The Man, the Mystery, Banksy?

I’ve always been a huge fan of street art, I don’t mean pointless graffiti that is just an eye sore or profanities sprayed across road signs, I mean real art, stuff that is clever and makes you think, stuff that is beauty and makes you stop to take a picture. That world to me can all be summarized by one man and only one man truly stands out for me and that is the legendary Banksy

His true identity is not known however he is believed to have originated from London, his graffiti has been seen by many as Marmite, you either love it or hate it, but I hope by this point you can understand that I am absolutely blown away by it. Some of Banksy’s most well know art pieces include his Pulp Fiction piece featuring Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta holding bananas instead of guns, this was painted over and removed by the Transport of London but then tagged again by Banksy only this time featuring the duo in banana suits instead, some of his other most famous works are the kissing policemen, rats and monkeys normally painted with ingenious messages nearby, the princess Diana £10 notes (although we are lead to believe these didn’t have the affect he originally wanted) and one of my favourites Balloon Girl which depicts a young girl reaching after a heart shaped balloon which she has let go, it paints a very powerful message.

The thing I like most about Banksy is his animosity, most of his work is used to paint a message that nobody has the guts to say out loud, he uses his art to say what everyone is thinking but doesn’t have the power to say, he doesn’t do it for money, he doesn’t do it for the fame, he does it because he can and that it what makes it so good. Can you truly say if someone gave you a stencil, a spray can and a blank huge wall with no CCTV that everyone in the morning would be able to see, that you wouldn’t be tempted to give it a go, to paint a message that everyone could see but nobody could blame on anyone? I know I would but perhaps that’s the wrong way to look at it, if I own up and say “yes” I would graffiti an image of a man with a bandana around his face, holding a bouquet of flowers as if it was a Molotov cocktail onto a wall, perhaps it wouldn’t be the same, for one I wouldn’t be experienced enough and would get caught.

Banksy work isn’t simply limited to spray cans and walls, he has also been responsible for a film, books, fake bank notes, replacing CD’s in music shops, putting an inflatable Guantanamo Bay Prisoner into Disneyland and so much more.

Love him or hate him, Banksy is certainly an icon for one reason or another

Personally I can’t wait to see some more incredible pieces of art which make me smile and make a lot of people angry.