[ ! ] Street Art [ ! ]

Andy Warhol has a quote that reads "Art is what you can get away with." This quote got my interest in graffiti started. Graffiti as a whole is looked down upon because it seems to be nothing but slander and fowl remarks that are left on the sides of buildings, on billboards, on street corners or sometimes in restaurant bathrooms. But it is because the modern day graffiti artist used vandalism as their style.

As my research on graffiti continued, I was introduced to a man that goes by the pseudonymous name Banksy. He was nothing I had ever experienced, he used a combination of cardboard cut outs as stencils and organized them in a way that all he had to do was fill in the blanks with the right color to create a scene. He is also a very satiric artist who is very irreverent in his humor. He remained unknown to any interviewer and even stayed anonymous through out his documentary Exit through the Gift Shop. In 2004 a leak come out that is still questionable on his identity.

He does his art for the statement it carries, he does not sell any of his art for profit, and remains anonymous to keep away from media attention because that isn't what he creates for. He creates all types of media pieces that are anti-war, anti-capitalism, anti-fascism, anti- imperialism, anti-authoritarianism, anarchism and existentialism.

His work is seen all over the world, but he did a lot of his main work on his hometown in
London. The picture below is a piece that he created using his technique. The piece was done on the Israeli West Bank Barrier and was named Near Bethlehem.

His work continued through out America and London and he is world wide known for serious

vandalism charges. The picture to the right talks about Closed Circuit Television (surveillance, and noticed the camera right next to the spot he created this.)

He taught me that graffiti can go further then just vandalism; it can actually have meaning. And though I haven't illegally done graffiti, I do practice in free time, creating characters and scenes that now use more then just crude language and toilet bowl pictures.