Banksy

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"A wall is a very big weapon. It's one of the nastiest things you can hit someone with."
—Banksy

Banksy is a famous artist, most well-known for his graffiti. He was born in Bristol, England in the mid 1970s. That's really all we know about him.[1] Any photo we have of him is obscured. Despite this he has become quite popular, sold paintings, put on gallery shows, and in 2005 released a photo book of his work, Wall and Piece, and in 2010 made an Oscar-nominated documentary film, Exit Through the Gift Shop.

His work is often politically charged and rather funny. He's been compared to Andy Warhol for their similar sense of humor. You can see more of his work here.

Banksy provides examples of the following tropes:

"Is graffiti art or vandalism? That word has a lot of negative connotations and it alienates people, so no, I don't like to use the word 'art' at all."

"We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves."

"I am unable to comment on who may or may not be Banksy, but anyone described as being 'good at drawing' doesn't sound like Banksy to me."

  • Watershed: Possibly unintentional example. One of Banksy's stencils shows Queen Bessie shoving her cooch into a poor girl's face. Whenever he painted it, it would quickly be removed...with the exception of a shop shutter, meaning the painting can only be seen after 9:00 PM when the shop closes.
  • Weirdness Censor: Banksy, like most graffiti artists, use this to their advantage. There are several photos of Banksy painting in the middle of the day with no one caring.

"The easiest way to become invisible is to wear a day-glo vest."

  1. Even using male pronouns or singular pronouns to refer to Banksy are assumptions that might not be based in fact.
  2. Robin Banks? Like robbin' banks? Yeah, right.