It’s Day 344 and I’m thrilled to do a tribute to today’s artist. Please join me in honoring Banksy today!
Banksy is a pseudonymous English graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter.
His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stencilling technique.
His works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.
Banksy’s work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Observers have noted that his style is similar to Blek le Rat, who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris. Banksy says that he was inspired by “3D”, a graffiti artist who later became a founding member of Massive Attack.
Above is from wikipedia. The whole page was insanely long.
Banksy, a street artist whose identity remains unknown, is believed to have been born in Bristol, England, around 1974. He rose to prominence for his provocative stenciled pieces in the late 1990s. Banksy is the subject of a 2010 documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, which examines the relationship between commercial and street art.
largely freehand, Banksy used stencils on occasion. In the late ’90s, he began using stencils predominantly. His work became more widely recognized around Bristol and in London, as his signature style developed.
Banksy’s artwork is characterized by striking images, often combined with slogans. His work often engages political themes, satirically critiquing war, capitalism, hypocrisy and greed. Common subjects include rats, apes, policemen, members of the royal family, and children.
In addition to his two-dimensional work, Banksy is known for his installation artwork. One of the most celebrated of these pieces, which featured a live elephant painted with a Victorian wallpaper pattern, sparked controversy among animal rights activists.
Other pieces have drawn attention for their edgy themes or the boldness of their execution. Banksy’s work on
the West Bank barrier, between Israel and Palestine, received significant media attention in 2005. He is also known for his use of copyrighted material and subversion of classic images. An example of this is Banksy’s version of Monet’s famous series of water lilies paintings, adapted by Banksy to include drifting trash and debris.
Banksy’s worldwide fame has transformed his artwork from acts of vandalism to sought-after high art pieces. Journalist Max Foster has referred to the rising prices of graffiti as street art as “the Banksy effect.” Interest in Banksy escalated with the release of the 2010 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was nominated for an Academy Award.
In October 2013, Banksy took to the streets of New York City. There he pledged to create a new piece of art for each day of his residency. As he explained to the Village Voice, “The plan is to live here, react to things, see the sights—and paint on them. Some of it will be pretty elaborate, and some will just be a scrawl on a toilet wall.” During that month, he also sold some of his works on the street for $60 a piece, well below the market value for his art.
Banksy’s identity remains unknown, despite intense speculation. The two names most often suggested are Robert Banks and Robin
Gunningham. Pictures that surfaced of a man who was supposedly Banksy pointed toward Gunningham, an artist who was born in Bristol in 1973. Gunningham moved to London around 2000, a timeline that correlates with the progression of Banksy’s artwork.
Above is from biography.com.
I hope you enjoy my tribute piece today. Of course I would’ve loved to do my tribute on a wall today…but alas, my canvas will have to do. 🙂 I will see you tomorrow on Day 345! Only 20 to go.
Best,
Linda
Linda Cleary 2014
Acrylic on Canvas
Make Art- Tribute to Banksy
Linda Cleary 2014
Acrylic on Canvas
Make Art- Tribute to Banksy
Linda Cleary 2014
Acrylic on Canvas
Make Art- Tribute to Banksy
Linda Cleary 2014
Acrylic on Canvas
Make Art- Tribute to Banksy
Linda Cleary 2014
Acrylic on Canvas
Day of the Artist 