Banksy is a graffiti artist known almost all over the world. He gained popularity thanks to his original and controversial murals appearing on the streets of London. The characteristic features of his street art are humor and irony, and it is also an accurate and bold response to socio-political events. Here are 7 of Banksy’s best works that have caught the world’s attention
Banksy is the pseudonym of a British street art artist. He has gained popularity for his bold murals, which can be seen on the streets of London and even in many other places around the world. In his works Banksy combines classic graffiti with the stencil technique. The inspiration to combine these two methods came from an incident from before the artist’s popularity. At that time he was painting graffiti on a train and had to hide under one of the cars to avoid being caught by the police. While hiding, he was looking at the serial number of the train, which was just stenciled on the train car. The incident thus helped to open up a whole new avenue in street art
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Undoubtedly, one must admit, admiring Banksy’s works, that he is an anarchist artist. Another peculiarity of his murals is that the stencils are usually associated with the place where they are placed. It is not uncommon for the artist’s graffiti to include symbols and even slogans. The very message of Banksy’s works is anti-war, anti-capitalist and pacifist. In his works there appear figures of policemen, soldiers, children or elderly people. There are also animals. The artist has also created stickers – small, self-adhesive stickers that are often seen in public spaces – and sculptures. One example is the sculpture of a murdered telephone booth, placed in a London street
In 2003, Banksy took his art a step further by using animals to express his work. On more than one occasion, he has painted controversial slogans on animals with paint. Although he stands up for those who are harmed, and the painting of the animals was done under RSPCA-approved conditions, animal advocates protested Banksy’s art. They argued that it was a form of harm, even if the artist did not cause the animals pain or kill them. Defenders of animals stressed that Banksy exposed them to situations that are not comfortable for them, even traumatic, and only serve to fulfill his controversial fantasy. The artist believes that he does not treat animals as objects in his art, but only as a symbol of people and the issues that affect them. Defenders note, however, that he disregards the fight for animal rights in his work, and even violates those rights by treating animals extremely objectively as material for his art
Undoubtedly, the artist’s work does not go unnoticed. He has created various forms of art, including creating altered and reworked paintings, such as Monet’s “Lilac Lake.” In this painting he placed elements that are primarily associated with urbanization, these include garbage and even a shopping cart submerged in water. Another example is Edward Hopper’s “Night Hawks” in which he placed an English hooligan dressed only in shorts with the British flag
Banksy’s most recognizable murals, which have become part of pop culture and have frequently appeared as T-shirt graphics, stickers, memes, and all sorts of gadgets, include:
Looking at Banksy’s work, one has to admit that his works allow for a number of diverse and ambiguous interpretations, and the controversial nature and irony only adds to the character of his street art, allowing it to stay on the wave of time
