Banksy is an anonymous graffiti artist. Most of us have heard of him or seen him before. He’s famous and anything he touches turns to gold. He doesn't tell the truth however, he paints the truth. Yes, and the truth ( regardless of the medium) is what makes him deserving of such serious respect. To put it simply, Banksy is an invisible celebrity who creates socially engaged street art. His work is sarcastic and anti-establishment. It’s witty and culturally significant. It speaks to the ordinary and the uncommon. It draws in the views of millions. Yes, Banksy’s a different kind of hero ( if you want to call him that). Yes, but what exactly is he doing, why is he doing it, and what does his success mean in today's world when that success contradicts the message he is trying to send? The story is an interesting one. It requires a deep analysis of Banksy, trends in art sales, and capitalism itself. The fact of the matter is- Banksy’s protest art has been a major success. Yes, and Banksy is a political weapon. Still, the current commodity culture has made Banksy’s artwork a fashionable collector’s item. It attracts people who go against his message. Banksy's impact on today is one that is both social and economic. People invest in a Banksy because society has deemed it of high value or worth.  Banksy’s artwork is a collector’s item and yet the artists original intent is to criticise that very culture. What this paper serves to prove then is that by commercializing Banksy’s new methods of resistance and viewing them as investment assets, they become no different from investing in stocks or bonds. In truth, the people often buying these art pieces are the very people the art seeks to protest. It is clear then, that although it may bring greater exposure, the original message of the protest art gets diluted for economic purposes, and the art is unable to escape commodification.

So, who is Banksy anyways? You might guess that he’s something provocative, something great, and well, at the very least, interesting to the general public. That much is obvious as Banksy continually makes it into print. A quick google search will have over thirty million results on him. His artwork is known in various places throughout the world. He’s not famous in his niche or a small corner, no, he is famous across the globe. Yes, and you do have to wonder what kind of man Banksy is. What did he have in mind when he started spraying, or rather “bombing” the walls of Bristol during the 1990s? Did he expect nothing but a personal increase in street skills and the rugged notoriety of a street vandal? Perhaps. Regardless of what he expected, he fell into fame. In the beginning, Bansky met Bristol photographer Steve Lazarides, and eventually, he started gaining notoriety. Banksy is a graffiti artist, after all, and his work is literally out there for us to see. With his work out on the streets, some began to think of him as a criminal. Is Bansky really a criminal though? That, of course, is subjective, but yes, he qualifies as a criminal according to the law. and it is a decision that is left up to the individual. But with change being the only constant, thinking might be what makes Banksy so interesting. His artwork does ask a great question and is ironic: “Am I a criminal according to this society’s rules?" Yes, and "What is criminal when so much corruption goes on throughout the world?” So, while not everyone likes Banksy, and some critique him, he does ask the right questions. Perhaps with that in mind, the question might be one in which Banksy asks, who is really the criminal? 

With his fame in mind, just how did Banksy start? Banksy was inspired by Graffiti artist now turned musician Robert Del Naja, and rat fan Graffiti artist Blek Le Rat (Neu 1). Both of these artists also used stencil art which Banksy preferred as it was easily reproduced in the studio before it was brought out to the street. Banksy enjoyed Blek Le Rat’s use of rats because it was a symbol of the vilified and the broken. It is his focus on the darker sides of humanity that challenges his audience. His work makes us really think about the society we are living in and what it means to be a human in this present day. He makes us question what we are doing, and whether or not it's right. Banksy is a culturally significant, rather exceptionally profound artist. He has been listed in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. He is listed among the likes of Obama, Steve Jobs, and Lady Gaga, only he has a paper bag over his head (he is after all, anonymous). “He has a gift: an ability to make almost anyone very uncomfortable. He doesn't ignore boundaries; he crosses them to prove their irrelevance”. Banksy is now an artist whose work transcends time. He questions sociopolitical injustice and upsets normative power structures by taking to the street and demanding the attention of onlookers (Harzman 2). This contrasts with, say, the commercial effect of times square – where there the art comes in the form of fancy lights and billboards (and tells us to buy more products). As Banksy provides visual rhetoric, he opens eyes and provides an outlet for the liberation of the distressed. With satire being his primary method, it is a particularly effective political tool as he creates nontraditional methods of combating sociopolitical injustice.

So, is opening eyes what is Banksy about? It would appear so. Banksy makes us see the truth of our society. His work dives deep into “satire, subversion, dark humour, and irony to create resonant social, political, and humanist messages for the masses on a populous and public level” (Biography of Banksy). What he does is what any great artist does: try and instil change as he feels is necessary by creating strong emotional reactions in people. His satirical commentary on contemporary politics and social issues has a tendency to subvert the expectation of viewers (Deturk 23). Banksy uses popular culture icons, children, and fun items such as balloons to create his work, and in this way he reaches a large audience via familiarity and intense psychological impression. As a result of all of this mind-blowing work, Banksy has created a huge following now known as The Banksy effect. That is why he is called a genius marketer by so many. Banksy is considered both “an elusive street artist punk and an art-world darling,” 

As what he does is illegal, Banksy keeps his identity well hidden in order to protect himself from the cops. That’s what began his anonymous identity in the first place and is what also makes him a little more mysterious and perhaps more valuable to the public (so he keeps the hidden identity). He is, after all, a world renewed mystery man. Yes, and humans love a good mystery. “Banksy has risen through the ranks to become one of the world's greatest street artists partly by creating an urgency to understand his character. In fact, his character and personality inspire both beginning and advanced artists. Isn’t that what a great artist is for?  Yes, outside of just spreading his message, he inspires other artists and citizens to do what speaks to them. So, what does Banksy’s art represent? What is his original message? It is, of course, in one single word: rebellion. Rebellion against social injustice. Rebellion against wealth inequality, racial discrimination, terrorism, labour abuse, and police brutality. He represents the counterculture with protests, debates, concerts, social media campaigns, and concerts (Harzman 2). What Banksy does not approve of however is commercialization, branding, or mass production and sale of his work. Unfortunately for him, however, his artwork has been sold in auctions and is found everywhere. Banksy is perhaps an un-brand. 

Banksy's recent piece "Girl With A Balloon, is an art piece that has obtained a high degree of fame and iconic registry – that is primarily because of the recent stunt where the balloon girl was shredded at an auction. This stunt was a significant attempt to stick it to the man. To say, quite strongly, “this is who I am, and I’m not going to stop.” Ripping the work off the street and selling it is legal but questionable in the eyes of Banksy (Hansen). That is what he does- he makes us think. There is a repetition of thought, idea, and voice which makes Banksy's work very successful and unique. He stays true to character the entire time too. So, why is Banksy such a commodity and why do rich people like to buy art so much? The main reason is that it is an investment. A simple $200 invested into a piece of street art can draw in millions in the future. Even if the artwork is sold at a high price, it is now either the cool thing to do, or the “I hope this makes me a lot of money” thing to do. Banksy has made a lot of people richer. His art sales can even be compared to cryptocurrency. “'Satoshi' gave the world Bitcoin while 'Banksy' gave the world his distinctive form of vandalism” (bullionvault 1). 

Original Banksy’s have sold for millions. Yes, but Banksy’s artwork is very easily reproduced too. If the “other”, that is, anyone but Banksy reproduces and sells his artwork, they make a profit while Banksy does not. It is Banksy’s art. So, for this reason alone, Banksy- true to character, created an agency of his own to limit the sale and reproduction of his work. This agency is Banksy's nonprofit organization called The Pest Control Agency. This is Banksy's attempt at authenticating his artwork and limiting the reprinting sales and excess production of his artwork.  How it works is via a Chirograph system. When you submit your artwork, and it is deemed authentic, you will receive a unique Banksy system of authentication. This authentication certificate comes in the form of a half-written note with a handwritten ID number on it. The note is in half and can be matched to the other half which is held by Pest control. Again, Banksy wants to keep away from the traditional system of art being in an art gallery and rich people buying his work, so he created Pest control. 

Recently, there was a painting of chimps at parliament which was sold at an auction and made the headline of the news. This painting was entitled Devolved Parliament, for obvious reasons, as it shows chimps running the house of commons. It makes us question how we are running our lives this late in the game (it is almost year 2020). Are we doing things with civility, or are our procedures- legal, political, and judicial, as animalistic and as unintelligent as a parliament run by apes? That is the question. Yes, and although it is not quite a science-fiction take like Planet of The Apes, it is a good reproduction that does bring into question the validity of how we run things. Change after all is the only constant. The piece is a critique on the values and politics of parliamentary procedure and the way things are done in government.  It may be that these are the questions that fit into Banksy’s concerns about contemporary society. This piece most recently made it into the headline of The Times article as a record-setting monetary high of $12 million (Times).

The moral question that Banksy asks for himself and his artwork is one of theft. Is it right for his work to be ripped off the street and sold at auctions?  The work is not only sold without his interest, often the money doesn’t even go to the artist who originally made it, but still shows up in galleries. What the artist originally had in mind was to sell the work that he wanted to sell, not to have his street art ripped off and sold to others.  “There’s kind of a black market that’s emerged for paintings removed from the street, and artists don’t want to encourage it by legitimizing those paintings” (Banksy and Fellow Street Artists). While it's technically legal to remove the work off the street, the problem is that the artist doesn’t want it removed. The bigger problem is that the money made off the product doesn’t even go to the artist. A documentary on the subject called “Saving Banksy” was recently released to raise awareness on the issue. It addresses the challenges many Street artists face in having their work sold and commodified against their will. So, as it goes, the “rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”

Banksy is at times a very unforgiving artist. His most unforgiving piece being one entitled Napalm in which two famous commercial figures (Ronald Mcdonald and Mickey Mouse) are seen holding hands with the crying girl who was in a famous photograph from the Vietnam War. It’s very charged work and Banksy has the shock that we need to be delivered to us to send a message. It speaks to his character of social rebellion, yes of going against the common ideology, and questioning how things could be the way they are. Why does money constantly pour into those who already have wealth when there is great inequality otherwise. McDonald's is a billion-dollar corporation. Mickey Mouse is a cute and happy go lucky mouse. One will feed us mass-produced food and the other will entertain billions of children. Both industries generate millions of dollars while people throughout the world go starving. Banksy picked the famous image of the crying girl in Vietnam to go with the two in contrast - this is a Pulitzer prize-winning photograph of a victim of a large napalm attack due to the Vietnamese war. It isn’t easy to look at, and in fact, presents us with several questions – the main one being, why does this still happen in a society that is capable of such wealth and rich technology? Why does this still happen in a society that is capable of great degrees of compassion and empathy. Banksy is, after all a political activist who questions the legality of several practices in contemporary society. Perhaps, the question is, are we not living in some form of Dystopia? 

              Banksy's work is intended to change lives.  A movement was recently started in which moral codes were used to depict Graffiti as an asset to communities instead of a hindrance. The intent was to change the perspective. No Ball Games was one of Banksy’s works depicting two children playing not with a ball but with, instead, a sign that states “No Ball Games”. In a characteristic fashion, Banksy questions excess societal rules on generally harmless things such as playing with sports balls outside (Hansen 3). Luckily for fans of Street art, there are people who work to create laws to protect the art and change opinions of the value of such creation. Fans believe that Banksy’s work should not be removed for auction if it goes against what he is trying to state in his own artwork. Of course, even when this does happen, Banksy finds ways to create and protest again and again. In addition to graffiti, Banksy was also involved in the creation of Dismaland, which is a large structural piece that pokes fun at Disneyland, and a book called Wall and Piece. Lastly, he created a postmodern film called Exit through the Gallery and gets credit for being a rather prolific artist. Banksy makes us wonder how it can all be possible. What he does is “comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable” (Henry). This was his intention from the very beginning.

Now, let us end at the beginning. One of Banksy’s first painted works involves cops. It is called Rude copper and depicts a cop holding the middle finger. It warns us to be wary of authority. Here, again, Banksy asks questions. His goal is to reach a large audience and create positive critical attention. Many people already look past the thought of Banksy’s work as crime and view it instead as art (Bates). He is a world-renowned artist who did it all at a cost, and without permission. Bansky even touches on current events such as the lack of care and concern for those affected by hurricanes. Children who are innocent, are a particularly good subject for this. Bansky’s artwork does a good job questioning the norm. While it isn’t legal to spray graffiti, Banksy uses his art to continue to question society's values. Yes, after all, many things weren’t legal that are now. The genocide of thousands has occurred in this world throughout world history and it wasn’t moral to say the least. For this reason, socially engaged art offers important and very valuable rhetoric. It continues to be ironic for Banksy however as the artist has been tracked by geographic profiling (something that has been used to track serial killers, infectious diseases, and terrorist activity) in the past. It’s interesting how serious the world can be about something so unexpected – Streetart. Despite Banksy’s anonymity, it is known that his popularity and controversial but valuable messages may be spread over the internet, social media, and news articles. The Banksy effect continues to provide a reasonable outlet for people to be inspired and to reflect on social injustice issues that are still present today. Perhaps with Banksy’s work and the continuation of education on social issues, we can continue to create a more eye-opening and reasonable world for us.