Introduction
Graffiti is like an underground world, a counterculture movement. Typically graffiti art has a political or social message. The power in graffiti lies in its perceived power. The more an image is repeated the more people begin to think about the image and what it means. According to one artist Shepard Fairey, “The more stickers that are out there the more important it seems. The more important it seems the more people want to know what it is and begin to ask each other. The real power comes from the perceived power.” (Exit through the Gift Shop, 2010).
Two important concepts in graffiti art are power and change. Change is possible because of power. The power to bring about change lies in things like weapons, money, politics, gender, and social status. In a capitalistic society, money is power. Banksy’s art is different from other forms of graffiti because it is popular with art collectors. In 2007 his artwork was selling anywhere from 70,000 to 100,000 quid a piece. When asked for his opinion about the high price of his art Banksy states, "The art world is the biggest joke going" . Despite his cynicism his work continues to gain popularity and he recently released a documentary, "Exit Through the Gift Shop ". The title summarizes one of the main points of the film.
Banksy explores materialism in our culture.
Constantly we are in line to buy things.
Many of his works have a Marxist aesthetic that shows the gap between rich and poor. It also includes aspects of instrumental, expressionistic and institutional theory.
Banksy explores materialism in our culture.
Constantly we are in line to buy things.
Many of his works have a Marxist aesthetic that shows the gap between rich and poor. It also includes aspects of instrumental, expressionistic and institutional theory.
Graffiti has been around for as long as people have made art, starting with the cavemen.
Graffiti as we know it today had its beginnings in the New York Subway system in the 1970's. Graffiti received a negative connotation because of its use in street gangs. We see that graffiti has different purposes.
A group in England started a campaign against graffiti
This Banksy work shows an elderly woman with a paint brush and a familiar message to English citizens, "Keep Britain Tidy".
Control and order are highly valued in our society, this ideal is reflected in the western art that we studied this past year.
This is an example of some outdoor work from the Banksy website
http://www.banksy.co.uk/
http://www.banksy.co.uk/
His art has been taken from the streets of London and other major cities. In Israel he completed a graffiti project along the West Bank wall that separates Israel from Palestine.
Now we can see Banksy’s art in galleries or in cities in the U.S.
Banksy girl and heart balloon “There is always hope”
