Banksy: Biography of The British Graffiti Artist Robin Gunningham

• Buffer
• Tweet

Who is Banksy?

Banksy, a famous British graffiti artist, political activist, and painter might be the most celebrated graffiti artist in the world.

Hidden Identity

For over a decade, he has hidden his identity, but after a year of investigation, the United Kingdom’s Mail on Sunday believes it has revealed his past and his true name. “Banksy” is now thought to be a pseudonym used by Robin Gunningham to create satirical street art.

A former public schoolboy, Banksy was brought up in middle-class suburbia. Former schoolmates and a teacher described Gunningham as a “gifted” artist. The identity of Banksy was a mystery for years, which might have made his art even more distinctive and alluring.

His graffiti is created with a distinctive stenciling technique and dark humor, which has been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.

Graffiti At Its Best

Banksy became involved in graffiti during the Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s. He began his work in the British underground, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians.

Like many graffiti artists, Banksy is under threat from the police, and his politically charged works add an element of risk to his career.

He has been renowned for his contempt of the government in labeling his graffiti as vandalism. He has displayed his art on all sorts of public surfaces, and has even created physical prop pieces. In one of his most famous public exhibits, Banksy went into the Tate dressed as an old man, and glued a picture to the museum wall in protest of the Iraq War.

Not just a street artist, Banksy’s first film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The film is about the inside story of street art, a revealing account of what happens when fame, money, and vandalism collide. It follows an amateur filmmaker as he tries to capture the world’s most famous vandals on camera, only to have his camera faced toward him by Banksy, with unexpected results.

Known for his highly critical depictions of war, race relations, and royalty, Banksy often “remixed” classic works by artists such as Manet. He does not sell his photos of street graffiti. Art auctioneers have sold his street art on location, and then depend on the winning bidders to remove the graffiti themselves.

Banksy has been able to publish books, give interviews, and earn a significant income from his work. His designs have been frequented by a diverse crowd, often landing him six-figure sales to A-list celebrities. When he first started making serious money, the question of the artist’s anonymity drew attention from the public—and more importantly from the media.

On his official site, Banksy exhibits photographs of some of his indoor and outdoor artwork, his film contributions, manifestos and an online store for purchasing prints.

Resources about Banksy

Banksy’s web site

Banksy’s film art

Street art

Resource by L.Brown

Leslie Brown is a writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in book publishing, information technology, and web content. She has edited books of fiction and non-fiction and is currently providing web content for two web sites. Leslie has a B.A. in Creative Writing, and she has also done some graduate work in technical documentation. She lives near Seattle, Washington, across from a lake, where she often plays in the water with her rescued golden retriever.

Related Research For Teachers, Students, and Kids