Home » Design Articles » The Street Work of Banksy: British Graffiti Artist
The Street Work of Banksy: British Graffiti Artist
Banksy is the pseudonym of a British graffiti artist, political activist and painter, whose identity is unconfirmed. Using a unique stenciling technique Banksy’s artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.
Here we’ll show you some of the best work from this international street artist Banksy.
Be sure to check out Banksy.co.uk
And the Online Shop
Great web site! I am realy happy stumbling upon it!
As always, straight, intelligent, witty, critic.
Banksy is a legend.
What’s with the last one? Just words and a bent line? Those row homes are valuable.
Truly inspiring! Smart messages in a smart way…
amazing post,.. good job..:D
nice graffiti, but far from inspiring… obviously he’s pointing out truth but i find it overdone. it makes me feel more sad than anything… maybe that’s what he wants but i feel like if you’re going to go to all that trouble why not instill hope rather than sadness?
Tasteless, talentless filth. Destroying public property is not something that should be rewarded. Paint over it; the sooner the better.
Um….photoshopped.
The doctor is used twice.
@drw it’s not photoshopped. stencils produce similar results.
It’s beautiful work.
see the sixth picture “a nation under CCTV’,I want to say：“the world also under BBC,CNN” Evil people are samely bad all over the world.
Um…stencil dumbass…thats why the point out the fact that he uses a STENCILING TECHNIQUE in the above paragraph
He is a phenom at graffiti, these are way too creative.
Talentless filth? … Would love to see ‘Not A Fan’ produce the same quality art work on a piece of paper.
Fantastic! Not only are you inspiring other artist to look outside their own bounds of creativity but you also send a powerful message with each piece. Bravo!
This is the more permanent way to make people see. ‘Not a fan’, If you’d rather see cuss words and rude images on those wall, why don’t you paint ‘em yourself?
Not a Fan is obviously unaware that sometimes he’s painted over existing “tasteless”graffiti and turned it into an artful statement. Or at least I hope that is the case otherwise they just highlight all that is wrong with this world.
What is this horse shit? What is the message?
What a load of rubbish.
Banksys work is truely imspiring, its amazing, his political work is pointing a point into the country
like
I haven’t read all the comments above, so I don’t know if this has been discussed; Banksy is given places to create work by the cities in which he works. Therefore, he has a permit.
all the people on here who are saying negative things about this artist are clearly haters !!!! all u HATERS can suck a fat one ! dont be mad cus ur art work is shity
I love the several comments on how this is filth and destruction of property. Yes it may appear that he is destroying property but where i live people actually pay for this kind of art work on their buildings so you cannot state that this is destruction of property because you don’t know the truth about it. and as for calling it filth everyone is allowed their own opinion on art work just like everything else so if you don’t like it then don’t look at it it’s as simple as that. As for me i think that the artwork is beautiful and significant.
excellent work!!!
Banksy is a creative individual and inspires many. His concepts are outstanding, and to point out, a movement that wont be shrunken back.
Odd, if he is in the UK then why are the parking lot rates noted in in $. Last I checked that’s a dollar sign not a pound. Is he based in the US now?
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Love Banksy’s grafitti the one on the beach is in my home town of Hastings…..
This is everything art is. He is everything an artist should be.
hahah Not A Fan, its probably disagree with the vaild points his making. The “This will look nice when its framed” piece was done in my neighborhood and I was ecstatic. At list his “talentless filth” actually looks amazing.
@ Flee-
He has flown back and forth to do his work in both places. If anyone is interested in knowing more about the artist himself check out “Exit Through The Gift Shop” It starts out as a film just about street art but gets to Banksy, I promise! It’s streaming on Netflix and available on Hulu. It’s a great film….up until the ending.
“If at you don’t succeed, call in an airstrike” indeed. Oo-rah!
I actually like this, whether I agree with some of the messages and medium or not. (Hooray for Stubling!) I particularly like Death in his boat and “I remember when this was all trees.” Good message about the encroachment of urban society.
Just because it’s graffiti doesn’t mean it’s rubbish or tasteless filth. It’s creative and beautiful and completely cohesive in text, style, and even location. Everything about his work is a planned process and it’s not only beautiful but loaded with a message. Saying that it makes you sad and how he should instill hope in people instead of sadness is an ignorant statement. Pointing out the flaws in our society and lifestyle is the only way to make it known enough for people to change it. Plus, it’s not overdone or cliche. Banksy is the original, any other work you see like this is just an imitation. Honestly, I think it’s quite genius to make a huge body of work and have no one know who really did it; just be happy knowing it’s making itself famous, and not having your name to it.
even though its graffiti its great.. bringing to the surface problems we choose to ignore.. “one original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings”… best thing ive heard in awhile.. funny its in quote form
@Lindsay,
Only sometimes does he have a permit. Very often he does these illegally, but it’s honestly a victimless crime.
Unless you have zero percent interest in people or love subjugating Native Americans or something. Now society is more aware of your subtle evils. Muahaha.
@ nina,
I understand your frustration with tightwads like Not A Fan and Wallace, but to tell them they’re entitled to their opinion and then subsequently tell them to basically bug-off and not express their opinion if it’s negative is a little self-contradictory, don’tcha think? Hell, if anything we need people like them to shout their misguided, old-fashioned, presumptuous opinions about graffiti so we can set them straight.
@ Not A Fan & Wallace
I’m guessing you guys are insurance salesmen?
His work is very insightful and far more beautiful than most of the bigoted trash you see scrawled on the walls of bathrooms and city streets. If you can’t appreciate it, I imagine it’s because your brain is hard-wired to dismiss graffiti as uncultured trash. Probably– and forgive me if I’m wrong– because your mommies and daddies told you that anything that isn’t in the mainstream or sanctioned by some authority is “bad” and therefore undesirable.
Open your minds.
Nice work and Nice thoughts …Thanks for sharing it
Inspirational – makes you stop and think – unusual in a world of expensive images whose only message is ‘spend more money’.
this is amazing! The fact he can send such powerful messages in these drawings is just awesome.
He recently tagged my old highschool.
I recently tagged Banksy…. right on his #@&%(&!!!
I think that this is truly beautiful work. Regardless of the medium, it is a political outcry, and we as a society choose to ignore that by simply categorizing it as graffiti. If the people who consider this a crime haven’t noticed, they all hold a message, and that message should be listened to. Go Banksy!
..1000 words couldn’t describe these tags..
@nolan
You’re absolutely right with your responses. 100%
I’m guessing they’re trolling because how could ANYBODY in their right mind not appreciate this for what it truly is.
More than a message in art, it was started in hopes to create a metropolitan REVOLUTION.
He “descimates” the walls with a dream that someone will tear them down, not just paint right over him.
If he brings to light how the city is DESCIMATING the world&environment entirely, why aren’t doing something about THAT instead of his paints?
He’s only planting seeds, not spraying a can…
I know I referred to his pieces as “tags” but I still don’t agree with calling them that becaus when they don’t have his name in some flashy, unreadable text, than it really becomes an art form; not an advertisement anymore.
*** THIS IS AMAZING … THESE PPL ARE TALENTED !
*** Wish i could do half what they’ve done :/
Great idea for a post.Thank you!
My favorite one is the I LOVE YOU. I just hope someday I can hear those words.
love of controversy.
some r soooooooooooooo funny but i didn’t understand some…..
Really interesting works of art. SOme of them though, i’m not quite sure what the point is.
Keep it up
La verdad en una forma visual, Quiero ver mas.
He is good!.
Its funny to heard some ignorants comenting, to me seems like a well informed, educated person w lots of knowledge In fact i will dare to say that he can care less about art, recognition seems irrelevant to him, getting the message accross is the point what better way to catch a persons attention (eyesite) that been told like it or hate it. your attention was caught, its now part of u, AND YOU WILL LOOK AT OR TALK ABOUT AGAIN… so whos this banksy? i compare him w bear grills(yeap the crazy ass w the survivor show) is very likeky they share some of those ROYAL FORCES genes
Beautiful, inspiring, and creative. i love grafitti. bringing art onto the streets (: all of you who are saying to paint over it, quit being pretentious. Empty walls are boring anyways.
These naysayers are either trolling or culturally deaf, dumb, and blind. To not recognize the beauty and gravity of Banksy’s work is to be completely ignorant of the cultural problems of Western civilization. “What is the message” you ask? The message is to open your eyes to the filth that is imposed upon us on a daily basis by society and the media.
Ilike the polisceman we the dog lock like real
draw a picture, feed a thought.
funny how people only moan about the grubby unloved, unmaintained canvas that is urban decay when some actually spends some time being creative on it.
this is the best..like to hear more from this artist..
“practicalsy
22 January 2011 at 8:53 PM #
What’s with the last one? Just words and a bent line? Those row homes are valuable.”
What makes them so valuable? They’re just buildings. I would say the message he’s trying to get across is much more valuable.
Keep up the good work Banksy!
Much love.
Lead the way, Kid. We’re with you.
amazing work. truly inspired me to produce more than pretty pictures from now on. there is so much meaning in each piece…truly talented people can say so much with only one picture…but this, he draws! i’m amazed.
PS leave those who hate and don’t waste time trying to defend this work. it speaks far louder than any of them could possibly even begin to understand
Banksy is the new Jimi Hedrix!
wow they are all really good and creative.
REAL MONEY for looking at an ad for 20 secs . Not a bad deal eh? Even more money for referrals…doesn’t even require a credit card…
It adds up nicely and is at least worth taking a look.
http://www.grbux.com/?ref=sup578
Always great to see what Banksy is up to…
I love the “this is where i draw the line”!
wow amazing art!We need more street artist to wake us!
it’s so inspirig…love how it looks so realistic
<3
I want to re-paint my whole house just like this pics
the “this is where i draw the line” one doesn’t just have a bent line below it the line goes on and on all around the area. Next to my name is a picture of the end of the line.
can these be made into t-shirts or prints? or have they already been? i would totally buy them
With the possible exception of the row of townhouses, the places Banksy has chosen to show his work are often ugly, dilapidated and shabby. His graffiti actually lends them a sense of beauty (see the birdcage amongst rubble, a sad yet quietly hopeful and inspiring piece that epitomises the motive behind it all.)
What I’m saying is that it’s not a “defacement” of public property, seeing as the property in question is nothing much to look at anyway.
Very very very very!
goooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD
I love the one where he’s tagged his name and then has the people looking at it, like in a gallery.
And the quote really made me laugh =]
Must go to Hastings sometime to see the Tesco one.
No Stepping On My Tought.. I’ll broadcast my Idea however I Like it..
Awesome!!!!!!!
Banksy isn’t a street artist…. as a street artist, I really wish that people would realize this. Banksy is a contemporary artist, he has permits and permission to paint. He also isn’t very original, his work is essentially buzz words thrown together, and his style is stolen from Blek Le Rat directly (he has even admitted this). I guess my last point would also be that Banksy isn’t really a single artist either, ‘he’ is a collective of artists who all work under one name. So yea… be enlightened.
I would hope this to be Photoshopped. Yet beautiful, vandalism is still a crime.
sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo coooooooooool!
WOW! Simply breathtaking!
Very interesting. I think it is a productive use of space and talent. WONDERFUL!!! This artist is very talented. These spaces already have negativity on the walls, he just added a bright look on things and gave people something bright to look forward to and not violence or profanity, especially in more undermatinenced and ignored inner-city buildings.
The Statue of Liberty seems offensive to me.. but the rest are very well done.
So this is awesome and shows the truth. If you can’t handle the truth then well that’s pretty damn sad. Open your mind and see what’s there. Who gives a shit if it’s vandalism, it has meaning and worth. At least it makes you think. I would love to see these in person. Great job <3
No matter how profound, a statement loses its value once it’s smeared on someone else’s wall. It turns into pure vandalism. Not cool.
this is awesome original skill.
Those who do not like/hate this, have no intellectual capacity for natural art ability
This is really amazing and beautiful.
i love these!!
@Nolan.
Great job. I agree with everything you stated.
I love the messages conveyed by the artwork. If this made certain people sad then you need to get out of your little box and help out. Perhaps then you would understand the message his work is trying to convey instead of those of pity and sadness.
Oh and for those people who keep referring to his work as vandelism…prove it. I guess in your small minds if it isn’t being endorsed by some major corporation or hung in a museum–then it’s vandalism.
Wow!!! I’m in love! Looking at some of the beauty in this artiwork is utterly amazing! I also agree with what you are saying as well. The depth in some of his work is sick!!! My Favorite is “forgive us our tresspassing”. Can I ask, would you mind if I posted that up on http://www.MakeupTalk.com? The community would love it
A lot of people call “tagging” awful, but man, after seeing those pics, how can anyone keep calling it that?
Great posts.
His work is simply amazing, although many may argue the fact based off of their views of right and wrong. Essentially, he’s the voice of the people: a realist artist portraying the dismal times through his “perpetration/destruction of public property.” It may be wrong, but oh, it is so right.
This is an amazing collection of art.
It certainly is not trash, nor is it filth. I think it is an exciting collection. I love how the artist portrays the human figure and emotions.
I enjoyed this as any other art exhibit.
All the best.
Amazing!!!!
shits amazing.