BANSKY versus British Cultural Studies

(Banksy as Text Project)

Banksy portrays London pop culture. The artist portrays British pop culture. This pseudo-anonymous street artist has managed to gain an international reputation for his satirical graffiti and stencils often illustrating politics, culture and ethics.

Graffiti is not a new form of art by any means; it has dated back to ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Although then, graffiti was not considered to be “art” as much as it was seen as vandalism. Defacing property that is not ones own is punishable by law. Because it is against the law, the act of graffiti becomes an underground art form. It has been introduced into modern pop culture by alternative sub-cultures that remain hidden from the general public (hip hop and break dancing for example). Most commonly graffiti is viewed as illegal, antagonistic and destructive.

The elusive Bansky has managed to turn a subversive art form that is commonly regarded as destructive and rebellious into a piece of modern pop culture that has become highly appreciated by many (including the government that normally condones such anarchistic behavior). One could argue that Banksy the artist is a revolutionary. His mastery of the stencil and spray can has made him a highly sought artist. Most recently, an example of his popularity in modern culture is his exhibit in the Bristol Museum. This exhibit illustrates that the conventional view of graffiti and subversive art is rapidly becoming accepted in modern society. Banksy has managed to become respected and protected by the authorities that would once punish and destroy his art. His cultural popularity is disrupting traditional views of graffiti and is ultimately legitimatizing this as a form of art.

BANSKY versus Bristol Museum is the first exhibition of his to be shown in a three story Edwardian museum. His ingenious exhibit fuses pop culture with politics. This combination turns provocative graffiti into dramatic visionary art. His work challenges society by graphically mocking pop culture. This exhibit is introducing pop art to an audience they may not normally go to a gallery which in itself is an amazing accomplishment for an underground artist and modern art. His art is now an event.
Discussing Bansky from a theoretical approach in modern British pop culture brings up the idea of semiotics, ideology, structuralism and signification. His art form relies most importantly on signs. “Like the trademark of Coca-Cola is a sign”, his graffiti is a sign. Banksy himself has created two significant trademarks he uses constantly. The sign of a rat and the “BANKSY” stencil he uses as a signature. In Turners text, he states, “to be a sign it must have a physical form, it must refer to something other than itself.” And this is what Banksy creatively accomplishes. Most of his “signs” refer to world politics and pop culture. For instance, one of my favorite Bansky graffiti is an image of a “terrorist” throwing a bouquet of flowers instead of the expected grenade. Ideology is significant to his street art. Ideology represents the values and ideas of a particular culture. It consists of the images, concepts and premises that provide the frameworks through which we represent, interpret, and understand and “make sense” of our social existence. Banksy effectively displays modern pop culture faults and absurdity. For example, in his Bristol exhibit he has a mechanical rabbit filing its nails in front of a mirror that has false idols such as Britney Spears and Paris Hilton taped around it.