Banksy

Banksy
Banksy, supposedly his real name is Robert Banks, but there is still uncertainty about his identity and personal and biographical details. We do know he was born and raised in 1974/5 in Yate, Bristol, England. He’s still anonymous and wants to remain so, which is a positive factor, as he isn’t seeking fame; however he has become famous from being anonymous. This quite clearly indicates his artwork is actually unique and passionate to himself. He began tagging the walls of Bristol at the age of 14, but admitted he wasn’t very good using a spray can. Banksy was involved in the Bristol graffiti boom of the late 1980s. Graffiti originated in Italy 1851 in the ruins of Pompeii. A lot of paintings were plastered all over the sidewalks, roads; walls etc and other forms of Graffiti are still common in Rome today. Romans considered graffiti as urban art, in which it still is today. However many westerners consider it vandalism unless property owners give consent to the graffiti artists. Graffiti may include drawing, painting, and writing, or a combination of the three. He designed his first stencil as a favour for his father who was away on holiday. He was a photo copier engineer, and Banksy was required to help out one day as a one off. Since that day Banksy has refined a distinctive iconic style which he has plastered all over walls, bridges, car tunnels, books records and even cows. Banksy is renowned strongly for his sense of the ridiculous.

Banksy’s work is distinct in its style, with a range of themes and motifs that are often repeated. Also he is consistent in an underlying social or political message that criticizes everything from homophobia and militarism to our excessive material consumption and the distribution of public space with corporate messages. If you look through Banksy's work you recognise that most of his work depicts his view on media, authorities and society.
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