Follow Me on Pinterest

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Artist of the Week - Banksy

Graffiti can be a controversial subject. Before I went to Rome this summer, people told me how ugly it was because of all of the graffiti there is in the city - well, there were some sections of Rome that DID have a lot of graffiti. Certainly the largest issue is that of personal property...would YOU want someone painting stuff on something you paid for and owned? Probably not. But it can't be denied that it is an art form that lives on and is very dynamic.
Banksy is a British artist that takes graffiti to a new level...check out his website. What makes his art so interesting to me is the juxtaposition of imagery with political ideas. This image shows two young children with traditional beach toys, yet the trees seem to have been blown over by some terrible storm. The additional contrast of color with grey tones adds to the tension in his image. Fascinating guy.....oh, and he pulls some pretty funny art pranks you can see on his site....check out the video links!

8 comments:

draganakills said...

Cooool. It's like a window into paradise....And they're about to go from this grey, drab world into it with color and life. It almost looks as if the peices were cut and pasted onto the wall....Do they ever take it down? Or do they just leave it up?

Katherine Ward, 1st period

Anonymous said...

I think it is good to draw political art because it is a nice way to express your opinion on political issues, but I don't agree with putting graffiti on public property even if it is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed this piece, as it appeared as though the children were painting the beutiful scene before your eyes on the wall that was before drab and dull. The outside of the graffitti is monochromatic, but the graffitti is like a window into a better world- probobly showing a political statement. It's a cool piece. I greatly enjoy the window from monochromatic to color.

Anonymous said...

I like the window from monochromatic to rich colors formed by the graffiti. The artist appears to be stating that graffiti is like such a window, transforming a dull, gray wall into a beutiful work of art. This piece can help people see that while graffiti is looked down upon by many people, it is an art form, and can also be beutiful.

Anonymous said...

I like this art piece alot. It looks very very animated to me for some reason. The black cracked lines around the little "paradise" area really highlights the focal point of the piece. I like the contrast that seems to give it some energy. This piece once agin reminds me that anything can be art! :)

Anonymous said...

I think this picture is very interesting. It has a lot of color and vibrance. I enjoy looking at these types of paintings. Could you post more up like this?

Rachel Z, 2nd period

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy the displayof balance between the colors shown here. She looks like someone who is now releasing what she had held back a long time ago.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE this. I've actually drawn something similar. It's nice that someone can take something almost depressing looking and bring their paradise to them. You can look at it and really feel like you're looking at where anyone would be happy to be. It's a neat perspective.