“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”
Banksy
Introduction
Banksy is an artist whose identity few have seen and know. His art appears as if by magic at various locations in this country as if by magic. Trademark black silhouettes have many meanings, but no one can determine the definitive ones. The goat teetering on the edge of a cliff with rockfall raining down in front of its hooves, two elephants holding their trunks in the air, a wolf howling or two pelicans having a hearty fish supper. Adorned on the side of a building, two cemented window frames, a satellite dish and above a fish and chip shop, these London creations are the latest in a long line of striking images that get people talking and charge the media airwaves, especially as the wolf on the satellite dish was stolen soon after.
The Power of Banksy
Balloon Girl, Flower Thrower, and Love is in the Bin are just some titles in this legendary artist’s portfolio. Yet, who is Banksy? An anathema, who we think is called Robert Gunningham, was born in Bristol in 1974, but that is only from one claim by the Daily Mail. However, another BBC interview said his name is Robbie Banks. We know very little else about him. Yet his art is extremely popular with pieces selling in auctions between £3,000 and 882,000. An artist who has a charitable streak, selling artworks to benefit victims of terrorist attacks, the refugee crisis, the NHS and homelessness.
Banksy uses a series of disguises to paint his work, keeping his face covered and working in a masquerade. A Scarlet Pimpernel who has been nominated for an Oscar and who is as famous and influential as Barack Obama and Steve Jobs. A street artist who is notoriously private but also displays his works in galleries across the globe including the Louvre. An enigma who sends you on a rat race with no end but brightens up bleak times with his inspirational art. Mischievous art that always seems to be set on an appropriate background.
