James Dean's famous quote: "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."
Graffiti artists could tell more about this surrounded by controversies from having to stay in anonymity, to artwork not being approved by property owners therefore ending up with a short lifespan.
Graffiti has been recognized as public art or street art since the 1970-ies starting in New York. However, in reality a prehistoric man can be just as much considered to be a graffiti artist as the contemp ones or not to mention the ancient Greek and Roman society where political content of such public displays evolved.
Contemp pioneers are Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, while currently Banksy is most heard of. Banksy is an English based political activist with dark sarcasm also known for his distinctive stenciling technique.
He is simply an all-purpose provocateur and global scale changemaker. Although his identity is unknown, his graffities create viral global impact on such topics as world poverty, war, boredom or greed.
For instance, he surprised his home town Zoo, the Bristol Zoo with a graffiti saying "I want to get out. This place is cold. Boring, boring, boring..." displayed inside the Elephants' place. This might seem to be funny at first sight, however it really makes people have a second thought and pulls you right in the middle of a moral hazard to assess what could be done for captured animals.
Banksy as the world's renowned mystery man can be symbolized with one overall message: "change is inevitable".
His most current deed involved an auction, where his sold painting was sent through a shredder. His self-destructing artwork worth of 1million dollar shook the art community and became history. Banksy posted the video on his instagram site saying "Going, going, gone..." post-naming the ruins to "Love is in the bin".
“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”
“There's nothing more dangerous than someone who wants to make the world a better place.”
our favorite quotes by Banksy
article by Mizi
