Does All Banksy Art Serve a Purpose?
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If you still don’t have a clue who Banksy is, check out our past editions of our blogs, you will get to know more about this Banksy person we are talking about~
Background
So now everyone remaining knows who we are talking about, I think we all agree that he is bold, in every way possible; including how he styled and where he placed his artworks.
But before understanding the purpose of his creating all this amazing art, we have to know his success and downfall in his career.
As a review, he possessed a unique aesthetic of mixed styles, with evolution in his style over the years.
For a more extensive analysis, go to our previous blog we published.
Love and support
Attention
His active participation in social and political conflicts thrust Banksy into the public spotlight. His public art can be seen everywhere around the globe, on buildings, walls, or staircases; from urban environments to rural areas.
With such, he has created numerous high-profile public art pieces that have blown up over the past decades, capturing the media’s attention and going viral all over social media.
For example, Banksy once shared a Vancouver Street Artist's, IHeart’s Work to his social media back in 2014, gaining over 10,000 shares and 91,000 likes; but considering its purpose, it’s ironic that this piece is a literal commentary on how we humans rely on social media for self-entertainment. This incident proves the significant influence Banksy has.
Continuous Annonynimty
It’s fascinating how he kept his identity hidden just by reducing the painting time or scheduling his painting hours at night to prevent people from noticing him. You know, he has created countless pieces of art from towns to cities, but how has no one ever seen him in person while he was painting? It would result in a swarm of attention for that individual, I thought that’s how society works, fame and attention.
Nonetheless, he has successfully hid himself from the crowd, and somehow created all these wonderful pieces for everyone’s viewing pleasure. The persistent involvement in universal affairs helped Banksy gain much love and support.
public Media
Banksy once accepted an interview from British news ITV News with a baseball cap and a T-shirt covering half of his face in one of his past exhibitions titled Turf War. This forgotten clip had been stored in the files for ages, but it was dug out in 2019, after 16 total years in the dark.
Banksy - The Lost Interview (2003)
This might be the only footage of Banksy shown on camera, but there’s still uncertainty on whether this man is the one we are talking about.
TV News West Country reporter Robert Murphy was the first to come upon this clip. He then contacted Gordon Haig, who had forgotten the interview held in Dalston, north-east London, 16 years ago.
Unfortunately, Mr Haig had a full sight of him without a disguise but lost all memory of the encounter. Their conversation was as follows: “He (Banksy) was relaxed, he was laid-back, he was amiable. I quite took to him. I was dreading a pretentious arty-farty type. But he was very pleasant.” -Gordon Haig.
In the same year, BBC had a phone interview with Banksy, leaking his sound unprocessed to the public. The extracted recording had Banksy responding to his so-called ‘real’ forename, Robbie, answering reporter Nigel Wrench on whether Banksy is called Robert Banks.
But since 2008, there has been wide speculation on Robin Gunningham, who was born on 28 July 1974 in Yate (50 years old), 12 miles (19 km) from Bristol, being the real Banksy.
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Extract on Banksy's Phone Interview (2003)
Gunningham's name first surfaced in a 2008 investigation by the Mail on Sunday, which claimed to have discovered Banksy’s real identity based on various sources and evidence; due to the similar pronunciation for his first name Robbie, or Robin in a shorter manner.
The public doesn't want the mystery to stop because it's a lovely fairytale. The art world doesn't want his identity to be known because it would take away from the mystique – and mystique makes money
-Michel Boersma, curator of the exhibition The Art of Banks
photo of the ‘real’ Banksy in the street with a paint spray can
The media investigations and reports on Banksy’s real identity, appearances, and motives act as gasoline. It further ignites his popularity. However, the ferocious flame managed to catch onto Banksy. After a few years under the spotlight, criticism against him started to surface, and disgrace from the world started striking him in the face. But have you ever wondered what exactly caused the downfall of Banksy?
HATe and debate
Banksy’s gain in immense fame and recognition seems to be against his claims of creating art. The international status he gained became a double-edged sword he had welded that was pointing against him. People that have once supported him accused him of his greed and two-facedness. People no longer enjoyed the art he created, as it seemed that he was seeking attention more than showing his perspective and inspiring the newer generation.
commoner’s disrespect vs minorities’ recognition
As previously said, much of Banksy's art acts as a form of social and political commentary, often addressing issues like inequality, corruption, war, and other societal problems. The purpose of it is to raise awareness and prompt reflection on these important global topics.
In the commoner's eyes, he is praised like a cult leader. The middle class thinks that he is advocating the overthrow of the current modern society, bringing chaos and mayhem to the peacefulness they own. They believe he is destroying the existence of their peaceful world where they earn a balanced income and everything's on track, but Banksy is causing the society's stability to fall apart, causing the balance to lose balance. They are those opposing the movement Banksy initiated.
But think about the underprivileged, earning a low wage and living under a bridge filled with garbage and trash. Take the refugees in Calais, France as an example.
Back in 2015, the Calais Jungle had 7,000 inhabitants from Europe, who suffered from the lack of food, shelter, health care, water, electricity, and sanitation, it goes on forever.
Calais Jungle
The Son of a Migrant from Syria
The first painting shows Steve Jobs in his iconic black polo and round glasses, as the recognizable portrait used on his face. It is positioned on a concrete bridge in the camp. Steve Jobs appears to be carrying an early Apple computer and a bin bag behind his back as if he were a migrant.
Steve Jobs is one of the sons of a Syrian migrant named Abdulfattah John Jandal. Apple would only exist if they allowed the young man from Homs to enter their borders.
The Raft of Refugees
In the second painting, refugees on a raft are waving to a yacht in the distance, referenced in Theodore Gericault's painting Raft of the Medusa.
By evoking the famous painting Raft of the Medusa, Banksy seems to be drawing a parallel relation between the dilemma of 19th-century shipwreck survivors and the experiences of refugees crossing dangerous waters in search of safety and a better life.
Now you know, who supported and who opposed, it’s crystal clear.
Purposes
There are several purposes for Banksy’s work, mainly to contribute to society and give back to it.
Raise Attention
Banksy's art is intended to raise awareness and inspire people to think critically about the world around them. His work encourages viewers to question the dominant narratives and consider alternative perspectives. It is like how Banksy successfully raised public awareness in the Calais Jungle.
“These works are intended to draw attention to the benefits of migration,” Banksy said, in a rare public statement.
Banksy frequently highlights the struggles of excluded groups and disadvantaged communities through his art. His work serves as a platform to bring attention to their experiences. Without Banksy, people in need will not receive sufficient attention from the world.
Challenge the Authority
Many of Banksy's pieces challenge the state of affairs and criticize government policies. Law enforcement and other powerful institutions are all on his list. His art often presents a subversive and anti-establishment perspective towards the current society.
His frequent commentary on topics like consumerism, war, poverty, and the abuse of power by authorities and corporations aims to expose and critique these societal problems.
Personal opinions
If you cannot withstand critiques and anything, please go ahead and scroll down. No offense but this may get a little personal. This does not represent our website, but a personal opinion from a writer only.
I would like to start by saying he’s a bloody legend, no doubt. Every piece of his artwork isn't just dumping piles of color onto a canvas, or taping a banana to a wall and eating it for breakfast, it has a purpose.
Banksy used his passion for art to take action, spreading his opinions in a creative way to the international world. He is trying to stop the world from corruption, pollution, climate change, animal extinction, you name it. Not to mention “the superior using most of the minorities as wealth and capital, child labor, low wages”, that sort of stuff. He is the one standing against authority, challenging established power structures and institutions. By creating art in public spaces without permission, Banksy asserts a defiant stance against the powerful, encouraging people to change perspectives, think in another way, and take action.
In addition, his fame helped the promotion of his existence in everyone’s mind. Thus grabbing the attention of the media and the public towards the suppressed race, and raising capital and supplies for them.
Think and act more. Let the actions speak for itself. All due respect to Banksy for his amazing work. -Illuminate Writer
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