Banksy, the English artist who represents the new frontier of pop art
26/03/2019
One of the few certainties you have about Bansky is that he was born in Bristol; he is the English artist and writer who never ceases to amaze and whose provocations represent the new frontier of the pop art movement, as according to some.
Surprise performances, an almost unknown identity and various legends that were born around the artist make Bansky one of the most fascinating and at the same time most discussed characters of recent times. His first work is The Mild Mild West, made in 1997 in the Stokes Croft district, in Bristol, which depicts a teddy bear throwing a molotov bomb towards 3 policemen who are in riot gear. He owes part of his inspiration to street artist Blek Le Rat.
Moreover, Bansky is also a sculptor and his work "The Drinker" made headlines when it was stolen in a square in London without anyone noticing; it is just one of his interesting and famous sculptures, while disdain for art dealers who rate the works in a way considered by the artist often absurd is still news, as the artist is always active in this field with demonstrations that do not go unnoticed.
One of his most sensational events dates back to 2013, when he decided to sell some of his printed works on the street, at a modest price of 60 dollars, selling them to unsuspecting buyers, who only the next day realized what they had actually bought, when the artist made a video that became viral. These works are currently worth about 20,000 dollars!
In order to maintain his anonymity and not to be grasped, Bansky does not paint directly on the walls as he did when he was not yet famous, but he makes stencils by hand that he posts quickly, so he can complete the work in a very short time.
As for the style used by Bansky, according to what he says, the artistic current to which he belongs is "L'existencilist", a term created by the artist who comes from "existentialism" and the word "stencil", as well as the title of his exhibition considered the most famous, held in Los Angeles.
As you can see, he is a very controversial artist, very emblematic and able to arouse huge curiosity, especially for his unknown identity. There are many hypotheses about who is behind the name Bansky and even the profilers of Queen Mary University in London have tried to give a face to the artist, through a technique called "geographical profiling" and according to what emerged from the investigations, it seems that he is a street artist living in Bristol, named Robin Gunningham.
According to critics, this is the most likely version, but there are other hypotheses, such as that of journalist Craig Williams, who strongly argues that Bansky is actually the frontman of the Massive Attack group. Apparently in this case the journalist came to this conclusion after seeing a clear correlation between the murals that appeared and the places where the band performed.
Article by: Aurora Caraman