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Madman or genius? The opinions are endless when talking about Banksy, Britain\u2019s street artist and activist.\nWhether you think his work is art or merely graffiti, Banksy displays his masterpieces publicly on walls, bridges and streets throughout the world.
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\nIn 2010, Banksy successfully made the list of the world\u2019s 100 most influential people, according to Time magazine. His works combine dark humor with social commentary to showcase his distinct graffiti style on city streets.
\nIn order to reduce time, Banksy started using stencils featuring controversial and humorous images and slogans. Many of his works have anti-establishment and anti-war foci.
\n\u201cI realized I had to cut my painting time in half or give it up altogether,\u201d Banksy said in an interview with author Tristan Manco. \u201cAs soon as I cut my first stencil, I could feel the power there. I also like the political edge. All graffiti is low-level dissent, but stencils have an extra history. They\u2019ve been used to start revolutions and to stop wars.\u201d
\nIn an interview with the organization Pest Control, Banksy said there\u2019s a new audience in the world, and art belongs to people now.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t have to go to college, drag \u2019round a portfolio, mail off transparencies to snooty galleries or sleep with someone powerful; all you need now is a few ideas and a broadband connection,\u201d Banksy said. \u201cThis is the first time the essentially bourgeois world of art has belonged to the people. We need to make it count.\u201d
\nAccording to The New Yorker, many people view graffiti as trashy. Denise James, director of Bristol Clean and Green, said many young kids are starting to view Banksy as their hero.
\n\u201cIt annoys me, it frustrates me, because it\u2019s just so ugly. All these little lads look at Banksy the way the youngsters who are into football (soccer) look at Beckham,\u201d James said.
\nMany graffiti artists, according to Banksy, view their artwork as cave paintings.
\n\u201cImagine a city where graffiti wasn\u2019t illegal, a city where everybody could draw wherever they liked,\u201d Banksy said. \u201cWhere the street was awash with a million colors and little phrases . . . A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business.\u201d
\nIn an interview with Lauren Collins, writer for The New Yorker, Banksy said he thought it was easier when he was an underdog.
\n\u201cI originally set out to try and save the world, but now I\u2019m not sure I like it enough,\u201d he said.
\nBanksy said to Collins that he has been called a sellout, but also gives away free paintings constantly.
\n\u201cThe money that my work fetches these days makes me a bit uncomfortable, but that\u2019s an easy problem to solve\u2014you just stop whingeing and give it all away,\u201d Banksy said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s possible to make art about world poverty and then trouser all the cash, that\u2019s an irony too far, even for me.\u201d
\nBanksy has maintained anonymity, but he said it has its limitations.
\n\u201cMaintaining anonymity can be kind of crippling,\u201d he said.
\nMarc Schiller, a street art blogger believes Banksy has redefined the definition of art.
\n\u201cWe now see Banksy as the single greatest thing that has happened not only to the street\/urban art movement,\u201d Schiller said. \u201cMost people need entry points to become comfortable with things that are new. And for millions of people, Banksy is the entry point they need in not only seeing art in a new way, but in accepting art as a part of their daily lives. Like Andy Warhol before him, Banksy has almost single-handedly redefined what art is to a lot of people, who probably never felt they appreciated art before.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"