Today we will also start with a picture.
I said Banksy you may not be impressed, but this graffiti work I'm sure you've seen.
In 2010, Time Magazine selected the world's 100 most influential people, and Banksy was successfully selected. In this list, there are many influential figures in the public, such as US President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Microsoft President Bill Gates, and well-known artist Lady Gaga. At that time, for publicity, Time Magazine also asked Banksy for a photo. But Banksy, in keeping with his usual style, only gave such a "face-revealing photo".
Why does Bankesy have such a high rating and influence? Why has he always been wanted for peace and never shown his true face?
Today we're going to talk about the "art terrorist" Bankers.
Graffiti = art? Or is it a crime?
In the earliest days, Banksy was mainly composing graffiti on the streets.
Due to our cultural background and urban management and many other reasons, graffiti has always had little influence in our country. Even there are very few people engaged in graffiti creation, most of them in specific neighborhoods or public places.
In fact, graffiti was not initially treated as an art. More aptly, more like a disruption.
Banksy was also the first to laugh at himself for being a "graffiti artist" like a rat in the city. Walk through all corners of the city and do your own activities when everyone is not paying attention. Across the UK, Banksy has left behind a large number of "rat" graffiti works.
But Banksy doesn't just want to express his ideas through "rats", after all, graffiti is only a means, and ideas are the content of Banksy's art.
This of Banksy's work in Jerusalem shows a "thug" preparing to throw out his "weapon." But his weapon was not an incendiary bomb or a grenade, but a bouquet of brightly colored flowers. This is also the satirical art that is unique to Banksy.
In front of the barbed wire and high cement wall, two children pretend to play on the beach in front of the hole stealing the only sea view. One world, different destinies. But the innocence of children and the pursuit of beautiful things are more moving than any picture exhibited in a museum.
Performance artist
Banksy praises more than just the highly ironic graffiti that preach love and peace. And then there's the performance art that's applauding.
Let's talk about the graffiti work "Balloon Girl" created in front of a store in 2006. At sotheby's auction in October 2018, the work was successfully auctioned by an anonymous European female buyer for 1.04 million pounds (about 9.16 million yuan).
But something unexpected happened. At the moment of the transaction, the shredder hidden in the frame immediately sucked the work in and began to crush. Just when everyone was surprised and thought that the work was about to be destroyed, the shredder stopped. The girl in the painting has been torn to pieces, and only the gently flying red heart balloon remains in the frame.
This is Bankersy's performance art. Girls are reality, balloons are wishes. Later, Banksy put it this way on Instagram:
Some people think it's not really chopped. It was indeed chopped.
This "smashing" undoubtedly adds a more realistic meaning to this work that already has a profound meaning in itself. Sotheby's also commented that this is the ultimate art of Banksy and a true hallmark of modern art history.
Counterfeit banknotes? Or art?
If you want to ask about a performance art that can be compared with this "smashing" work, of course, it is the "money throwing" operation in 2004.
Every year on the last weekend of August, street culture artists from all over the world gather in Notting Hill in London's West End. Because this is the largest street arts festival in Europe, the Notting Hill Carnival.
At the Notting Hill Carnival in 2004, someone threw a lot of £10 notes into the crowd. This caused a commotion in the crowd, and even caused a lot of money grabs.
Afterwards, someone used the bills to go to nearby bars and shops to spend. That's when people found out that the money was fake.
The original head of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was replaced by Princess Diana. The issuing bank on the banknotes was also changed from the Bank of England to the "Banksy of England".
Needless to say, this song jiang-titled anti-poetic behavior tells everyone that this coin-throwing act is also The performance art of Banksy.
This kind of behavior can definitely be said to challenge the government's bottom line, so the whole of The United Kingdom began to look for the never-before-seen Bankersie. The name of the "art terrorist" was also brought up from this time.
Even more ironically, Banksy's counterfeit bills have appreciated in value. A counterfeit £10 bill was actually hyped up to £200. This is the first person in the world to make counterfeit money into "real money".
What do you think of Banksy?
Who the hell is Bankersee?
This question is still unknown. Only a handful of Banksy's people around them know who the "artist" who has turned the world's contemporary art upside down is.
Banker's artistic spirit is to break the mold. Use what we're used to to express some deep meaning.
Some people call Banksy the "People's Artist" because he's always focused on people who are easily overlooked. He is willing to shout for the marginalized crowd, and the humor and irony in the work are clear at a glance.
In the eyes of city managers, Banksy was a "terrorist." Because of the sick, dark side of the city, it is the best canvas for Banksy.
Banksy, you can like him or you can hate him, but it's hard to ignore him, and that's probably his biggest influence.