Who Is Banksy?

It was recently reported that graffiti art that showed up on the wall of Bull Taco in Oceanside might be the work of the anonymous British graffiti artist and political activist, Banksy. I must confess ignorance. I had not heard of him until this story broke. Naturally my curiosity got the best of me and I spent some time learning all about Banksy. Now you will too.

Banksy is an anonymous graffiti artist, among other things. Most of his work is satirical and political in nature. His work was born out of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. He began his work in the 80's, during the aerosol boom.

He is also a film maker, his first film debuting at the Sundance Festival in 2010, called Exit Through the Gift Shop. Those of you who are Netflick junkies can check it out.

His art has always been labelled as vandalism, yet his work has sold for huge figures at auction. In 2007 one of his works sold for 288,000 pounds at a British auction. His works have appeared on buildings throughout Great Britain and the U.S. He did a series of works in New Orleans in 2008, mostly on buildings derelict since the hurricane disaster.

Another famous painting of his depicted a hooded member of the Ku Klux Klan hanging from a noose. It was quickly covered with black spray paint and later removed all together. In December 2009, Banksy marked the end of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference by painting four murals on global warming. One included "I don't believe in global warming" which was submerged in water.

I doubt if the small painting done on the wall of Bull Taco Restaurant in Oceanside is really the work of Banksy, just because he seems to choose more politically controversial arenas. However, I'm glad it's there and that the media picked up on it. It gave me a chance to learn about an interesting artist I might never have known.