Banksy!

Banksy: the infamous British graffiti artist has recently been supposedly unmasked as Robin Cunningham. Whether this proves to be true or not remains to be seen, but the fact that he refuses to create a public persona despite the acclamation he has received for his work is inspiring.

Banksy started as a graffiti artist in the early nineties, and was part of the Bristol underground scene. He turned to full stencil work after realising that speed is a necessity when the creation of your art entails the wrath of the establishment. Banksy is an incredibly talented artist. He creates satirical depictions, has a striking use of contrast and creates witty compositions that incorporate the environment they are placed, often in an amusing and ironic fashion. His pieces are often accompanied by witty copy, sardonic slogans that partly explain the conceptual premise behind the pieces. He has an attitude to art that I appreciate and admire. His anti-establishment and anti-capitalist views are admiral and fall in line with many of my own. I feel that galleries have an elitist and restrictive hold on art circulation and enjoy the fact that he uses public spaces to display his ideas. He allows people on the street to think about our society and social problems in a thoughtful, ironic and ultimately incredibly engaging manner. He makes us question the world we take for advantage. Some of his most risky stunts include placing a replica of a Guantanamo Bay detainee at Disneyland, and hanging his work without permission in the Louvre. His works smack of a rebellious nature that gains recognition, provokes thought and discussion.