A lot of art critics and government officials would argue that so called street art is nothing more than just glorified graffiti at best and acts of vandalism at worst. It is not uncommon for even the most famous pieces of street art to be painted over by council contractors or the owners of the buildings on which they were painted. Even so this street art has risen in popularity and the public consciousness greatly in recent years and this is greatly, although not solely, due to the elusive guerrilla artist known as Banksy.
banksy graffiti
It seems that no matter what the critics and government think of street art it is for the moment big business for Banksy, his fellow street artists and the people who sell it for them although even more than this Banksy's work and his liberal view on copyright has allowed hundreds of small businesses to develop and begin to flourish selling everything from Banksy prints to Banksy bags to Banksy t-shirts and these I think are the real winners.
banksy street art
Banksy canvas art chooses subjects which are drawn from real life and society as a whole. Almost all of his works are a satirical take on society, its politics, corruption, hypocrisy etc. Banksy uses different things and people as the subjects of his works. His subjects are broad-ranging from animals like rats, monkeys to people like older children etc. This is one of the aspects, which make Banksy canvas art so much more appealing. His subjects are not some lady or man of the Edwardian era or an elite lady belonging to aristocracy. Instead, his subjects are the ordinary people who make more of a difference to society than the people from the upper strata.
Fans of Banksy Graffiti are in a strange position. If you don't live in London or any of the various International Cities where he paints his works, you're not likely to see them. Even if you do happen to live in the City, you have to be quick or by the time you reach a new piece of Banksy Art it is more often than not covered in Plexiglas or has been chipped away and flogged on eBay.
Whilst it's understandable, if not mercenary, for people to be removing Banksy Art, I take more exception with those who chase their fifteen seconds of fame by defacing his stencils. A recent example of this was a piece of Banksy Graffiti that the he painted in New Orleans to commemorate the devastation of Hurricane Katrina (and perhaps a timely reminder of the lack of response from the Government just before the national election!). One of the stencils was of a boy swinging on a lifesaver and this has now been blotted out with red paint. You could perhaps understand a kid doing this, but given the placement and height of the Graffiti, it would seem to be someone more 'mature'. I suppose by defacing a piece of art, they know it will be reported and ergo they have their little piece of infamy. The same thing happened in London earlier this year when two of the more prominent pieces were destroyed within days; part roller-painted out, with the words "All the best" painted over them. There is speculation by Banksy Posters on forums that this was actually done by the Artist himself, in answer to the wholesale removal of his public works that were placed on eBay at extortionate prices.
Despite the global adulation, Banksy has not forgotten his roots as he has helped raise over ??45,000 for Bristol Museum when he held an exhibition in the institution in recent times.
