Are you looking for a unique item to give as a gift? Do you like to find the unusual and display it in your home? If either situation describes you, consider purchasing the work of Banksy. This famous street artist gives a new perspective to graffiti and you can now purchase his work on t-shirts and mugs as well as the much sought after banksy canvas. Banksy is the pseudonym for a British political activist and painter. Little is known about his background though and many think this makes him all the more attractive.
Born in 1974 or 1975 in Bristol, England, no one knows the name he was given at birth. He started out in the Bristol Underground scene which is famous for collaboration between musicians and artists. Banksy trained to be a butcher, but got swept up into the world of graffiti art back in the late 1980s when Bristol had an aerosol boom. Some compare his work to that of Blek le Rat, a French artist, who worked with stencils in the early 1980s. Others say a Banksy canvas is more along the lines of the anarcho-punk bank Crass. Crass operated a graffiti campaign during the late 1970s/early 1980s in the London Tube system.
Banksy has on numerous occasions shown contempt for government. In his eyes, the only reason the government does not respect this art form is because it does not profit from it. He has been know to use walls for his masterpieces and has even built some physical prop pieces. Although Banksy doesn’t sell prints of his street graffiti, others, such as art auctioneers, have tried to sell his street art. They leave the winning bidder to figure out how to get the work removed to the new location. For this reason, a Banksy canvas is the preferred choice of many. Mugs and t-shirts featuring his work are also popular.
Banksy has now decided to branch out into other forms of media. In 2010, at the Sundance Film Festival, his first film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, made its debut. This was advertised as “the world’s first street art disaster movie” and premiered in the UK on March 5th. If you are looking for artwork that utilizes the graffiti theme, look no further than Banksy. You’ll appreciate what you see.
