Banksy is known worldwide for being an elusive, thought-provoking graffiti artist whose work is “anti-establishment” and critiques the ails of modern society. His work has sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars since the early 2000s, and can be recognized by nearly everyone. Personally, I don’t believe he should be hailed as a creative genius; I think his work skirts past deeper analysis of important political and social issues by touching on them with edgy, quirky, and superficial images that appropriate pop culture and add nothing of significance. Brutally put, I think his work is mediocre and he’s a sellout.
The artist, whose real persona has never been quite identified, claims to be counter culture and rail against capitalism, consumerism, and the downfall of society. I won’t talk about how his artwork visually isn’t that impressive, but that the nature of his popularity contradicts his whole ideology. A Reddit user in Auckland detailed their underwhelming experience at a Bansky exhibition, saying that besides the rather repetitive work, the exhibition was sponsored by a number of large corporations, entailed a $35 entrance fee, and ended through the gift shop, essentially going against every anti-capitalist, satirical theme that Banksy’s work is supposed to address.
For example, his 2015 project Dismaland is supposed to be a decrepit, depressing version of Disneyland, featuring distorted sculptures and grimy floors. Instead, it’s just sad in general, and doesn’t say anything new. He also sold some of the pieces in an auction, where the BBC reports that the collection garnered almost $15,000. Moreover, he broke headlines when his Girl With Balloon painting shredded itself after being sold, but could now be worth even more to art collectors. Sure it was amusing for a second, but is it really significant?
Clearly the fame has gotten to Banksy’s head, and his work is outdated. That’s not to say that none of his work has value, as some of it is actually interesting and thoughtful. But I’m not sure how long he’ll stay relevant…
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4 Comments on "Opinion: Bansky Sucks"
He’s just such a one-trick pony, he’s like Shyamalan with his obligatory plot twists. And they all seem to rely on dad-joke level visual puns; they’re not really that clever, more something that makes you go “Oh yeah, I see what he did there, heh heh.” You’re not likely to have some profound artistic epiphany looking at one of his boring stencils. The main thing that bothers me about him though is that street art has been around (in its modern form) for decades, pioneered largely by American artists of color, many of them far more talented than Banksy. And yet, just as with certain Black American music, it somehow isn’t capital-A Art until some middle-class white British dude starts producing it and selling pieces for a fortune.
I aggree because he is very bad and popular and nmy teacher no no likes him
there’s no way to go back to the 80s when the subculture was based on art instead of marketing it to the hilt. Thanks 90s
agreed. banksy is bringing establishment into an inherently anti-establishment art form. he is trying to turn graff into some corporate thing like other art. real writers dont like him. toy