The anonymous king of street art: Banksy Story

Banksy is the mysterious artist behind numerous street art creations that are admired on the streets worldwide. His works are a symbol of creative rebellion and help to take up relevant topics.

In this article we will deal with the history of the anonymous king of street art - banksy.

What is Street Art?

Street Art is an art form that has developed since the 1960s and is now known worldwide. These are works of art that arise in public space, mostly on streets and walls, and often convey political or social messages.

The artists who create Street Art often work anonymously and consciously across the rules of the art world. A well-known example of a street artist is Banksy, who has attracted attention worldwide with his provocative and ironic works.

His works of art are often political and socially critical and deal with topics such as war, capitalism and surveillance . Banksy has managed to bring Street Art into the mainstream and thus also fuel the discussion about the role of art in public space.

Learn more about the fascinating world of Street Art in our other articles on the subject:

• What is street art? Origins, styles, techniques & intentions

• Street art meets pop Art: symbiosis or competition

• The history of graffiti art: how it came about this urban art form

• The most beautiful street art wall paintings & graffiti in Berlin

• Street Art in Berlin - Mural Art Highlights

• From soup doses to graffiti: The fascinating evolution of Pop Art of Andy Warhol to Banksy

Who is Banksy?

Banksy is an artist who is known in the street art scene worldwide. But who is actually behind this pseudonym ? To date, the identity of the artist is unknown, which has only strengthened his fame and fascination. Very little is known about Banksy himself because he refuses to be interviewed and carefully maintains his anonymity.

Banksys works have developed into an independent subculture. Banksy's political statements and disruptive visions have influenced cities around the world in crucial moments of modern history, provoked alternative perspectives and promoted revolutions in the art world.

His identity remains unknown , even after more than 30 years of engagement in the global graffiti scene. He worked in many street art media and styles and broke the limits and expectations of street art critics. His work includes powerful, often controversial images that promote the quick spread of his name and work on the Internet. Today his iconic works are spread over all dimensions and various uses are being used.

Banksy became known in Bristol, England, in the 1990s and has since revolutionized the art world with its political and socially critical works. His works are often provocative and humorous and can be found on both public buildings and in renowned museums.

Banksy is an icon of street art and has an enormous fan base that admires his works of art around the world. Despite his anonymity, Banksy has an enormous effect on the art world and will continue to remain an important part of the street art scene in the future.

Street art fans are always impressed by the extensive scope, the diversity and the courage of each of its works of art, but always feel like more. His approach encourages the audience to explore a completely new perspective or idea, and often inspires both amateur and professional artists. This inspiration is also referred to as a "banky effect" .

Numerous claims about Banksy's identity were made, which continued to fuel the interest of the media. Finally, many sources, including an entire newspaper public, indicate that Bristol's mystery man with a bourgeois name Robin Gunninham would be called.

Although the view of uncovering Banksy's identity would enable a better understanding of his motifs and mission, this claim was never confirmed. Allegedly, his identity was even kept secret from his family.

Banksy's beginnings in graffiti art

Banksy started his graffiti career with the admiration of Blek Le Rat . He often recycled the artist's old ideas and shaped his own, distinctive voice and his own style. It was originally part of a graffiti crew in Bristol called Drybreadz Crew or DBZ . Soon afterwards he started a partnership with Inkie , another well-known graffiti road artist.

At the age of 18, Banksy was almost caught by the police as he destroyed public places. When his crew fled from the crime scene, Banksy was sitting under a garbage truck. Banksy noticed stencil letters that were sprayed on the truck, and since he was looking for a faster opportunity to paint, he decided that would be his new graffiti style

Banksys work often consist of multi -layered stencils in combination with other media sources. Sometimes he includes objects that are already available on the "canvas" he chose, such as street signs and hydrants, to transform street art installations His works of art are often satirical and combine black humor with messages about art, philosophy and politics.

In the early 2000s, Banksy moved from Bristol to London , where he began to acquire awareness; But at the same time his international work took off.

Palestine - Love is in the Air

Soon he decided to travel to Palestine and West Bank , where he now stabbed nine iconic pictures on the newly built West Bank Mauer, including "Love is in the Air" or "Rage, The Flower Thrower" . These pictures were immediately a hit and their popularity exploded on the Internet.

The Mural first appeared on a wall on the side of a garage on the Beit Sahor motorway opposite the Citroen/Peugeot car dealership in Jerusalem . The man in the painting wears a scarf and a baseball cap and seems to be anger at someone.

The man and the flower packaging are in black and white. The flowers and the stem out of the cover sheet are designed in color. The portrait is reminiscent of the pictures of the street and campus riots of the 1960s . The anger and frustration can be seen in the man's posture when he tries to bomb the restaurant with flowers.

At that time, Banksys screen prints and stencil paintings recorded record -breaking sales on renowned art auctions such as Sotheby’s and Bonhams in London. These successful sales marked Banksy's dramatic introduction to the world of commercial art .

Wall paintings in the West Bank, "Barely Legal" and "Cans Festival"

In 2005 Banksy also painted a wall on the Palestinian side of the West Bank : On the viewer's side, children play on an abandoned piece of earth, while the scene of a perfect tropical beach can be seen through an apparent hole in the wall.

Banksy described himself as a "quality vandal" , which questioned the authority of political and artistic institutions on both the right and on the left.

In September 2006, his one -week warehouse installation "Barely Legal" in Los Angeles attracted, for which he decorated a living elephant, despite a lack of advertising.

In 2006 he represented a naked man in Bristol, England, who clings to a windowsill alongside a public family planning clinic; The residents voted to keep the murals.

In 2008, Banksy encouraged his “Cans Festival” -an allusion to the Cannes Film Festival-the visitors to add their own art to a railway tunnel in southern London, on which he and 40 international artists Airbrush painting had painted.

The following year he organized a surprise exhibition at the City Museum and Art Gallery in Bristol . It showed animatronics, oil paintings and an old ice cream truck.

Exit through the Gift Shop-The first street art Disaster Film

In 2010, Banksy took over the role of the author and filmmaker for his film "Exit Through the Gift Shop" (in streaming at Amazon Prime* )

The video documentary Thierry Guetta gets into the international graffiti and street art scene via his cousin. through artists such as Space Invader or Shepard Fairey , but also to reach for the spray box and fame.

The documentary is said to portray the life and work of the most talented graffiti artists in the world. However, the critics were shared by the film, since some took him for bare coin, while others regarded him as a satire, with the documentary filmmaker Thierry Guetta (who, as some suspected, was a actor paid by Banksy). Or maybe it was Banksy himself who acted as a commentator of the commercialization of art.

Banksy as a book author

Banksys books - including "Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall" (2001, available as a collector's item on Amazon* ), "Existencilism" (2002, available as a collector's item on Amazon* ) and "Wall and Piece" (2005, available as a paperback on Amazon* ) - documented his projects; Iconic examples of his work, including a life -size picture of two kissing police officers, were shown in the dark future film Children of Men (2006).

Dismaland, Walled Off Hotel and later works

In September 2015, Banksy made his debut in Weston Super-Mare, England, with Dismaland , his most complex project so far. Banky described the temporary amusement park and the concept of the art, which also included works by other artists than

"A family attraction that recognizes inequality and impending catastrophe".

The sights and facilities included a fake security control point created by Bill Minski , at which the belongings of the visitors were examined in a cardboard X-ray device and angered visitors were pulled through the park, the T-shirts with the inscription "Dismal" .

In the park, parties and concerts of various bands took place until late at night. Dismaland was closed in September 2015.

Banksy's next major project, Walled Off Hotel , opened in Bethlehem in 2017. The hotel was built next to the Barrieremauer, which Israel separates from the Palestinian areas, and ironically offers

"The worst view of all hotels in the world"

And has rooms decorated with original works by the artist and a gallery that exhibits works Palestinian artists. In nine rooms designed by Banksy himself, guests were literally able to sleep in a work of art.

Originally intended as a temporary and provocative installation work of art, the Walled Off Hotel quickly developed into a popular tourist attraction. In addition to the place where Jesus was supposedly born, a traditional place of pilgrimage, the controversial 700 km long wall is now a surprising tourist attraction.

In the same year, Banksy addressed the "Brexit" , the united Kingdom of the European Union (EU) the united Kingdom, by painting the EU flag to the side of a building in Dover and moving a worker touching one of its stars.

Other important works of art by Banksy

There is probably no artist in the world of street art who is as well known and at the same time as anonymous as Banksy. His works can now be found all over the world and attract the attention of art lovers and lay people alike. But what makes Banksy's works of art so special?

On the one hand, it is certainly the political and socially critical messages that he convey in his works. On the other hand, the way he presents his art. Whether it is a wall painting, an installation or a painting - Banksy always manages to surprise and fascinate the viewer.

His works of art are often provocative and cause discussions, which is certainly also a reason for its popularity. Although Banksy still remains anonymous, he managed to gather a worldwide fan base to gather and his art has long since found its way out of the street art scene into the established art galleries.

Better Out Than in - Banksy's street sale

In October 2013, Banksy made a one -month stay in New York entitled "Better Out Than In" . During this time he presented a new work every day. On the 13th day, the artist disguised himself as a typical street seller and built up a stand in Central Park, where he sold black and white original painting for $ 60. Only eight works of art were sold.

The next day, Banksy authenticated these eight canvases on his website with the message:

"Yesterday I set up a stand in the park where 100 % authentic, originally signed Banksy screens are sold."

For $ 60 each. A year later, "Winnie The Pooh" , which was bought during Banksy's stay in New York, was sold on July 2, 2014 at Bonhams in London for £ 56,250.

Venice in oil - criticism of mass tourism

Banksy's relationship with tourism is complex; While he often stimulates him, he regularly denounces him because of his negative effects. In order to criticize mass tourism that endangers the Italian city of Venice at the 2019 Biennale, Banksy revealed "Venice in oil" , a series of nine oil paintings that together represent a large cruise ship.

Destroyed Banksy achieves records at Sotheby's record

In October 2018, a painting by the anonymous street artist in the London auction house Sotheby's was sold for £ 1.04 million. Shortly after the hammer had fallen, the pressure from Banksy's "Girl with Balloon" from 2006 began to run through a file destroyer installed within the framework and to destroy half of it. "It looks like we have just met Banksy," reported Alex Branczik, Senior Director and Head of Contemporary Art in Europe at Sotheby's ( New York Times ).

The play was a famous Banksy print called "Girl with Balloon" from 2006. Banksy's balloon girl, which was elected in 2017 as the most popular work of art in the UK, was the first example of a self-destructive painting. Banksy posted a video on his Instagram account to confirm that the step was intended and to show how he installed a shredding device in the large golden frame.

The work then received a new title: "Love is in the bin" . Ironically, a short time later, a less accomplished Banksy owner actually shredded his own Banksy printing, hoping that the stunt would increase the value of its investment, but was very disappointed.

"Devolved Parliament" and "Mediterranean Sea View"

In October 2019, another Banksy artwork conquered the country in the storm. In the midst of the political controversy at the time published "Devolved Parliament" , a painting that shows the lower house overrun by monkey.

It was sold at Sotheby’s for an incredible 9.9 million pounds and is therefore the most expensive Banksy painting that has been sold to this day. In a typical Banksy manner, he reacted to the sale on Instagram with a sentence by Robert Hughes:

"But the price of a work of art is now part of its function, its new task is to sit on the wall and become more expensive."

In a typically charitable step, Banksy donated a series of three paintings entitled "Mediterranean Sea View" to auction in 2020 to collect money for a hospital in Bethlehem.

The oil paintings were kept in a detailed, traditional style that had become more important in Banksys at that time. Of course, the breathtaking landscapes were provided with a Banksy-Touch: flushing vests washed up to the coast, which should indicate the growing European refugee crisis.

"Show Me The Monet", "Game Changer" and new auction records

Banksy's ability to repeat his own records again and again, surprised the art market when Banksy's reinterpretation of Monet's famous water lilies entitled "Show Me The Monet" was auctioned in October 2020 for £ 7.5 million.

So it was the second tax of his works that was sold at an auction. The piece was part of a series of remix master plants and commented on the threat that the wasteful consumerism of society for nature represents.

In response to the global coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Banksy hung up a brand new black and white work of art in the foyer of the Southampton General Hospital, which shows a little boy who plays with a "super hero" patrons.

He published an explanation in which he thanked the NHS for his work and hoped that the painting would illuminate the hospital. The piece later received the title "Game Changer" . On the occasion of the one -year anniversary of the British Lockdown, "Game Changer" was auctioned for £ 16.8 million, with the entire proceeds to be donated to the NHS.

This prize far exceeded all expectations and made this piece the most expensive Banksy ever sold.

Banksy's artistic efforts continue to lead him around the world. Works of art have appeared in Australia, France, Italy, the United States, Canada, Jamaica and Israel and are immediately protected and revered.

The person cult of Banksy and his anonymity

It is no secret that the artist Banksy has an immense fan base. The cult for Banksy and its anonymity seems to be an important factor.

His identity remains a mystery and that gives his works a kind of mystical character. It is almost as if the artist's anonymity contributes to the fact that his works of art maintain even more meaning and relevance.

It is a kind of "secret" that fascinates the fans and makes them learn more about the artist and his art. Banksy's anonymity is an important part of his art and contributes to his legend.

Why is Banksy so successful?

One of the reasons is certainly its anonymity. Banksy managed to make himself a myth . Nobody really knows who he is, what allows him to calmly create his works of art without being caught by the authorities.

Another reason for his success is his ability to treat political and social issues in his works. Banksy has managed to put his art into a form that is understandable for everyone and makes people think about the topics he appeals.

Although he is anonymous, Banksy has an incredible ability to connect to people and convey a message that is relevant to everyone. His works of art are not only beautiful to look at, but also inspiring and moving.

Controversy and criticism of Banksy's art

It is no secret that Banksy's works of art are often controversial. Some critics accuse him that his works are only political and do not make a real change. Others accuse him of glorifying the illegal act of graffiti through his art and thus breaking laws.

There are also always discussions about whether it is ethically justifiable that its works of art are sold for millions of dollars, although they originally arose illegally on public areas.

Despite this criticism, Banksy managed to revolutionize the street art scene and his art has found a global fan base.

What's next with the Street Art movement?

It is no secret that the Street Art Movement has gained enormously in popularity in recent years. But how is this art form going? Will it be considered illegal or will it be viewed at some point as a recognized art form?

Some artists, such as Banksy, have already made the leap into the galleries and museums, but it remains to be seen whether this will also be the case for other street artists. Some argue that the commercialization of the Street Art movement has revealed its authenticity and her rebellious spirit.

However, others believe that this is a natural development and that the movement will continue to grow and change. One thing is certain: Street Art will always be an important part of the art world and its meaning will not fade so quickly.

Litigation

Although he became more and more famous, Banksy remained anonymous; His rare interviews were led to tape by email or with answers to a changed voice. He was still committed to Street Art and explained that life in a city in which graffiti was legal,

"What a party is to which everyone is invited".

Nevertheless, the popularity of Banksy's works led to numerous non -authorized exhibitions and reproductions. Although artists usually rely on copyright to protect their works from such use, copyright requires the disclosure of the artist's identity.

Instead, Banksy began to have his work as a brand registered and later founded the Gross Domestic Product , a temporary online shop in which goods inspired by his art were sold. Between 2020 and 2021, the Office for intellectual property of the European Union rejected a number of Banksy's registration applications on the grounds that they were given evil.

The Mystery of Banksy "A Genius Mind"-The Blockbuster exhibition on the Street Art Superstar

The success exhibition "The Mystery of Bansy-A Genius Mind" takes up the topic of this art icon and presents an unprecedented compilation of over 150 works by the celebrated street art star.

The exhibition shows graffiti, photographs, sculptures, video installations and prints, which were reproduced especially for this special show and compiled from various materials such as canvas, fabric, aluminum, forex and plexiglass.

In an elaborate and unique setting, “The Mystery of Bansy - A Genius Mind” the visitor a comprehensive insight into the entire work of the exceptional artist .

It should be noted that this homage and the works shown are not authorized by the artist due to Banksy's anonymous status, but according to his motto

"Copyright is for losers © tm"

be presented.

Exhibition website: mystery-insy.com

Conclusion

In summary, it can be said that Banksy is one of the most influential characters of Street Art. His work has not only revolutionized the art world, but also changed the public perception of graffiti and street art.

Banksy's anonymity and his political messages have brought him enormous popularity and recognition. His works of art are not only visually appealing, but also profound and provocative.

Banksy has managed to blur the boundaries between art and activism and create a new form of artistic expression.

Even if his identity remains a secret, Banksy will continue to remain an important player in the art world in the future.

Click here for his official homepage: www.banksy.co.uk

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and managing director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor and passionate blogger in the field of art, design and creativity since 2011. Successful conclusion in web design as part of a university degree (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expression painting and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through many years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.

www. kunstplaza .de/