Banksy, whose real name is as unknown as most of his life, is known for being, surely, the most famous graffiti street artist.
His works of art not only cause a tremendous visual impact, but also carry a very powerful social message, which invites us to take measures that help improve the world, not get carried away by consumerism and defend our individuality.
But… How does this influential graffiti figure think? In this article you will find a selection of Banksy’s best phrases commented.
11. The people who run our cities don’t understand graffiti because they think nothing has a right to exist unless it makes a profit.
There are those who believe that art should only be exclusive and expensive pieces.
12. Nothing in the world is more common than talented, unsuccessful people leaving home before finding something worth staying for.
A tip to put our skills into practice.
13. There is nothing more dangerous than someone who wants to make the world a better place.
People looking for a good cause can become a threat to the system.
14. Drawing graffiti is the most honest way you can be an artist.
Showing his admiration for what became his way of making art.
15. Bad artists imitate, great artists steal.
Apparently an act that occurs within the art world.
16. I had been painting rats for three years before someone said “that’s clever, that’s an anagram of art” and I had to pretend I had known it all along.
You just need to be discovered by the right people.
17. As a precaution against committing acts of evil, it is our solemn duty to never do what we are told, this is the only way we can be safe.
A warning about not buying the advertisements.
18.If you want someone to be ignored, build a life-size bronze statue and stick it in the center of the city.
Showing their dissatisfaction with the sculptures towards famous people.
19. People like to use military terms to describe what they do.
Showing a form of superiority.
20. If you are unloved, dirty and insignificant then rats become your role model.
21. All artists are willing to suffer for their work. But why are so few prepared to learn to draw?
Not all artists have the necessary preparation.
22. Some people become police officers because they want to make the world a better place.
There will always be people who want to improve this world.
23. It’s a very frustrating feeling you get when the only people with good photos of their work are the police department.
The art world is unfair.
24. I think it’s pretty clear that film is the preeminent art form of our time.
Cinema as the maximum expression of art and consumerism.
25. It doesn’t take money to do it, it doesn’t take an education to understand it, and there’s no admission fee.
The only thing you need to make graffiti.
26. Bus stops are much more interesting and useful places to have art than museums.
This is because they are busier and people appreciate it better.
27. They have rearranged the world to get in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even begin to ask for theirs.
About companies taking over advertising.
28. Get good at cheating and you’ll never have to be good at anything else.
A dishonest but functional way to get ahead.
29. Modern art is a disaster area.
Modern art getting out of control.
30. People love me or hate me, or don’t really care.
The duality in the recognition of Banksy.
31. People who enjoy waving flags don’t deserve to have one.
There are times when they turn out to be the most hypocritical people.
32. Sometimes I feel so bad about the state of the world that I can’t even finish my second apple pie.
A criticism of the false concern of large corporations towards environmental problems.
33. A city that seemed like a party where everyone was invited, not just real estate agents and big business barons. Imagine a city like this and stop leaning against the wall, it’s wet.
Talking about the impact of graffiti on the city.
34. I learned from experience that a painting is not finished when you let go of the brush, it is when it begins.
The paintings have a life of their own.
35. At this time of year it is easy to forget the true meaning of Christianity: lies, corruption or abuse.
A clear accusation of the abusive role of religions.
36. There is no gallery exhibition, no book or film. Meaningless. Which, hopefully, means something.
For Banksy, street art has deep meaning.
37. Audience reaction is what provides meaning and value. Art comes to life in the arguments you have about it.
What really gives value to art is the impression it leaves on people.
38. You live in the city and there are signs all the time telling you what to do and billboards trying to sell you something.
The impact of advertising on everyday life.
39. Brandalism Any advertisement in a public space that does not give you the option to see it is not yours.
A criticism of the abuse of branding by large companies.
40. But there’s no way around it, commercial success is a mark of failure for a graffiti artist.
For artists to be received they need to be commercial.
41. It’s yours for the taking, rearranging and reusing. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock that someone just threw at your head.
The way companies play with people’s tastes.
42. We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism collapses. In the meantime, we should all go shopping for comfort.
Capitalism as the main source of environmental and economic problems.
43. When you go to an art gallery, you are simply a tourist looking at some millionaires’ trophy cabinet.
The reality of galleries according to Banksy.
44. I know that street art can increasingly feel like the marketing wing of an art career, so I wanted to make some art without the price tag.
His goal behind his graffiti art.
45. The art we look at is made only by a select few. A small group creates, promotes, buys, exhibits and decides the success of the art.
The art world is selective depending on how it is marketed.
46. ​​What I hate most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative, ambitious young people, leaving us mostly slow and obsessed with becoming our artists.
Diverting talent to destroy originality.
47. He speaks softly, but carries a large can of paint.
A form of expression in graffiti.
48. When it’s time to leave, just walk away quietly and don’t make a fuss.
You don’t need to make a scandal to leave your mark.
49. Many people never use their initiative because no one told them to.
People restrict themselves out of fear.
50. Imagine a city where graffiti was not illegal, a city where everyone could draw whatever they wanted.
A city surrounded by pure art.
51. People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and childish. But that’s only if done correctly.
It all depends on doing it in an artistic way.
52. If you want to say something and have people listen to you, then you have to wear a mask. If you want to be honest, you have to live a lie.
Society has become a strategy game.
You may be interested: “The 15 types of lies and their characteristics”
53. You don’t need planning permission to build castles in the sky.
You don’t need to follow what others say.
54. The advantage of this is that it makes it much more difficult for police officers to see anything more than six feet off the ground. That’s why it’s so easy to paint roofs and bridges.
An advantage of street art.
55. If Michelangelo or Leonardo Da Vinci were alive today, they would be making Avatar, not painting a chapel.
Talking about the enormous role of cinema in art.
56. If at first unsuccessful, call for an air strike.
There are things that advertising has through violence.
57. You don’t owe companies anything. You especially don’t owe them any courtesy.
It is companies who owe us solutions to the problems they cause.
58. Anyone who believes in capital punishment should be shot.
A criticism of this belief.
59. Some people represent authority without having any authority of their own.
Many are in high positions to take advantage of its benefits.
60. We call it bombing when we go out painting, when of course it’s more like entertaining troops in a neutral zone, during a time of peace in a country without an army.
The meaning behind art bombing.
61. I wouldn’t want to be remembered as the guy who tainted a perfectly legitimate form of protest art with money and celebrities.
Perhaps this is why Banksy keeps his identity private.
62. Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.
One of the objectives that art should have.
63. As far as I can tell, the only thing worth looking at in most art museums are all the coeds on field trips with the art departments.
What is “worth” the most in museums. Because of the empty art they have.
64. Live like a villain, die like a hero.
An interesting lifestyle.
65. Graffiti has always been a temporary art form. You make your mark and then rub it off.
Graffiti is not permanent. That’s why it has a greater impact.
66. A wall is a very big weapon. It’s one of the nastiest things you can hit someone with.
Where you can leave crude and controversial messages.
67. A recent survey of North American men found that 42% were overweight, 34% were critically obese, and 8% were underweight.
About the alarming figures of overweight in the United States.
Related article: “Stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination: why should we avoid prejudging?”
68. The people who really deface our neighborhoods are the companies that scribble giant slogans on buildings and buses trying to make us feel inadequate unless we buy their stuff.
Graffiti that should be banned.
69. The biggest crimes in the world are not committed by people who break the rules. They are people who follow orders who drop bombs and massacre towns.
Unfortunately, politicians have more personal interests than the good of the people.
70. People seem to think that if they dress like a revolutionary, they don’t actually have to behave like one.
It is the actions and changes that really matter.
71. There are no exceptions to the rule that everyone thinks they are an exception to the rules.
The problem is not being unique, but believing that you are above others.
72. I love the way capitalism finds a place, even for its enemies.
Capitalism is present in almost all parts of the world.
73. Many mothers would do anything for their children, except let them be themselves.
Some parents seek to control their children to “protect” them.
74. If you have a statue in the center of town, you can pass it every day on the way to school and not even notice it, right? But as soon as someone puts a traffic cone on your head, you’ve made your own sculpture.
Art is subjective.
75. Modern art is a shame: never have so many people used so many things and taken so much time to say so little.
Talking about his contempt for modern art.
76. One original thought is worth 1000 meaningless quotes.
It is always preferable to be original over everything.
77. Your mind is working at its maximum when you are being paranoid. You explore every avenue and possibility of your situation. At high speed with complete clarity.
Something beneficial if you don’t let it control you.
You may be interested: “91 creative phrases to let your imagination fly”
78. It doesn’t take much to be a successful artist, all you need to do is dedicate your entire life to it.
The formula for success according to Banksy.
79. When you look at how society rewards so many wrong people, it’s hard not to see financial payback as a badge of selfish mediocrity.
Money moves the world, sometimes in the wrong way.
80. I like to think that I have the guts to stand up for myself anonymously in a Western democracy and ask for things that no one else believes in, like peace, justice and freedom.
