Graffiti artists want their work to be seen by as many as possible, and yet the artist stays as anonymous as possible - on Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonym for Bristol’s legendary street artist, famous for his stunts of shredding his masterpiece ‘Girl with Balloon’ at Sotheby's after the gavel went down.
Eventually this piece was named Love in the Bin and became his most expensive art. He also silently (illegally) placed many art pieces in famous galleries worldwide without being caught.
His work often includes stenciled graffiti, installations, and prints. His art addresses issues like war, consumerism, and inequality, and is seen globally. Despite his anonymity, Banksy remains one of the most influential contemporary artists.
Banksy rose to fame in the 90’s when the country's social inequality was on the rise (similar to the US during the collapse of rust belt cities).
In the UK, the right wing party is known as the Conservative Party (Tories), focusing on free-market policies and traditional values. The Labour Party is left-wing - focusing on social justice and public ownership. There are many political ideologies but these 2 are the most prominent ones. At present, Keir Starmer from the labour party is the Prime Minister replacing Rishi Sunak from the conservative party .
From 1945 to 1979, the UK was mainly governed by the left-wing Labour Party. Churchill was conservative but had a short reign. This period was peak nationalization of the big industries - steel and other manufacturing, the creation of a free public health system NHS, and expansion of the welfare state.
But from the 60s the budget was exploding and the UK started facing high inflation, unemployment, and industrial unrest (unions on strike), with a decline in traditional industries due to global competition and struggles with budget and public spending.
That’s when right-wing, conservative party Margaret Thatcher came on board in 1979. She was big on neoliberal reforms : deregulation, privatization, globalisation, trade union restrictions, and tax cuts.
"Neoliberalism" means differently in the US and Europe. Typically neoliberalism supports free markets, deregulation, and less government spending, and is often tied to the right-wing. In the US however it is center-right economically and center-left socially.
The term liberals also mean different things in the US and the UK. In the US, liberals are left-wing with a focus on social equality. In Europe, liberalism is tied to center-right focusing on individual freedoms and free markets.
But similar to the US, the major capitalism and right wing movement in the 80’s and 90s led to high unemployment and social unrest. In the mid-1980s, the economy began to recover but it started benefiting the South East (London, Oxford, Milton Keynes) and created high wealth disparity for the poorer northern areas.
Till today, the northern UK are not a fan of Thatcher, but the Southern UK are indifferent.
This is the opposite of the US as the states impacted by right wing policies became a fan of it, and the states benefiting from capitalism are taking on a socialist approach.
Margaret Thatcher left in 1990, but by then there was rising unemployment, particularly in places like Bristol, which became worse because of job outsourcing and globalization, leading to social discontent. And people like Banksy were not afraid to express it. He started his work through graffiti.
Graffiti emerged as part of the broader street art movement particularly from New York City and became popular globally as a way of creating political awareness, especially in areas experiencing economic decline and social unrest.
I love the artistic part but I’m also wary of the importance of private properties and signboards remaining intact. These days, places are allocated for people to express their wall arts but back then, they had to sneak in and risk getting caught.
As graffiti created more awareness in people, naturally it became outlawed in many places.
There was a time in NY where spray cans were prohibited from being sold to minors. The UK went on to arrest many graffiti artists and dissent expressions.
Till today, Banksy remains free and never charged, as he is nym. Nobody really knows who he is, or if he is one person or a group of people.
But many of Banksy’s wall art are seen globally, in recent times in war-torn areas. At first it seems sweet and pretty but when you take a closer and longer look, man it hits hard.
I really love how these groups of artists, especially Banksy, were not afraid to show the public what was obviously a problem with oppression, in an artistic way.
Would be nice if Banksy was part of Bitcoin and Nostr. Till then, here’s a nice documentary on Banksy’s work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAQSRglsD1A&t=835s
pam
npub1pv…kdx8c
2024-07-21 10:30:55
Author Public Key
npub1pvgcusxk7006hvtlyx555erhq8c5pk9svw57snlxujpkgnkup89sekdx8cPublished at
2024-07-21 10:30:55Event JSON
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"content": "Graffiti artists want their work to be seen by as many as possible, and yet the artist stays as anonymous as possible - on Banksy \n\nBanksy is a pseudonym for Bristol’s legendary street artist, famous for his stunts of shredding his masterpiece ‘Girl with Balloon’ at Sotheby's after the gavel went down.\n\nEventually this piece was named Love in the Bin and became his most expensive art. He also silently (illegally) placed many art pieces in famous galleries worldwide without being caught. \n\nHis work often includes stenciled graffiti, installations, and prints. His art addresses issues like war, consumerism, and inequality, and is seen globally. Despite his anonymity, Banksy remains one of the most influential contemporary artists.\n\nBanksy rose to fame in the 90’s when the country's social inequality was on the rise (similar to the US during the collapse of rust belt cities). \n\nIn the UK, the right wing party is known as the Conservative Party (Tories), focusing on free-market policies and traditional values. The Labour Party is left-wing - focusing on social justice and public ownership. There are many political ideologies but these 2 are the most prominent ones. At present, Keir Starmer from the labour party is the Prime Minister replacing Rishi Sunak from the conservative party .\n\nFrom 1945 to 1979, the UK was mainly governed by the left-wing Labour Party. Churchill was conservative but had a short reign. This period was peak nationalization of the big industries - steel and other manufacturing, the creation of a free public health system NHS, and expansion of the welfare state. \n\nBut from the 60s the budget was exploding and the UK started facing high inflation, unemployment, and industrial unrest (unions on strike), with a decline in traditional industries due to global competition and struggles with budget and public spending.\n\nThat’s when right-wing, conservative party Margaret Thatcher came on board in 1979. She was big on neoliberal reforms : deregulation, privatization, globalisation, trade union restrictions, and tax cuts. \n\n\"Neoliberalism\" means differently in the US and Europe. Typically neoliberalism supports free markets, deregulation, and less government spending, and is often tied to the right-wing. In the US however it is center-right economically and center-left socially. \n\nThe term liberals also mean different things in the US and the UK. In the US, liberals are left-wing with a focus on social equality. In Europe, liberalism is tied to center-right focusing on individual freedoms and free markets.\n\nBut similar to the US, the major capitalism and right wing movement in the 80’s and 90s led to high unemployment and social unrest. In the mid-1980s, the economy began to recover but it started benefiting the South East (London, Oxford, Milton Keynes) and created high wealth disparity for the poorer northern areas. \n\nTill today, the northern UK are not a fan of Thatcher, but the Southern UK are indifferent. \n\nThis is the opposite of the US as the states impacted by right wing policies became a fan of it, and the states benefiting from capitalism are taking on a socialist approach. \n\nMargaret Thatcher left in 1990, but by then there was rising unemployment, particularly in places like Bristol, which became worse because of job outsourcing and globalization, leading to social discontent. And people like Banksy were not afraid to express it. He started his work through graffiti. \n\nGraffiti emerged as part of the broader street art movement particularly from New York City and became popular globally as a way of creating political awareness, especially in areas experiencing economic decline and social unrest. \n\nI love the artistic part but I’m also wary of the importance of private properties and signboards remaining intact. These days, places are allocated for people to express their wall arts but back then, they had to sneak in and risk getting caught. \n\nAs graffiti created more awareness in people, naturally it became outlawed in many places. \n\nThere was a time in NY where spray cans were prohibited from being sold to minors. The UK went on to arrest many graffiti artists and dissent expressions. \n\nTill today, Banksy remains free and never charged, as he is nym. Nobody really knows who he is, or if he is one person or a group of people. \n\nBut many of Banksy’s wall art are seen globally, in recent times in war-torn areas. At first it seems sweet and pretty but when you take a closer and longer look, man it hits hard. \n\nI really love how these groups of artists, especially Banksy, were not afraid to show the public what was obviously a problem with oppression, in an artistic way. \n\nWould be nice if Banksy was part of Bitcoin and Nostr. Till then, here’s a nice documentary on Banksy’s work. \n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAQSRglsD1A\u0026t=835s",
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