Banksy----an anonymous street artist Banksy is an anonymous United Kingdom-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. Known for his contempt for the government in labeling graffiti as deliberately damaging things, Banksy displays his art on publicly visible surfaces such as walls, and even goes as far as build physical prop pieces. His satirical street art and ruinous epigrams combine dark humor with graffiti executed in a distinctive stencil technique. Such artistic works have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world. Technique Asked about his technique, Banksy said:”I use whatever it takes. Sometimes that just means drawing a moustache on a girl’s face on some billboard. Sometimes that means sweating for days over an intricate drawing. Efficiency is the key.” Stencils are traditionally hand-drawn or printed onto sheets of acetate or cards, before being cut out by hand. Because of the secretive nature of Banksy’s work and identity, it is uncertain what techniques he uses to generate the images in his stencils, though it is assumed that he uses computers for some images due to the photocopy nature of many his works. He mentions in his book Wall and Piece that as he was starting to do graffiti, he was always too slow and was either caught or could never finish the art in one sitting. So he made a series of intricate stencils to minimize time and overlap in color. Political and social themes Banksy once characterized graffiti as a form of underclass “revenge,” or guerilla warfare that allows an individual to capture power, territory, and glory from a bigger and better equipped enemy. His works have dealt with an array of political and social themes, including anti-war, anti-capitalism, anti-imperialism, etc. Additionally, the components of the human condition that his works commonly criticize are greed, poverty, hypocrisy, boredom, despair, absurdity, and alienation. Identity There have been numerous rumors and hypotheses as to Banksy’s identity. Name often suggested include Robert Banks and Robin Gunningham. In 2004, a so-called photograph of him in Jamacia at the Two-Culture Clash Project surfaced. In October 2007, a story on the BBC website featured a photograph which claimed to be taken by a passer-by in Bethnal Green, London, intending to show Banksy at work with an assistant. The story confirms that Tower Hamlets Council in London has decided to treat all Banksy’s works as deliberately damaging thinga and remove them. Through the pictures, Banksy’s identity was speculated to be Robin Gunningham, a man born in Bristol. According to a former friend, Gunningham was “extremely talented at art.” Around 2000, when Banksy moved from Bristol to London, Gunningham was known to live in a flat in Hackney, East London. And a number of Banksy’s most famous works appeared nearby. In response to reports that Banksy was Robin Gunningham, Banksy’s agent refused to either confirm or deny the reports. Banksy himself states on his website:“I am unable to comment on who may or may not be Banksy, but anyone described as being ‘good at drawing’ doesn’t sound like Banksy to me.”