As I was lost in the world of BuzzFeed, I came across a page of animated GIFs of Banksy’s graffiti, as if it had come alive. Maybe this is the design student in me talking, but they are really interesting. The GIFs give new meaning to graffiti, in this case because it’s not just another spray-painted wall.
Banksy is a New York-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter with a little known identity. His street art is often combined, using dark humor and a graffiti stenciling technique, that is distinctive enough that it is easily distinguishable from other street artists. Because his style of stenciling is so easily recognizable, people have come to admire his work for the past decade or so. According to an online source, “Banksy’s work was made up of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians.”
Banksy’s main form of art is graffiti, aka vandalism, but even in light of this, his work is still publicly created and displayed on walls, bridges, alleyways, etc. He even goes as far as creating prop pieces for them. Banksy does occasionally sell his work on the streets of New York, but he never does it himself, as to hide his identity.
This past October, a booth was set up on Fifth Avenue, NY, and tourists were able to buy spray-art canvases for just a measly sixty dollars each (which is a steal because the booth of 25 prints was worth an estimated thirty-one thousand dollars). However, because Banksy does not show himself, an elderly gentleman manned the booth all day. It took almost five hours to make a sale, perhaps because people did not realize they were Banksy pieces. The next day, he posted a video on his website that stated, “Yesterday I set up a stall in the park selling 100% authentic original signed Banksy canvases. For $60 each.”
Imagine the looks on people’s faces when they realized just how much the canvases were actually worth. I bet the people who invested in one or two were more than excited.
Even though Banksy’s identity remains a secret, he has certainly contributed to the art world, and has claimed responsibility for a number of high profile pieces of art.
Banksy has stated that “We don’t need any more heroes; we just need someone to take out the recycling.”
MONSTERS & PIXIE DUST 
Did you know that regardless of sitting in front of a sign that read, “Spray Art,” (which was painted in Banksy’s signature stencil print) no one knew the vendor was selling original artwork signed by Banksy.
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