How Artwork Creates Change

Tessa Miller

Ms. Hartholt

ENG3U

January 15, 2014

Banksy Controls The Streets:

How Banksy’s Artwork Creates Change

“Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint” this quote is by Banksy a famous street artists whose politically themed street art carries a very strong message. His artwork depicts war, capitalism, hypocrisy, and greed and to some, these are controversial topics which should not be painted on the walls of big cities, including New York. His artwork reveals that there is nothing more threatening to some people than someone who is trying to create change, through the use of art.

Banksy provides a unique way to get his messages across. He uses the walls of buildings as his canvas to show off his art to the city.  He uses this image to show greed and poverty within cities. In the image below there is a homeless man holding up a sign that says “Keep your coins. I want change”. This statement reveals not only poverty but greed. As you can see in the image the face of the homeless has very little detail and shadows covering most of his body and parts of his face. The shadows and lack of detail are used to show that this homeless man can be anyone, people you see in everyday life, but never notice. He directs peoples attention to the middleground by using his powerful statement. The statement reveals how the homeless man does not want other peoples money because that will not change his life. Instead he asks for real change, change within the world. Using a homeless man in this image to show poverty demonstrates the lack of support that is given to people in their own community. As you can see in this picture Banksy is trying to create change through the use of street art.

As you can see in the first image, Banksy’s artwork is not harmful in anyway, yet some people find it threatening. One of Banksy’s first artworks he painted in New York was painted over within a day.  This image shows two boys, one standing on the others back, to reach a street sign that states “Grafitti Is A Crime”. The in the picture although the boys takes up most of the artwork, they are not the main message in the image. Similar to the first image shown, these two boys are painted in black and white and have very little facial detail. But you are able to tell that the boys in the image are young because of the height. The main focus in the image is the little boy standing on top of the other boys back, who is grabbing a spraycan bottle out of the street sign. The sign clearly states that graffiti is a crime, yet the boy is still reaching and grabbing it. The reason for this is to show the negative side of not allowing graffiti by taking away a young childs right to express them self. Less than a day later this image was painted over because someone felt threatened by the powerful message it conveys. The This image although it is harmless and does no damage, threatens people which cause them to paint over it.

One of the more shocking images Banksy shows a young boy holding a gun. This image shows how children are impacted by war in a negative way. Banksy uses colour, and negative connotation to reveal how powerful artwork can be to try to create change. In the image the first thing you will notice is a young boy holding a machine gun. Banksy uses a young boy to criticize the government for making young children involved in war. In the foreground are brightly coloured pieces of artwork that a young child would have drawn. But as you move to the middleground in the picture the colours fade to black and white and the boy who drew the happy sun in the corner has a serious face. When you take a closer look you will notice that the gun is not filled with bullets, but loaded with colourful markers, things young children should be playing with rather than guns and bullets. The negative connotation is used to show how war creates greed between other countries, by using a young boy in the image. And how countries sacrifice children and force them into situations they should not have to be in. Banksy creates this image in hopes of change with war and how it affects children in a negative way.                              

Finally, another famous painting of his that had been painted over shows two young kids playing with a sign that reads “No Ball Games” demonstrates how the lack of activities modern kids are allowed to do now a days. As all when previous pictures have shown before, the people are in black and white and the sign is in colour. This image shows a negative connotation using the sign as a symbol. The sign represents the loss of childhood play within the streets. This leads to the explanation of the lack of colour. The dullness within the children themselves represents the lack of creativity between them, and how they break the rules to have fun. Also the way the children are positioned in the picture shows they are waiting for the sign to come down into either one of their arms. This reveals that since it is up in the air, in the middle of both of them, it is a loss cause and they are waiting for something that might not happen. This image was painted over by someone who was threatened by the message Banksy is sending.

As you can see in all the previous pictures Banksy provides a strong message in each of his paintings. And a lot of his artwork gets painted over by some because they feel threatened that he is trying to create change through artwork.

Works Cited

Banksy. Boy And Gun. Digital image. Laweekly. N.p., n.d. Web.

Banksy. Digital image. Banksy-graffito. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

Banksy. Graffiti Is A Crime. Digital image. Banks-new-york. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

Banksy. I Want Change. Digital image. Redirecting. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

Banksy. No Ball Games. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.