Banksy's best works. Adult Swim airs fake interview with Banksy
London talented artist, graffiti artist. Currently, his name (that is, a pseudonym - no one knows his real name) is the most popular in the world in the field of graffiti. Banksy is not only an excellent artist, but also an innovator, original, informal. His drawings cover the walls of London and attract the attention of everyone similar, not to mention true fans.
Currently, his name (that is, a pseudonym - no one knows his real name) is the most popular in the world in the field of graffiti. Banksy is not only an excellent artist, but also an innovator, original, informal. His drawings cover the walls of London and attract the attention of everyone similar, not to mention true fans.
There are suggestions that the artist's name is Banksy Roberts (or Robin). He was born in Bristol in 1974. His calling card is anonymity. Every graffiti fan dreams of meeting an artist, but not everyone is lucky. Moreover, it is believed that real facts His life, as well as photographs, are practically not available to anyone.
At the same time, Banksy is mega-popular today. Every publication dreams of talking to him, and no one who has the slightest knowledge of the real work of graffiti would refuse to purchase one of his works. Naturally, for a lot of money. However, the artist does not demonstrate his own person; moreover, he carefully hides himself. Perhaps, first of all, because it is extremely interesting to the local police.
Banksy first began to engage in such a fascinating type of drawing in the late nineties of the last century - initially, as a member of the DryBreadZ Crew. He soon became famous - Banksy was often detained by the police, and therefore the savvy artist decided to use a different technique in graffiti (drawing through a stencil).
Not many years have passed, but Banksy has already become popular not only in London and the surrounding area, but also in other countries. Now his works are exhibited at auctions and are actively bought for literally “crazy” money.
His graffiti is special. Each drawing is full of meaning and calls for something. Most of Banksy's graffiti is anti-war, freedom-loving, social and extremely relevant.
Banksy is an extreme person and, in a sense, a delinquent. A few years ago, for example, the artist replaced five hundred Paris Hilton disks with his own (with drawings). He did this secretly and with the help of his friend - Danger Mouse.
Some time ago Banksy was working in New Orleans. He painted the walls of the city with a dozen (or more) paintings, which were an outright protest against Radtke, a famous fighter against graffiti.
Probably the most popular and at the same time the most mysterious street artist in the world. He became famous throughout the world thanks to his unique "guerrilla" style of stencil graffiti, which appeared in a wide variety of in public places– on the walls of buildings in London, Brighton, Bristol and even on the West Bank barrier separating Israel and Palestine. But despite my world fame However, Banksy was able to maintain a veil of secrecy and anonymity around himself. There is a lot of controversy surrounding his biography and real name. According to the most common versions, his real name is Robert or Robin Banks.
Despite the fact that Banksy’s outrageous work can most likely be attributed to the “counterculture” genre, his works are exhibited in the most fashionable and prestigious galleries in the world. Collectors of his work include many celebrities, including Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Christina Aguilera. It is very difficult to find any information about this person, so the captions for some photos may not be entirely “from the author.”
(Total 35 photos)
1. Banksy truck. (Banksy)
2. "Picnic"
At the exhibition of this graffiti artist, which took place in Los Angeles in 2006, Angelina Jolie bought three works by the artist for 400 thousand dollars. Among Jolie's acquisitions was the painting "Picnic" shown in this photo, worth $226,000. (Banksy)
3. "Laugh, but one day we'll be in charge" (Banksy)
4. “Bad artists imitate, great artists steal” (Banksy)
5. "Escape" (Banksy)
6. "Maid" (Banksy)
7. "Helicopters with Pink Bows" (Banksy)
8. "Flower Thrower" (Banksy)
9. "Attack of the Carts" (Banksy)
10. "Moisturize"
Caption: "I learned a valuable lesson from this woman: you need to moisturize your skin every day." (Banksy)
11. "A man removing graffiti from a wall."
This drawing appeared in May 2008 on Lick Street in London. By August 2008, this graffiti had been painted over. Please note - the images of animals resemble cave drawings primitive people in the Lascaux cave in France or in Altamira, Spain. (Banksy)
12. "Naked"
This drawing is located on the facade of the Bristol clinic on Park Street, where patients are treated for sexual disorders. After numerous petitions from the public, Bristol City Council decided not to paint over the graffiti. (Banksy)
13. "Death"
Stencils on the waterline of the pleasure boat Tekla in the center of Bristol. The image of death is based on a famous 19th century engraving depicting the plague during the Great Stench. (Banksy)
14. "One nation under CCTV" or "Big Brother is watching you"
Graffiti in the heart of London. A group of people have been flooding the Royal Mail with letters for a long time, asking that one of the walls needs to be rebuilt. After repeated requests, it was decided to install scaffolding to find out what the problem was there. Six days later, when the scaffolding was removed, this graffiti was on the façade. Visible from afar, the graffiti attracted the attention of many people who had no idea that it was the work of Banksy. In March 2009, local authorities ordered it to be covered over, despite desperate public protests. CCTV is a surveillance camera, and the phrase “One nation under...” is a reference to famous phrase“One nation under God” - “One nation under God” - a fragment of the oath of allegiance to the American flag.. (Banksy/ogglog)
15. "Living in Dreams" (Banksy)
16. "Square Head" (Banksy)
17. Another one of Banksy’s works on the city streets. (Banksy)
18. "Charlie the Arsonist." Graffiti was painted on a building that was on fire. (Banksy)
19. "Donut Escort" (Banksy)
20. "Double Solid" or "Flower Power"
The yellow line of street markings turns into a huge flower on one of the facades of London houses. Next to it is a self-portrait of the artist. (Banksy)
21. "Walking the Dog" (Banksy)
22. The inscription on the tank: “It seems like an elephant” (Banksy)
23. “0% interested in people” (Banksy)
24. "Behind the wall!
The Wall project included virtual reality, which emphasized the denial of the existence of humanity, which is a fence - children are cut off from the sea and forced to play with buckets and shovels on a pile of stones, while behind the wall... (Banksy)
25. I hate Mondays. (Banksy)
26. Without wasting time
"Girl with a Ball" became the favorite picture of the British. An anonymous graffiti under the pseudonym Banksy bypassed the masterpieces of the classics. GEO reveals how an Englishman became the number one artist and looks back at Banksy's major works of the last fifteen years
text: Olga Dadykina
Considered the most meaningful work Banksy. Appeared in the South Bank area of London in 2002. Behind the girl's back with balloon The words “Hope is always alive” are written. Photo: flickr.com
"Girl with a Red Balloon" appeared on the Thames Bridge in 2002. The author of the work is an artist hiding under the pseudonym Banksy. Journalists and police have been chasing him for twenty years. Since the late 1990s, he has been “bombing” the walls of his native Bristol and other cities with socio-political graffiti: oppression of civilians in Palestine, hypocrisy of politicians, refugees, capitalist greed in London - about 130 drawings in total.
In 2007, when Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Kate Moss, Jude Law and other celebrities began to buy Banksy's works, he turned from a hooligan into the main artist of our time. This instantly raised his bids at the world's premier auction, Sotheby's, with six of his works going under the hammer for £372,000.
Three years ago, the artist was recognized as a cultural icon of the United Kingdom. According to surveys of young people from other countries, they associate English culture with William Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth II, David Beckham, The Beatles, Charlie Chaplin, JK Rowling, Elton John, Adele and... Banksy.
In 2010, Time magazine included the Briton in its list of the 100 most influential people planet, on a par with Barack Obama, Steve Jobs and Lady Gaga. Instead of a portrait, the article was illustrated with a photo of him wearing a paper bag on his head. Banksy claims that anonymity helps him hide from the police, ill-wishers and not distract attention from his work.
However, on June 22, 2017, DJ Goldie declassified the name of the artist: “Write a graffiti font on a Banksy T-shirt - and that’s it, you can sell it. No offense to Robert, I really think he wonderful artist, he turned the world of art upside down,” said a friend of the artist in an interview. Journalists concluded that British musician Robert Del Naya, leader of the band Massive Attack, was hiding under the pseudonym. A year earlier, a Daily Mail journalist had already suggested that Robert Del Naya was hiding behind the Banksy mask. He traced the places where graffiti appeared and matched them with cities music tours by Massive Attack.
In 2008, the British Daily Mail claimed that the real name of the British street artist— Robin Gunningham, a native of Bristol, born in 1973. The man in the photograph published by BBC World News a year earlier is working on what would later turn out to be famous flower creation of Banksy.
2. He played soccer with young revolutionaries in Mexico
Banksy was the Bristol goalkeeper football team Eastern Cowboys and Cowgirls. In 2001, the team went on a tour of Mexico and Banksy joined them in a game against the Zapatista National Liberation Army. Inspired by the struggle for freedom of a group of young revolutionaries, Banksy created another masterpiece of street art.
3. The main shareholder of his printing company is the creator of the group Gorillaz
According to Will Ellsworth-Jones' book Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall, Picture On Walls' main shareholder is the comic book artist, designer and creator of the band Gorillaz.
4. His collaboration with Damien Hirst sold for $1.9 million
In 2008, a work entitled "Pest Control" was created by Banksy in collaboration with English artist Damien Hirst, was sold at auction in New York for 1 million 870 thousand dollars.
5. Celebrities collect his work
In 2006, Angelina Jolie spent a total of more than $300 thousand on his works, which included a painting called “Picnic.” Christina Aguilera's collection includes three works by Banksy, including the painting “Queen Victoria as a Lesbian,” which the singer bought for $38,000.
6. Banksy had to tell his mother that he works as a house painter.
When asked by his mother why all his clothes were covered in paint, Banksy replied that he worked as a painter.
7. He donates to charity
The English underground artist has repeatedly provided assistance to charities that research eye diseases and help restore sight to blind people. Mention of support similar projects can also be found on Banksy's website.
8. His manager worked for Sean Penn
Banksy's manager Holly Cushing used to work for American actor Sean Penn. The artist sought the help of an Englishwoman during his show in Los Angeles when he needed someone so well connected that he could [literally] help him find his elephant. Holly became an important figure in the behind-the-scenes business aspects of Banksy's career.
9. Banksy only asked for £1 for an installation at Bristol City Museum.
That among the historical exhibits and artefacts in the Bristol City Museum and Art gallery works by Banksy would be presented, only two museum employees knew. However, Banksy only asked for one pound as an installation fee.
10. The Turf War exhibition caused numerous protests, although he distinguished himself as an animal rights activist
In 2003, Banksy organized an exhibition in one of the warehouses called Turf War (“Struggle for Influence”), during which the artist painted animals. And although the paint did not cause any harm to the animals (pigs were painted in police uniforms, sheep appeared as concentration camp prisoners, Andy Warhol's face was on the cows), and the exhibition was approved by the inspector of the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals, such an action caused mass protests against cruelty to animals.
11. Banksy created the title card for an episode of The Simpsons.
Has everyone seen the intro for the third episode of the 22nd season of the most popular animated series in television history? If not, this annoying misunderstanding will be corrected by the video above. However, several years before this debut, Banksy used the famous scene with Bart Simpson in his work.
12. He traded two Glastonbury tickets for the right to paint a trailer.
Although Banksy's identity remains shrouded in mystery, in 1998 he convinced a couple to paint their trailer in exchange for two tickets to music Festival Glastonbury. The couple graciously agreed, not knowing that one day they would sell the $1,000 mobile home for $500,000.
13. Adult Swim aired a fake interview with Banksy
Although the interview turned out to be quite funny, many realized without prompting that it was a parody.
14. “Barely Legal” was not Banksy’s first exhibition in Los Angeles
Banksy's first exhibition in Los Angeles was a show called Existentialism (2002), not the Barely Legal event, which also had incredible success. The first exhibition was curated by the 33 1/3 gallery.
15. Banksy played on the name of a French film festival
In 2008, Banksy invited 39 artists from around the world to paint a road tunnel in London. The name of the festival, Cans Festival, is a play on words that recalls the famous French film festival in Cannes.
16. Banksy created a group of experts to combat counterfeiting
Considering the fact that the price of prints and paintings varies from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, it was quite logical that Banksy decided to create a group of experts, the main objective which establishes the authenticity of the artist’s works and fights fakes. The appearance of fakes is prevented by a team called Pest Control.
17. The premiere of the film “Exit Through the Gift Shop” took place at the Cans festival
The British premiere of the documentary took place at famous festival, which was only possible by invitation. Music group Exit Through the Gift Shop, whose title the artist used for his film debut, Banksy donated one of his works as compensation. The documentary, nominated for an Oscar in 2011, grossed more than $5 million worldwide.
18. Banksy dedicated graffiti to the deceased art critic
The original version of the world famous graffiti, based on a scene from " Pulp Fiction"directed by Quentin Tarantino, depicted the characters of Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta with bananas instead of pistols. London transport workers painted over Banksy's work, after which he returned and depicted the actors holding guns, but this time dressed in banana costumes. This time, Banksy's work was painted over by a 19-year-old graffiti artist named Ozone, who promised to leave the next version if it turned out to be better than the previous one. A young artist who criticized Banksy was tragically killed by a train. Banksy returned to the spot and painted an angel in a bulletproof vest holding a skull. " When we lost Ozone, we lost a fearless graffiti artist and, as it turns out, quite an astute art critic"Banksy wrote on his website.
19. Banksy's early work was unknowingly painted over
In 2011 one of early works Banksy, " Gorilla in a pink mask", was painted over by the new owner of the building that formerly housed the club. New owner knew nothing about Banksy. It is reported that the Gorilla in the Pink Mask has been partially restored.
20. Banksy redeemed himself after his work led to the eviction of a homeless man
Banksy painted a water tank in Los Angeles with the words: " It looks a bit like an elephant" A man named Tachova Covington lived in this tank for seven years. Banksy's innocent prank not only attracted the attention of fans, but also prompted collectors to buy the tank and evict Covington from the art object. After admitting his mistake, Banksy gave the poor guy enough money to live in peace for a year. In an interview with the Independent, Covington stated: " No better man than Banksy... He was an angel to me. He helped me more than anyone in my entire life.».
