Who is Banksy? Well, that is exactly what the entire public has been wondering for the last 20 years. Banksy is an internationally-recognized, England-based street artist, public activist, environmentalist, and film director whose anti-authoritarian art has made him the subject of speculation in street art, politics, and social media. His alias allows his real name and identity to remain anonymous, therefore drawing more attention and hype to his greatly treasured street art. His artwork often proclaims his dissatisfaction with government corruption and satirically critiques war, capitalism, hypocrisy, and greed, which strongly portray his qualification as a public intellectual. Although Banksy does not provide the solutions to these problems, he uses street art as a medium to raise awareness of these issues, which in return allows people to cite his work, emphasis his message, and influence others to take action. The influence and power that Banksy holds through his art are what define him as a modern-day public intellectual.
Banksy is believed to have been born in Bristol, England around 1974. His fame began to grow in the late 1990s for his provocative graffiti art pieces. His work is often done publicly on high street walls and in easily visible areas. Despite the dollar value of his street art, it was performed illegally, therefore, making all his pieces acts of vandalism and making him a wanted man by authorities. The release of his 2010 documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, led him to become one of the main topics when discussing the subject of street art. Although his identity remains unknown, there exist a few different theories on who the notorious street artist may be. One of the more believable theories suggested is Robin Gunningham, an artist that was born in Bristol in 1973. In the year 2000, Gunningham moved to London, which so happens to align with the timeline describing the sightings and progression of Banksy’s artwork. The second name suggested is the frontman of the band Massive Attack, Robert Del Naja. In 2010 rumors began that murals of Banksy’s artwork were popping up around North America in locations that aligned with the band’s tour schedule. When interviewed, both people claimed to be a friend of Banksy but flatly declined to the be artist himself (Artnet). To this day, Banksy’s identity remains unknown.
The street artist's anonymity is what has allowed him to reach the level of success that he has today. The simple truth is that his artwork was done illegally, making him an easy target for arrest and/or fines. Concealing his identity is what permits Banksy to roam around the streets and continue to carry out new art containing depth and meaning. Furthermore, street art is often criminalized as vandalism and correlated with lower social-class behavior, making it frowned upon by many in society. However, Banksy not only appreciates street art but also understands that by displaying his art on the streets as opposed to in an art gallery, it will reach a larger demographic, therefore contributing to the value and purpose of his work–to raise awareness of global issues that need to be addressed for a better quality of life. Banksy’s public art sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars and he does not receive a single penny for it. He has no financial need to create art, much less illegal, politically controversial, and highly criticized art. The only rational reason Banksy continues this disparaging path is to embody the image of a modern-day public intellectual. When asked by Lauren Collins from The New Yorker in an email interview, “Why do you do what you do?,” Banksy replied, “I originally set out to save the world, but now I'm not sure I like it enough” (The New Yorker).
A public intellectual is often depicted to be a well-known, intelligent, learned individual who has publicized written works recognized by academic audiences and many members of society, such as a historian, scientist, or writer. Although this is true, there is another perspective on the qualifications and purpose of a modern-day public intellectual. As described in Stephen Mack’s essay The “decline” of the public intellectual, the purpose of the public intellectual is ultimately to criticize and “keep the pot boiling” (Mack). This is precisely what Banksy does through his street art but is mauled by authorities for the medium he uses, illegal street art, to portray his messages. The modern world does not face a decline in public intellectuals but rather a transition to different methods utilized when performing this intellectuality. That’s not to say traditional public intellectuals do not exist today, but instead, methods such as music and art are becoming more popular to use due to their effectiveness and creative approach. Using street art as a medium allows Banksy to cleverly deliver a message much quicker and with little to no words. Photographs of his pieces are rapidly snapped and posted on various social media platforms going viral within minutes and reaching audiences from all over the world.
In 2018 a Banksy original appeared on a garage in Port Talbot, South Wales, which addressed the issue of pollution and the British steel industry. On one side of the garage, a dumpster appears to be on fire and polluting the air. On the other side of the garage, a child is shown playing under the ash, in which he believes to be snow, and trying to catch snowflakes with his tung. A common theme in Banksy’s art is the use of children to symbolize the future and create severity to the issue and to the generation that it is also affecting. As an environmentalist, Banksy’s objective of the art piece was to raise awareness of pollution and protest pollution from the local steelworks in that town.
Another common theme in Banksy’s art is calling out oppressive forces. One of his more popular artworks was painted in San Francisco in 2010 following the video leak of a US airstrike attack that allegedly killed an innocent journalist and 11 more. The piece shows a child wearing a gas mask and written in big red letters “If at first you don’t succeed – call an airstrike”. The purpose of this piece is to critique war but more specifically a poignant statement that America is perceived by the rest of the world as a pro-airstrike country. The size of the art piece and the text color choice makes this piece difficult to ignore. Banksy wanted to send a message not only to America but to the whole world about avoiding war and especially extreme measures, such as airstrikes when trying to accomplish a goal or settle a dispute. Those instances where countries with more military power target weaker ones have only led to an exaggerated number of causalities, in which innocent children, families, civilians, and even animals have been injured or killed. Not to mention the destruction of property that this causes and the hardships it will create for underdeveloped locations. This piece, along with many of his others, raises awareness of his disapproval of war and fighting violence with violence.
One of his most iconic art pieces Rage, the flower thrower also known as Love is in the Air was created in 2005 in Bethlehem following a gay pride staged in Jerusalem where the participants were ambushed by protesters, killing three and injuring many more. The piece shows a man who appears to be a protestor/rioter with a bandana around his face and a backward cap aiming a bouquet of flowers at someone with an expression of rage on his face. The bandana and cap are utilized to conceal his identity, the same way protestors do, and the bouquet of flowers substitute what would be assumed to be a rock or Molotov cocktail. The black and white piece only contains the vivid color in the bouquet of flowers, which is a visual metaphor for the gay pride flag. In addition, the flowers themselves signify love and hope for peaceful resolution of conflict as well as a commemoration of the loss of a loved one.
The significance of this mural is Banksy’s approval of protesting and acting against an unfair government and resisting oppression but in ways that do not promote violence. He does not want society to fight violence with violence but rather have more peaceful and constructive approaches to effectively have their voices heard by not only their oppressor but also the rest of the world. Contributing to destruction and risking arrest is not the proper way to create positive change in the world and is rather ironic. This piece highlights the qualities of a public intellectual in Banksy by offering encouraging advice on a significant issue while raising awareness on the proper way to go about addressing the issue.
Banksy’s continued critique of social injustices across the globe is what defines him as a public intellectual. Some may get caught up in the qualifications and background of an individual when deciding his/her classification as a public intellectual. However, as stated in Stephen Mack's essay, “…our notions of the public intellectual need to focus less on who or what a public intellectual is—and by extension, the qualifications for getting and keeping the title. Instead, we need to be more concerned with the work public intellectuals must do, irrespective of who happens to be doing it” (Mack). Although “Who is Banksy?” is a question we would all love to know the answer to, society should instead appreciate his anonymous identity because it shows he is more focused on getting his message across to the public rather than developing fame. Today’s modern public intellectual is not someone who necessarily needs to come from a formal educational background or have written works filled with prophetic beliefs but is rather someone who cares about the betterment of society and spreading awareness about matters that affect humanity. Banksy’s art continues to carry out educational value to the public by challenging our views, perceptions, and beliefs and has managed to revolutionize the way other public intellectuals showcase their opinions. His artwork provides crucial and influential messages to the world that surrounds us with such little words. Using visual art as a medium makes it feasible for his audience to depict his messages, his paintings speak 1000 words to this generation and will continue to do so across the world in the years to come. Banksy’s choice to use street art as a political weapon is what classifies him as one of the most creative and influential public intellectuals alive today.
Works Cited:
“Banksy.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 15 June 2020, https://www.biography.com/artist/banksy.
Collins, Lauren. “Banksy Was Here.” The New Yorker, 7 May 2007, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/05/14/banksy-was-here.
Elgueta, Adriana. “Is Robin Gunningham Banksy?” The Sun, The Sun, 14 Aug. 2021, https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/uknews/15867928/is-robin-gunningham-banksy/.
Mack, Stephen. “The ‘Decline’ of the Public Intellectual.” The New Democratic Review: August 2015 Archives, 15 Aug. 2015, http://www.stephenmack.com/blog/archives/2015/08/index.html.
Publicdelivery. “Banksy's Rage, the Flower Thrower - Everything You Need To Know.” Public Delivery, 3 July 2022, https://publicdelivery.org/banksy-flower-thrower/.
Shaw, Anny. “Fate of Banksy in Welsh Town Port Talbot Hangs in the Balance.” The Art Newspaper - International Art News and Events, The Art Newspaper - International Art News and Events, 8 Feb. 2022, https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/02/08/where-now-for-the-port-talbot-banksy.
White, Katie. “7 People Our Investigations Have Determined Are Not Banksy despite the Circumstantial Evidence to the Contrary.” Artnet News, 26 May 2022, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/people-who-are-definitely-not-banksy-probably-1927887#:~:text=Defense%3A%20While%20Del%20Naja%20calls,story%20but%20sadly%20not%20true.