Are Banksy’s Actions Appropriate?
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Banksy is infamous for pulling of crazy public stunts, such as the shredding of his artwork Balloon Girl AFTER it was sold at an auction for over $1 Million. However, are these actions appropriate? Or are they just for public attention?
The Fall of Banksy
Critics of Banksy questioned how fame and attention caused him to lose his passion. We will never know how much Banksy gained from the global attention and media exposure, but one thing is for certain, Banksy’s actions have engendered much controversy among the art community.
Anti-consumerism is “a sociopolitical ideology intentionally excluding or cutting goods from one's consumption routine or reusing once-acquired goods to avoid consumption”
Banksy may or may not created a persona that was too outrageous, supporting all sorts of ideologies and beliefs such as anti-war, anti-imperialism, and most importantly anti-consumerism.
His artworks are sold in a pricey manner on the art market. A print of what he has done previously on the wall for public admiration is reprinted on a piece of paper and sold in the market at extravagant costs, which some view as contradictory to his purported anti-consumerist stance. But at the same time, he is criticizing the real value of art with various paintings.
Everybody wants money, and turning it into a motive for work, that’s fine. However, if you claim you are against the action, yet you are secretly participating in such dubious acts, that’s the issue. Graffiti should not have a price tag. Instead, it should be an expression of the artist’s emotions in an open space for the public’s viewing pleasure.
This high profile caused the rumbling of his character, especially when the acquisition of Banksy’s paintings is beyond necessary and is for displays of status and wealth.
Disappointment
Around one-third of the prints available in the market are hand-signed by the artist Banksy. Meaning that he has acknowledged the process of turning street art into profitable inked paper. Some pieces are printed on gold or silver paper, or a varied color version of the original as shown above, produced for the sake of satisfying market demand. When there is demand, there is a sale; that’s how our society works, but it’s a pity when an artist benefits from this community. Earning a living is important, but earning a million is exceeding what is necessary.
To keep it simple, Banksy’s art is expensive and it shouldn’t be priced like that.
Evidence of judgments on how Banksy's work is produced, marketed, and distributed, is still unknown. With everything aside, without direct quotes from Banksy's real-life footage, it's difficult to say definitively whether he is truly supporting anti-consumerism in a consistent or principled way.
We lack the specifics of his financial situation and savings background to give harsh critiques of his behavior. As with any other public figure, Banksy's views and actions may be more complex than they appear to be.
Human Actions
The joke is that the value of Banksy’s art is exploited by random streetwalkers roaming around the streets, trying to grab a quick paycheck. These particularly money-hungry people carve out Banksy’s art off walls and put it up for auction as though they had won the lottery. Let’s not talk about the ethical issues of stealing others’ art for monetary gain. Yes, original pieces are indeed worth a lot of cash, but it’s just nonsensical to destroy a part of a wall and take away people’s right to enjoy art meant for the public’s viewing pleasure.
Hula-Hooping Girl (2020)
There is this graffiti art on the side of a building in Nottingham, depicting a little girl playing with a tire as if it were a hula-hoop. Later, the brick wall was drilled and a slab of the tiles was carved out and replaced with wood.
According to a BBC article, the owner of this residential property sold it for six figures. However, the collector claimed it was sent to Scotland restoration planning to feature the piece in a street exhibition later that year.
Sandcastle Girl (2021)
It was created outside of an old shop in Lowestoft during The Great Britain Spraycation.
Of course, it was once again removed from the wall for other purposes. It doesn’t matter what decent deeds they are trying to do, exhibition or promotion. Why don’t we leave it here for everyone to enjoy?
Ukraine
Remember the Ukraine painting we talked about last time? That was a literal $243,900 painting left on a house in Gostomel.
Well turns out people didn’t miss out on this chance and realized the value. Yet again, the woman in the gas mask had been stolen by someone on a torn-off building in Ukraine. The culprit was accused of stealing, facing up to 12 years in prison.
Related BBC Article
There are many more similar cases where people have torn down their walls for piles of money, too much for us to cover in this blog.
Humor?
In a crime thriller comedy TV series, The Outlaws, Christopher Walken painted over a Banksy original. The original painting depicted a rat and two spray cans with a reddish-orange “Banksy” above it.
But rarely has anyone ever talked about the fact that Banksy agrees with the coverup. In fact, Banksy created this mural just for the sake of painting over it.
In The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with Stephen Merchant who starred in, co-wrote, co-produced, and co-directed the comedy-crime series, he revealed that they contacted Banksy and asked for him to do a real piece of art.
Banksy replied, “If I’ve got time I’ll do this”.
One morning at the set, an original Banksy showed up on the ledge of a wall, waiting to be covered up with a tanned-colored paint.
THe debate
Disclaimer: This does not represent our website’s views, but a personal opinion from a writer only.
I agree that Banksy’s art is adored and respected by the upper class. He is not treated like other graffiti artists, beaten up to the ground, or despised. Somehow, Banksy rises above every other artist and claims the throne. I get it, he has a unique art style and roams around the world raising attention for the weak, that’s why get got so much fame. But he pulled himself down the throne by making this much money. He may or may not be constantly profiting from intellectual property rights. You know, patents, copyrights, that sorta stuff from his old works.
In addition, on Pest Control Office website, Banksy/his team responds to inquiries and hate mail about him. Most importantly, it handles the paperwork for the graffiti artist Banksy, getting verifications and certificates of authenticity for Banksy’s art. The purpose is to prove the legitimacy of Banksy’s art. It costs £100 + VAT for a screenprint and £150 + VAT for an original. No money will be charged nor issued if it is found to be fake. (quoted from the official website) I’m not gonna comment on that.
Unfortunately, Banksy ended up being manipulated by the superior capitalists.
Banksy’s art used to be printed, signed, sold, and distributed. It’s probably because he needed an income stream in the early stages of his career.
But he hasn’t sold art anymore, at least nothing showed up in the various research attempts I had done. It’s currently impossible to buy a one-hand art piece from Banksy. He could earn a fortune if he continued selling his signed prints, but his graffiti art can be found around the world, and he does it free of charge. It shows that he doesn’t value his art as much as people do, he didn’t agree with the price people tagged his art with.
It may seem that Banksy’s popularity is a way for Banksy to earn a fortune, but in my opinion, it is more like a way for him to spread his work. He uses most of the superior, letting his painting’s meaning come out of the wealthy’ mouths. By using their fame, he could widely grow his impact on the world.
I cant believe you morons actually buy this sh*t
-Banksy
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