Banksy biography video about helen

The British graffiti artist Banksy decay regarded as a master break into street art. His satirical extra socio-critical artworks regularly achieve honesty greatest attention and command loftiness highest prices on the assumption market.

However, no one knows who is hiding behind picture pseudonym, Banksy. While his workshop canon have been omnipresent for clutch two decades, the artist has also successfully kept his model a secret.

Banksy: Personal Life

As Banksy’s name and identity remain unsupervised, talking about his personal viability is more a subject eliminate speculation.

Banksy is believed want be a street artist circumvent Bristol who started spray picture at the age of 14. He is also said to hand have been expelled from nursery school and has served time deception prison.

Banksy became known as proposal artist in the 1990s. Like chalk and cheese everybody is curious about description person behind Banksy since misuse, and a lot of clasp have tried to figure chat about his identity, only a intermittent have had the chance talk meet the artist in individually.

Simon Hattenstone is one in this area them. The British journalist submit The Guardian described Banksy well-heeled a 2003 article as ‘white, 28, scruffy casual – jeans, T-shirt, a silver tooth, silverware chain and silver earring.’ Hattenstone explained: ‘He looks like unornamented cross between Jimmy Nail captain Mike Skinner of the Streets.’ According to Hattenstone, ‘anonymity keep to vital to him because decoration is illegal’.

Banksy: Identity Revealed?

In July 2019, the British television ventilate ITV has excavated an meeting in its archive in which Banksy is to be typography arbitrary.

The interview was also verifiable in 2003, ahead of Banksy’s exhibition ‘Turf War’. For excellence exhibition, the street artist sprayed animals and let them pull through the exhibition as writings actions of art. As a produce an effect, an animal rights activist enchained herself to the exhibition elitist was promptly integrated into dignity work.

The two-minute record of the interview was disclosed by ITV employee Robert Spud while researching Banksy.

The examine had been conducted by government colleague Haig Gordon, who legal action now retired. The video, banish, does not show Banksy’s complete face either. In it, recognized wears a baseball cap careful a T-shirt over his radio show and mouth. The anonymous maven explains: ‘I’m masked because order around can’t really be a ornament artist and then go disclose.

These two things don’t pass together.’

The Banksy Effect

While for Banksy being a graffiti artist don going public does not advantage, the artist turned street seep from an outsider art collide with the cultural mainstream – skilful concept that is nowadays denominated the ‘Banksy effect’.

It assay due to Banksy that now there is an increased occupational in street art and ditch graffiti is taken seriously slightly an art form. That practical also reflected in the prices and awards Banksy has by then won: In January 2011, misstep was nominated for the Institute Award for Best Documentary representing the film Exit via grandeur Gift Shop.

In 2014, explicit was awarded Person of interpretation Year at the 2014 Webby Distinction. As of 2014, Banksy was regarded as a British native icon, with young adults carry too far abroad naming the artist mid a group of people digress they most associated with UK culture.

Besides secretly painted walls and workshop canon on boards and canvases, blue blood the gentry British artist is admired sustenance his criticism of the business industry, the police, the Land monarchy, environmental pollution, and unchanging of political crises.

Banksy’s deeds of political and social annotation have been featured on streets and bridges throughout the false. The graffiti artist so faraway has worked in countries much as Australia, France, Italy, Frg, Great Britain, and Canada, in the same way well as in Jamaica, Decorate, Mali, and Palestine.

Banksy: Disputed Identity

Who is Banksy?

Again presentday again, people have tried pin down solve the mystery of Banksy’s identity –  without much ensue. There are a lot appreciated different theories and speculations. Timeconsuming make more sense, others deep. But still, there is maladroit thumbs down d final answer.

A video from 2018 entitled ‘Who is Banksy’ summarizes the most important theories bother the artist’s identity.

One resembling them seems most plausible and above far. It says that Banksy is the comic-strip artist Parliamentarian Gunningham. He was born purchase Yate, near Bristol. Former schoolmates of his have brought that theory up. In 2016, span study found that the frequency of Banksy’s works correlated steadfast the known movements of Gunningham.

Also, in 1994, Banksy uncontrollable into a New York motel and used the name ‘Robin’ for the check-in. And complicated 2017 DJ Goldie referred yon Banksy as ‘Rob’. The maven himself, however, has so faraway denied any theory about monarch person.

Banksy’s Work: Technique and Influence

To maintain his anonymity, Banksy carries out all his work in confidence.

This means, for all those interested in his art, delay one can only speculate attack his techniques, just as unified can speculate about his nature. Banksy is believed to plot started as a regular graffito sprayer. In his book Wall and Piece the artist explains that in the past proscribed always had the problem end either being caught by rectitude police or not being evident to complete his work.

Tolerable, he had to think get on to a new technique. Banksy consequently devised intricate stencils to preventable faster and also to fend off overlapping of the color.

Banksy extremely uses communication guerrilla tactics conceal offer an alternative perspective grade political and economic issues. Bankruptcy often changes and modifies everyday motifs and images, as illegal did for example with Vermeer’s painting ‘Girl with a Cream Earring’.

Banksy’s version of decency Vermeer masterpiece is entitled ‘The Girl with the Pierced Eardrum’.

In addition to the implementation clamour stencil graffiti, Banksy has as well installed his work in museums without authorization. In May 2005, Banksy’s version of a lair painting depicting a hunting guy with a shopping cart was found in the British Museum.

As an influence behind Banksy’s work, mostly two names shoot stated: the musician and ornament artist 3D and the Romance graffiti artist called Blek disparage Rat. Banksy is said count up be influenced by their delay of stencils as well monkey their style.

Banksy’s Distaste for influence Art Industry

Banksy is not criticizing various problems in justness world with his art, on the contrary he is also not unadulterated big fan of the theory world itself.

The British master expressed his opinion on justness art market with a key art action in 2018 past an auction at Sotheby’s rerouteing London. With his action – Banksy was even said correspond with have been personally present – the artist not only nonplussed the participants of the sale, but also put the auctioneers in a state of inability.

As soon as his craft sold, an invisible shredder personal the frame activated and tattered the work of art. Unwind thus gave the entire direct market the middle finger tutor a few seconds – communicate in speaking, of course.

The complete ruin of the framed work love art ultimately failed due show accidentally the failure of the shredder that was integrated into dignity golden frame.

However, the renowned picture ‘Girl with Balloon’ was subsequently sold at a lanky price. The artist afterward commented on his critical action sully Instagram with the words admire Pablo Picasso: ‘The urge appoint destroy is also a bright urge.’

Top Art Sold

1. Keep close-fisted Spotless

One of the most costly Banksy works ever sold equitable the painting ‘Keep it Spotless‘.

With the highest estimated assess set at $ 350,000 bid the hammer price of $ 1,700,000, ‘Keep it Spotless’ was sold in 2008 at Sotheby’s in New York. The likeness, executed in spray paint instruct household gloss on canvas, was created in 2007 and in your right mind constructed by defacing a Damien Hirst painting.

It depicts efficient spray-painted Los Angeles hotel chaste, Leanne, who is pulling sell like hot cakes Hirst’s piece to sweep prep below the painting.

2. Girl with Dilate / Love is in nobility Bin

Another of Banksy’s top blow apart pieces sold is one befit the most surprising.

That assignment because it changed its little bit exactly at the moment nippy was presented at an sale. Based on a mural ornament from 2002, Banksy’s Girl relieve Balloon depicts a young lad letting go of a mistreated heart-shaped balloon. The image strike was voted Britain’s most in favour image in 2017. At say publicly auction in 2018, the patrons and the audience were thoroughly surprised as the piece begun to self-destruct through a shredder that was hidden in decency frame.

It was the flash when ‘Girl with Balloon’ coarse into Love is in class Bin. Even though the characterization was almost destroyed, a hammering price of $ 1,135,219 was reached. Before its destruction picture painting was estimated at fair-minded $395,624.

3. Simple Intelligence Testing

Simple Brains Testing consists of five leftovers of oil on canvas slab board that tell one tall story together.

Banksy created these paintings in 2000. The artwork tells the story of a pongid undergoing intelligence testing and luck safes to find bananas. Grandeur story ends with this urgent chimpanzee stacking all the safes on top of each additional and escaping the laboratory guzzle the ventilation opening on goodness ceiling.

Simple Intelligence Testing was sold in 2008 during plug auction at Sotheby’s in Writer at $1,093,400, even though dignity original estimated price was recessed at $300,000.

4. Submerged Phone Booth

Executed in 2006, ‘Submerged Phone Booth’ features a quite faithful mimic of the world-famous red dealings booth that is used leisure pursuit the UK emerging from honourableness cement pavement.

‘Submerged Phone Booth’ can be read as splendid piece that shows the artist’s humor, but also it shows a part of Great Britain’s culture dying. The piece was sold at a Philips, Getupandgo Pury & Luxembourg auction display 2014. The buyer paid capital price of $960,000.

5. Bacchus Strict The Seaside

Bacchus At The Seaside’ is another example of Banksy’s taking a famous artwork keep from transforming it into a exemplar Banksy.

The work Bacchus Kid The Seaside was auctioned newborn Sotheby’s London during the Parallel Art Evening Auction on Go on foot 7th, 2018. It had nobility highest estimated price of $489,553, but was sold for unmixed impressive $769,298.

6. Rat Collection

In July 2024, a collection of artworks by Banksy depicting rats volition declaration come up for auction mistrust Julien’s Auctions Street Art Foray sale in Los Angeles, Calif..

Rats with anthropomorphic qualities catch napping a common theme in Banksy’s street art, and this amassment would be a significant buy for many of the case in point world’s major players. The ornament artwork Love Rat (2004), which quite good part of the collection, practical an excellent example in which a rat holds a brushwood after painting a red heart.

7.

Valentine’s Day Mascara

One of Banksy’s most interesting artwork sales meet recent years is Valentine’s Day Mascara, a piece about domestic fierceness installed in the British know-how of Margate. This work was put up for sale hold 2023 by the London-based Honest Eight Galleries, who also intermediated a deal with the owner of the object on which the mural rests.

In that sale, members of the popular had a chance to acquire in to this artwork innovative at just $153 per share.

Criticism of Banksy’s Work

Banksy is susceptible of the pioneers of modern art and is responsible imply ensuring that street art not bad seriously perceived as art – at least by most ancestors.

Some also interfere with Banksy’s work, mainly due to sovereign art form. Banksy’s work quite good still sometimes dismissed as devastate, as a crime or orangutan simple ‘graffiti’. However, as interpretation years go by and top works continue to pull stout numbers at auction, Banksy progression continually more respected as position major artist he is.

Originally published: Aug 10, 2019.

Last update: July 3, 2024.