Banksy Propaganda

Ellsworth-Jones’ book, “Banksy: the man behind the wall” inspects the mystical challenges behind “ostentatiously anonymous” graffiti artist ‘Banksy’ and his ever growing brand of radical political art. Who is Banksy? The elusive “Banksy”, who has maintained his anonymity to this day, grew up in a middle-class suburb in Bristol and attended the fee-paying Bristol Cathedral School. An artiste, his work involves creating artwork resonating anti-authority and anti-establishment themes, using graffiti as the primary medium of representation. One of the main objectives of any piece of propaganda is to convince its audience to accept the ideology presented by the propagandist, and adopt the same kind of beliefs (Ellsworth-Jones, 4). In this case,

For Banksy, the prevailing public mood is ever-changing, molding itself to the situations of the present. Simultaneously, the ideals which shape his art are products of his childhood which may have been associated with issues with authority figures. A radical and progressive propagandist, Banksy is an enigma to his admiring audience and his critics alike, and his persistence on anonymity is to thank (Ellsworth-Jones, 16). Banksy’s anonymity adds to the mystique that surrounds his persona not just as a street artist but also as a performance artist. Even if it is not a conscious attempt at mythologizing, the persona he has created ends up being mystical in a manner that is intriguing to the general public. Whether he is aware of the impact of this or not, the elusive mystery of a person’s identity tends to mythologize the subject (in this case, Banksy). By maintaining his identity a secret, his art perpetrates the “myth” of the “real identity” of Banksy, “the man behind the wall”. Serving both as the propaganda and the propagandist, Banksy strives to delve the world into stark awareness by attempting to awaken them to the crumbling culture established by corporations and establishments. He calls for no members and work independently of an organization because that degrades his ideals, making him hypocritical. However, all that is still speculation

Jones’ analysis of Banksy implies that his performance as “Banksy: the anonymous, strong-willed and opinionated graffiti master” is propaganda and lends its hand to spreading awareness, willpower and freedom. Both sets of authors agree that his anonymity and persistence to not be revealed, amplifies the impact of his art and cause. Shove and Potter’s assessment of his methodology which revealed Banksy’s use of dark humor and irony to convey his message, is only further supported by Ellsworth-Jones’ vehement belief that the stark iconography and deep-set irony in all his art works; he uses analysis of several Banksy pieces and messages to deduce