major political and social events in the last 20 years. His

stencil work is uncanny and extraordinarily unique. In the following pages, I will dive deeper

into the art that has influenced Banksy, Banksy’s most uniquely outspoken art, and how he-- as

an artist-- stays relevant. In other words, we will answer the question: How has a masked graffiti

artist taken over the street art world in an ever-evolving 21st century?

Street art has a unique effect on the public. Street art gives an artist the ability to leave a

piece of art for the public to interpret for themselves. In his book Banging Your Head Against a

Brick Wall, Banksy describes the importance of street art stating, “Bus stops are far more

interesting and useful places to have art than in museums. Graffiti has more chance of meaning

something or changing stuff than anything indoors. Graffiti has been used to start revolutions,

stop wars, and generally is the voice of people who aren't listened to. Graffiti is one of those few

tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don't come up with a picture to cure

world poverty you can make somebody smile while they're having a piss” (Banksy). This is a

very similar approach that Keith Haring took with his art. Haring would leave untitled artwork

throughout subway stations in order to spark the public’s imagination with his work. Although

some of his artwork had definitive meanings behind them, he did not always intend for those

meanings to be the only thing that someone could appreciate about the art. He meant for the art

to be interpreted in all ways and most importantly, appreciated. Many people suspect that this is

why he kept lots of his pieces untitled (Arnason, Manfield). A good representation of a piece of

art that is very politically outspoken, yet subtle enough to laugh at is Banksy’s untitled piece

from 2004 that can be found in London’s Marble Arch.

Banksy, Untitled, 2004, spray paint with stencil.

At first glance, this piece really could provide a viewer with a good giggle. However,

considering its location in England-- one of the most heavily surveillanced developed nations--

the political statement behind it is far greater. As recently as 2018 British Government has gotten

in trouble for excessive surveillance on their citizens. Given this context, the piece carries much

more weight than previously thought. This is an influence that Banksy has taken directly from

Haring. By making his art air on the dark humor, Banksy expands the audience that it will appeal

to.

Another distinct influence that can be seen in this piece is that of Jean Michel Basquiat.

Basquiat became well known for the way that he used words in his street art to convey meaning.

Basquiat and his art partner Al Diaz, under the pseudonym SAMO, used words written in spray

paint and marker throughout subway stations to write short, witty, and thought provoking stories.

In a very similar way, Banksy uses words to articulate his own meaning. He uses short phrases

repeatedly in his art to cause the viewer to stop and think about what the piece is saying. During

a protest against the war in Iraq in London 2003, Banksy handed out around thirty picket signs

on cardboard that he had put one of three different stencils on. The three different stencils were

Bomb Hugger Girl, Happy Choppers, and Grin Reaper. All of which had the words “WRONG

WAR” or “NO” stencilled underneath the image. The stenciled images spoke volumes.

However, the words “WRONG WAR” posed a question for the viewer: Is there a right war? If

so, what is it? Is there a more important war, on the homefront, that needs to be handled? And

what could “NO” be referring to exactly? All of these are valid questions regarding the picket

signs. In this instance, we can see Banksy using the influence of both Haring and Basquiat. The

words are so similar to the things that Basquiat did in the subways, but the ambiguity of the

words themselves and the thought provoking narrative they create is so similar to what Haring

did. In many senses Banksy is a good blend of his predecessor's style with the addition of a style

that is uniquely his own.

Banksy has stood out from the crowd in one very particular way. As James Gaddy puts in

in his 2004 article about the artist, “Banksy was everywhere--and nowhere.” Banksy has

somehow managed to decorate the entire world with his art, yet stay anonymous. There have

been many people interested in finding out his true identity; so much so that a group of authors

from Queen Mary University of London used the same “Geographic Profiling” system that law

enforcement agencies use to find suspects, in order to try and discover the true identity of

Banksy (Hauge et al.) I found this comical that a group of researchers is using a tool designed to

find murders to discover who the arguably most praised criminal in the world is. The group

released their findings, but since Banksy did not confirm his identity to be Robert Cunningham--

as the research suggested-- the public did not pay too much attention to it. The neglect for this

information is caused by the brilliant mystique that Banksy’s art has caused. By never releasing

his real name or even a picture of his full face, the identity of Banksy has become his art itself.

His identity lies with his outspoken, dark humor filled, satirical, street art. His personality is

within the mischievous pranks he pulls and the art he creates. The art gives us as viewers an ever

changing idea of who this man is. Sometimes, he is the face of political satire, other times he

becomes the little rats he stencils on walls throughout different cities.

Albeit the case that Banksy is an ever changing mystery, there is one piece that stands out

in my mind as his most defining piece. That is the canvas entitled Love is in the Bin, 2018. This

piece stems from his most identifiable piece called Balloon Girl, which first appeared on a wall

in London in 2002 (BBC News). To give context as to how well regarded Balloon Girl is;

according to a survey done by BBC news in 2017, Balloon Girl had become Great Britain's most

beloved piece of art. That being the case, it was no surprise that when an original canvas copy of

Balloon Girl was put up for auction in 2018, it sold for just about $1.4 million (Brenner). This

was a record at the time for a Banksy piece. However, moments after the sale was final, a

beeping began to come from the frame. Then a paper shredder, built into the frame that was

holding the famous Balloon Girl, began to shred the million dollar canvas. Panic ensued in the

auction hall and luckily, the piece was not shredded completely, but only half way. How did a

shredder get into the frame without anyone knowing? Well, that's Banksy for you. He had built

the shredder into the frame just in case it ever went up for auction, in which case the art would

self destruct. Banksy has been known for putting many of his canvas pieces in large antique

looking gold frames. He does so in order to mock the aesthetics of so called fine art. By doing

this, he has bridged the gap between fine art and street art, and created what Lex Brenner from

Harvard National Review calls the “Banksy Effect.” After the shredder failed to shred the entire

canvas, it was all of the sudden a new piece of art. Moreover, according to Brenner “The move

not only fed into his ever-growing fanbase, but the shredded art actually became worth more than

the original.” This new piece was then given the title Love is in the Bin. Below is the original

Balloon Girl on the left and on the right is the modified Love is in the Bin.

The meaning behind the original Balloon Girl can be interpreted many ways. I see a

young child metaphorically reaching for her goals, dreams, and aspirations as they slowly float

away from her. Moreover, looking closer at the girls figure, it almost appears that the stencil

outlines her skeleton in white. Here, I think banksy is getting at the core of what makes humanity

different, and that is our desire for more. With the little girl slowly losing her balloon, it speaks

to Banksy belief about the nature of desire. So why would he shred this work?

Banksy is very much of the avant garde for his time and Love is in the Bin is the absolute

epitome of this new and daring art. To create a piece of art by destroying your most well known

art is something no one has ever done before. It was a huge risk and it paid off tremendously.

Since creating Love is in the Bin, he has continued to rise in popularity. In 2019, he broke

another personal record by selling his Devolved Parliament for over $12 million. He posted a

comment on Instagram about the sale of Devolved Parliament stating “Record price for a Banksy

painting set at auction tonight… Shame I didn’t still own it.” This comment was made to

criticize how artists are excluded in the sale of their work. Some have also speculated that this is

why he shredded Balloon Girl immediately upon resale.

Although the prices people pay for his work are a good tool to judge how relevant he

currently is, an even better indicator is the topics Banksy is making art about. His most recent art

was released only weeks ago on 6 May, 2020. Banksy has always been known for tackling

mainstream issues. There is nothing more relevant today than the COVID-19 pandemic. In a very

similar way to the picket signs of 2003, Banksy just dropped his newest piece off at

Southampton General Hospital in Great Britain.

Banksy, Untitled, 2020, pencil on canvas

In this piece we can see that Banksy is commenting on the severity of the COVID-19

pandemic and how normal life for all of us has been changed. The little boy is playing with the

nurse while Batman and Spiderman are left in the bin. Given the current crisis, Banksy is saying

that it is time to put down the superheroes that we are all used to and appreciate the true heroes

fighting against this virus. COVID-19 has caused a very unique and unprecedented time for all of

humanity. Banksy shows how this affects all of us by using a child to shed light on the greater

impact the pandemic has made. Moreover, he is actually contributing to the treatment of the

pandemic in a serious way. The hospital he snuck the art into is planning to auction off the work

and donate all the proceeds to COVID-19 research (Hagen). Not only is Banksy documenting a

time in history, he is also essentially contributing to the fight against the virus. When he does

things like this, he maintains he relevance in the art world.

We live in an ever changing world that I expect to keep evolving. As this evolution

progresses, art will hold an important place for social and political critique. I presume that

Banksy will continue to have some sort of dark humor, satirical, or bold statement to make about

world politics and society. His art will continue to evolve and spark new questions. He will

continue to have us stop and think about how our society deals with our toughest situations.

Truthfully, this is a good thing, the purpose of street art is to pull our attention to what we may

need to do differently as a society. This kind of art helps us question our values and better

understand the challenges we face.

When discussing Banksy, it is important to situate his art in the context of street art and

history. It is apparent where the influence for his art came from, with obvious inspiration from

two greats in Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat. As Banksy continues to increase in

popularity, he will likely influence the next generation of great street artists. Early 21st century

art will undoubtedly be remembered by the art of Banksy scattered throughout major cities all

over the world. With his incredibly unique style, people will continue to collect his art and pay

astronomically high prices for it. However, the true value of a Banksy is the thought that it

evokes when we look at it and the social change that it may inspire. We do not know who he is,

but we know what he stands for.

Works Cited

Arnason, H. H., Mansfield, Elizabeth. History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture,

Photography. 8th ed., Pearson, 2013.

Banksy. Banging Your Head against a Brick Wall. 2001.

“Banksy's Balloon Girl Chosen as Nation's Favourite Artwork.” BBC News, BBC, 26 July 2017,

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-40717821.

Brenner, Lexa. “THE BANSKY EFFECT: REVOLUTIONIZING HUMANITARIAN

PROTEST ART.” Harvard International Review, vol. 40, no. 2, May 2019, pp. 34–37.

Academic Search Complete.

Gaddy, James. “NOWHERE MAN.” Print, vol. 61, no. 1, Jan. 2007, pp. 68–73. Academic

Search Complete.

Hagen, Isobel van. “'Superhero' Health Workers Hailed in New Banksy Painting.”

NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 7 May 2020,

www.nbcnews.com/news/world/superhero-health-workers-hailed-new-banksy-painting-n

1201816.

Hauge, Michelle V, et al. “Tagging Banksy: Using Geographic Profiling to Investigate a Modern

Art Mystery.” Journal of Spatial Science, vol. 61, no. 1, Mar. 2016, pp. 185–190.

Academic Search Complete.

Mancoff, Debra N. “Banksy.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 26 Dec.

2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Banksy.