Banksy: The Anonymous Legend - a review of Wall and Piece

Contributed by Allora, grade 12 -- Feb. 2017

Banksy Wall and Piece is a collection of anonymous art from guerilla artist, Banksy -- art which is graffiti’d, or was graffiti’d before being covered by law enforcement in cities all over the world.

Almost all of Banksy’s art is made by stencils. With the constant threat of being arrested for vandalization or destruction of property, he’s developed incredibly fast methods of creating his pieces. Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects of Banksy’s art, is that almost all of his masterpieces are completed in less than 20 minutes.

All Banksy’s work have prevalent political undertones. An example of this, is the title of the book itself, Wall and Piece being wordplay of the novel title War and Peace (Leon Tolstoy). Several quotes stand out, highlighting Banksy’s perspective on guerrilla art and consumer culture;

●   “The people who run our cities don’t understand graffiti because they think nothing has the right to exist unless it makes a profit."

●    “The people who truly deface our neighborhoods are the companies that scrawl giant slogans across buildings and buses trying to make us feel inadequate unless we buy their stuff.”

●     “Any advertisement in public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours, it belongs to you ,, it’s yours to take, rearrange and re use. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.”

― Banksy

One of my favorite Banksy pieces is his di-faced ten-pound bills. In 2005, he pasted these customized tenners on a cashpoint in Farrington, London.

The way in which he did this gave the illusion that the cash machine was malfunctioning, blowing out numerous bills at once, creating a pile on the ground. Bystanders would approach the machine in the hopes of collecting some of the loot, only to find that the currency wasn’t real. This action seemed to make a statement about  the handful of powerful individuals who have the power to deem what the modern day population views as worth.

Although there is very little writing in this book, it invites contemplation, and each page will provoke a new train of thought, little-to-no words required.