Banksy
Banksy
Banksy is an England-based graffiti artist, political activist and film director of unverified identity. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling 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,...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionArtist
people mind three
Graffiti is only dangerous in the mind of three types of people; politicians, advertising executives and graffiti writers,
thinking should-have want
I don't think you should have to pay to look at graffiti. You should only pay if you want to get rid of it,
men awards house
This is a big surprise I don't agree with the concept of award ceremonies, but I'm prepared to make an exception for the ones I'm nominated for. The last time there was a naked man covered in gold paint in my house, it was me.
growing-up kids thinking
I figure there are enough self-opinionated assholes trying to get their ugly little faces in front of you as it is. You ask a lot of kids today what they want to be when they grow up, and they say, 'I want to be famous.' You ask them, 'For what reason?' and they don't know or care. I think Andy Warhol got it wrong - in the future, so many people are going to become famous that one day everybody will end up being anonymous for 15 minutes.
art confusing idiot
There's obviously nothing wrong with selling your art - only an idiot with a trust fund would tell you otherwise. But it's confusing to know how far you should take it.
giving painting
I give away thousands of paintings for free.
enemy way capitalism
I love the way capitalism finds a place - even for its enemies.
believe violence dont-believe
I don't believe in anything. I'm just here for the violence.
differences slavery lines
The difference between freedom and slavery is one thin line
world paint over-it
I just wanna make the world a better-looking place. If you don't like it, you can paint over it!
two new-orleans car
It's impossible to predict which paintings will last and which won't. In New Orleans I painted on a dilapidated shop in a street littered with abandoned cars and rotting mattresses, then two hours later the piece was gone. It turned out I'd picked the side of a crack house and the proprietor didn't like the attention.
school past cities
If you have a statue in the city centre you could go past it every day on your way to school and never even notice it, right. But as soon as someone puts a traffic cone on its head, you've made your own sculpture.
war levels revolution
All graffiti is low-level dissent, but stencils have an extra history. They've been used to start revolutions and to stop wars
art wall lying
Although you might have to creep about at night and lie to your mum it’s actually one of the more honest art forms available. There is no elitism or hype, it exhibits on the best walls a town has to offer and nobody is put off by the price of admission.