Banksy – The Street Art King of the World

“Sometimes I feel so sick at the state of the world, I can’t even finish my second apple pie.” Banksy

 

From Subversive graffiti artist to king of the streets – everyone is asking one question. Who is Banksy? During his rise to infamy, this rebel street artist has defied authorities, defaced Disney, infiltrated museums, punked Paris Hilton, and sold his street art at Sotheby’s for exorbitant sums of money.

“There’s nothing more dangerous than someone who wants to make the world a better place.” Banksy Continue –

I was first introduced to Banksy and the underground world of Street Art by the Oscar nominated documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop.  Instantly, I felt compelled to share the work of Britain’s most wanted artist. Banksy is more than a radical anti-establishment artist – he’s a cutting edge marketing genius.  His stunts have gained worldwide acclaim. He’s notorious for sneaking into some of the world’s most celebrated museums and leaving framed paintings of his work, stating that he doesn’t have the time to wait for museums to add his work to their collections. Banksy’s version of a primitive cave painting depicting a human hunting wildlife while pushing a shopping trolley was hung in gallery 49 of the British Museum. Upon discovery, they did add it to their permanent collection.

 

“A lot of mothers will do anything for their children, except let them be themselves.” Banksy

His art work isn’t without a sense of humour as well.  At the Bristol Zoo, he painted – ‘I want out. This place is too cold, Keeper smells, Boring, boring, boring.’ in the elephant enclosure and ‘We’re bored of fish’ in 7-foot-high letters at the penguin aquarium in London. But my all-time favorite Banksy, was his alteration of 500 Paris Hilton debut CDs, which he put back into 48 different locations, changing the track names to ‘Why I am Famous’, “What have I done” and replaced her photos with lewd pictures.

Recently, he painted images of hope on the Israeli west bank wall – one of the most controversial barriers in the world. Why? He said, “It’s the most ugly and inhuman things I have ever seen in my life.” His political messaging is simple and uncertain, even showing contempt for his own pop culture. He states, “Being certain about things, it didn’t help, basically we’re fish that crawled out of a swamp and learned to walk and talk and play football – so being sure of anything is totally ridiculous.” After one of his paintings sold a Sotheby’s for a personal record of 182,000 pounds, he reacted by painting the auction floor at Sotheby’s and titled it Morons. (It sold in the same room he painted for 4,200 pounds)

With all the notoriety, you would think his identity would’ve been revealed by now. It’s speculated that Banksy is Robin Gunningham, a man born in Bristol in 1973. Gunningham was educated at Bristol Cathedral School, and was extremely talented at art. But nobody knows for sure, his agent refuses to comment on who Banksy may or may not be, adding to the mystery of his legendary status.

Banksy Video Uploaded by MKAxManiacx on Jun 13, 2008. Graffiti done by Banksy around the world. The song is “Women With the Tattooed Hands” – Atmosphere

For me, Banksy’s work represents true freedom of expression and a philosophical challenge to what really matters in society. His defiance of all things authoritarian and politically unjust makes me question the way we live. Simply put, he’s one of the coolest people I’ve never met; and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.  In his documentary, Banksy explains that in Art – “their aren’t supposed to be any rules.”

I agree wholeheartedly with Banksy on that one. How about you? What do you think of his work and stunts? Does Banksy’s art inspire your imagination or is it just a bunch of rubbish? Drop me an anonymous comment below, or sign into your favourite Social Media site in my comment section and let the world know your thoughts on this provocative artist.

Banksy Museum Video: Uploaded by wwwSilkyTV on Jun 13, 2009 http://www.Banksy.info

More Banksy Street Art and Banksy Quotes

Banksy Quote: “We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves.” Banksy

Banksy Quote: “Nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful people with talent, leave the house before you find something worth staying in for.” Banksy

Banksy Quote: “People who get up early in the morning cause war, death and famine.” Banksy

Banksy Quote: “One Original Thought is worth 1000 Meaningless Quotes.” Banksy

Banksy Quote: “As far as I can tell the only thing worth looking at in most museums of art is all the schoolgirls on daytrips with the art departments.” Banksy

Banksy Quote: “All artists are willing to suffer for their work. But why are so few prepared to learn to draw?” Banksy

Banksy Quote: “When the time comes to leave, just walk away quietly and don’t make any fuss.” Banksy

You Can Find More Banksy at his site: http://www.banksy.co.uk/