Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #479 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-03
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Synopsis
Artistic genius, political activist, painter and decorator, mythic legend or notorious graffiti artist? The work of Banksy is unmistakable, except may be when it's squatting in the Tate or New York's Metropolitan Museum. Banksy is responsible for decorating the streets, walls, bridges and zoos of towns and cites throughout the world. Witty and subversive, his stencils show monkeys with weapons of mass destruction, policeman with smiley faces, rats with drills, and umbrellas. If you look hard enough you'll find your own. His statements, incitements, ironies and epigrams are by turns intelligent and cheeky comments on everything from the monarchy and capitalism to the war in Iraq and farm animals. His identity remains unknown, but his work is prolific. And now for the first time, he's putting together the best of his work - old and new in a fully illustrated colour volume.

From the Publisher
The collected works of Britain's most wanted artist

About the Author
Banksy, real name unknown, was born in Bristol

Customer Reviews

There's Another Banksy
I have this book and absoluetly love it, it exaplains why he did it, how he did it and some of his experieces and anecdotes. The book is excellent to be able to see decent street art, but then I came across the person Bansky is inspired by. He is fairly unknown here in the UK but HE is BANKSY'S idol, he is called Blek Le Rat and he too has a book out, he is a 56 year old frenchman who has been doing the things Banksy has been doing for years longer, you can buy his book off amazon. I would say buy Banksy's book to see the British side of street art, but buy Blek Le Rat if you want to see the true inspiration behind Banksy's work.

brilliantly cool!!!!
I bought this book because im into graffiti, hip hop culture and art. Im doing a degree at the moment and thought it would be helpful, and im glad i did because not only is it funny and unique there is also a really clever message behind it all. If your considering buying it for influence with uni work or anthing like that then i seriously recommend it, if your just curious then its a really cool book to have.

Art for the people
Don't get me started on this, but...

If there's one thing guaranteed to get under my skin, then it's the way art has been hijacked by a few artists, exhibitors and buyers and transformed into a variant of the idiotic high fashion market, where only the happy few who are up to date with new lines of thought know what on Earth is going on. When Britain's only well-known artistic prize can be won by en empty room with a light bulb going on and off then the proverbial man in the street may feel that art, which surely should be for us all, has become elitist and irrelevant.

And so along comes Banksy, with art for the literal man in the street. Maybe it's that I collect super-hero comics, but I just love the whole secret identity thing. In a culture that is so sated with the idea of celebrity, here's an artist who doesn't want to be recognised so that he can be free to get on with his work. How refreshing is that?

But more, I love the work. Witty, thought provoking and, when at its best, as when pictures are painted on the wall the separates the Palestinians from Israel, they're downright powerful. (And to Banksy's great credit, he includes a brief conversation with an old Palestinian man which argues persuasively against painting on the wall).

Don't be fooled by the low price, it's a big book with hundreds of pictures. And don't pay attention to the couple of reviewers who complain about the quality of the printing. Honestly, I don't know what they're on about.

Highly recommended.