Some of you might be familiar with the work of the artist Banksy, even if you don’t know that you are. He first showed up painting on the side of buildings in England, with his distinct style making his work recognizable.
Since his work became popular he has gone on to do street art in many other locations, and is even moving into other forms of art. Currently, he is in New York doing one piece every day for the month of October. He is developing more of an internet presence, with an Instagram account and website popping up to showcase the work. Along with this internet presence are the grumblings of others on the internet about him. What do his pieces mean? Is he selling out? And lastly, who is he?
I highly disagree with those saying he has “sold out.” Firstly, an artist should be allowed to sell their work or post it online or do what ever they please with it. The question of his identity is a huge indicator that he is more interested in letting his work speak for him than reaching a celebrity level.
Most importantly, his work is still meaningful. What I admire most about his art is that it does not tell you what to think, it isn’t too blatant and never has been. All of his pieces comment on something, but do so incredibly subtly. Some of them are simply a comment about graffiti and the question of that line between art vs. vandalism.
In a society where so many of the things we are fed were packaged for us by corporations trying to make a profit off of us, and every politician is skewing the truth to get your vote, a man painting his thoughts on the side of buildings to encourage you to think about those things too is exactly what is needed. Who knows if we will ever know Banksy’s identity or intentions, but we have his art. I encourage you to check out the art he has been doing this month at http://www.banksyny.com/.