Claire(Huixin) Pang
Heather Dunn
DNY 1000C
10/25/2017
Research of Blek
Blek le Rat, a French graffiti artist who has a well-known name as the “Father of stencil graffiti”. Blek expresses his artwork by using stencils instead of stylized lettering for graffiti. Hundreds of artists all over the world was inspired by his artworks with his stenciled style. The British artist Banksy even said, "every time I think I've painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek has done it as well, only twenty years earlier."
As one of the earliest graffiti artists in Paris, he was originally known for stenciling the giant rat image all over Paris. For him, the rat images symbolize freedom and the distribution of art around the city just like if
…show more content…
His pseudonym, Blek le Rat, originates from a childhood cartoon “Blek le Roc”, using “rat” as an anagram for “art” because, the rats symbolized both freedom and the spread of art throughout the city as an invasion for him. In the early 80s, American artist Richard Hambleton brought his artwork to Paris over from the US. During that period, Blek was already started making rats, but when he saw Hambleton’s large shadow human figures, he got the idea of making bigger pieces, so he soon began doing larger works, as well as self-portraits. Today, Blek is credited as the first to transform stencil from basic lettering into imagery, and the one to invent the life-sized stencils. He creates most of his stencils by hand, crafting each to perfection to allow for the best detail possible upon application, and works mainly in black and white.Ten years after he made his first piece, Blek was eventually discovered and caught by the French authorities. He was charged and fined for stenciling his own version of Caravaggio’s Madonna and Child onto a wall in Paris. This image is Blek’s oldest remaining …show more content…
Many of his pieces are pictorials of solitary individuals in opposition to larger, oppressive groups. In 2006, he began his series of images representing the homeless, which depict them standing, sitting, or lying on sidewalks, in attempts to bring attention to what he views as a global
The first part of Delights and Shadows, “Walking on Tiptoe,” contains a series of pictures of people come in contact with his daily life. He records their strengths
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” (Albert Einstein). “Flavio’s Home,” written by Gordon Parks, can be considered one of Parks’ most memorable photography works. Parks’, enduring much hardship of his own as a teenager, turned his struggles around and used it as inspiration for others. His article tells of a twelve-year old boy and his family, stricken by poverty. Through an acutely informative and subtly persuasive article, Parks adequately uses pathos, diction, syntax, and imagery to tell his readers about why and how poverty “is the most savage of all human afflictions.” Speaking to his Life Magazine readers, Parks’ purpose for writing this article is to first
... previous jobs to convey a welcoming and educational message in his work. He makes his art clear, educational, and unconventional to express his individuality and help children in their development. Had it not been for his first couple of jobs, the teacher that showed him the banned painting, and his love for children he probably would not be the memorable artist that he is today.
He wanted to get his point across to other people, and photography was one of the easiest ways, because each picture was worth a thousand words and expressed more emotion than did in his writing. However, he used pictures to be the main support of his very famous novel, “How the Other Half Lives,” in which he details in writing his experiences and thoughts about tenement housing and social
The identity of a graffiti artist is hardly ever known unless they want to tag their art with their name or a nickname. Graffiti writers as a subculture are trying to express their political views through civil disobedience by painting pictures that speak out against the government. This subculture developed because they were tired of being oppressed by the government. Graffiti is one of the most enduring acts of protest. It is an important tool for the resistance movement as a way to publicize their protest. It is a visible and powerful form of protest that is going to promote change in the social justice by allowing oppressed groups of people express their viewpoints without being penalized by the
Three years later, enter Banksy, a world famous street artist from England. Banksy has become famous ironically through his use of anonymity as an artist. Banksy will choose a city somewhere in the world and embark usually on a month long anonymous crusade where he “tags” different buildings with culturally and politically motivated works of “street art”. When Banksy descended on New Orleans, he painted 14 works of street art in total, but the painting that stood out as the most glaringly political was the painting called “Looters”. (Banksy story)
middle of paper ... ... He attempts to convince the public that discrimination has gone on for far too long and it is time for a change. As for the photo, it mainly uses the appeal of Pathos, but it does not lack in power. The image is simple but communicates a powerful image revolving around discrimination.
His habit soon became a driving point in his life. During a trip to visit his family that lives in France, he was introduced to the world of street art. That trip that he took in 1999 helped set the stones to the life that Theirry had yet to discover what it would create. In Banksy’s movie, it explains how the simple idea of putting your joy, or something that you love, up on a wall for everyone to see was an amazing thing. His cousin, the man who initially inspired him was making characters from the game Space Invaders out of tiles which he then proceeded to glue onto walls and various other places to draw the eye of the surrounding population. His cousin, known to the public as Space Invader, was a big name in the street art community, not only to help start the spread of street art but to also assist in in...
The history of the underground art movement known by many names, most commonly graffiti begins in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the mid to late 60's, and started with bombing. The writers who are credited with the first effort are CORNBREAD and COOL EARL. They wrote their names all over the city gaining attention from the community and the local press. Then the movement made way to New York City where the teenagers would write graffiti on the subways. It is unclear whether this concept made way to New York City on purpose or if it was an accident.
Graffiti is an art form that was bred from the rebellion of youths. The first sighting of graffiti was seen on subways, and other impoverished areas around New York. This form involved what is called tagging , where the artist signs his or her name, nickname, or group name, on the side of a building or other surface. It is well known for its bold, colorful presence and intricate script. It is still prominent and visible in those areas of the Bronx today.
The images above are just a few other example of how Keith Haring used similar ideas to create different artworks about stopping the AIDS epidemic. We know that he used his fame in the art world to create a platform on stopping this deadly disease. These piece of artwork all revolve around Keith Haring’s persistence to keep the public eye open about
Banksy is a pseudonym for an anonymous graffiti artist, painter, political activist and one of Time Magazines most influential people in the world. Little is known about Banksys actual background but according to Tristan Manco in his book Home Sweet Home, Banksy was born in Bristol England in the early 1970’s. Known for his contempt toward the government, for labeling graffiti as vandalism, he displays his art on public surfaces, such as billboards and walls, and has even built physical prop pieces. Banksys distinctive stencil style usually embodies humorous images often paired with slogans that carry themes of anti-war, anti-capitalism and anti-establishment. Uncommon to most artists Banksy does not sell photographs or reproductions of his work, but art auctioneers have been known to sell his street art on location for large sums of money. In 2005 Banksy infiltrated many New York museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History and hung his work among notable art pieces. Banksys distinctive satire graffiti style mixed with his anonymous rebellious antics give him an invaluable buzz that is rare among current graffiti artists today.
Over the past few years the street artist known as Bansky has made a reputation of political activism, by using his unique form of graffiti to not only convey the serious issues of our time, but also as ones of the future. All of his works display clever use of colors and stencils to showcase a form of dark humor that not only makes his works that more memorable, but meaningful as well. One of his most famous works Crayola Shooter displays a skillful use of color, perspective, and detail to express his message of how we can fight the limits set by society with our own creativity.
Although other artists know who he is, Banksy doesn’t have a public face that he shows at galleries and in his documentaries. In Will Ellsworth-Jones article “The Story Behind Banksy: on his way to becoming an international icon, the subversive and secretive street artist turned the art world upside-down” he talks about one of Banksy’s earlier galleries. Ellsworth-Jones says “The show was a high-profile demonstration of the phenomenon that has come to be known as the ‘Banksy effect’—the artist’s astounding success in bringing urban, outsider art into the cultural, and increasingly profitable, mainstream” (2). Banksy’s “effect” is altering urban culture and bringing it to art galleries to be displayed and sold. In the grand scheme of things, he is commodifying graffiti and urban culture, making it more consumable and then proceeding selling and profit off of it. In A&E’s biography page for Banksy they state that Banksy’s work is unique due to the fact that it “often engages political themes, satirically critiquing war, capitalism, hypocrisy and greed.” The uniqueness of his work is a common reason different news outlets give for Banksy’s success. Contrary to popular belief, Banksy’s content isn’t groundbreaking. Artists of all mediums, including graffiti, before and during his time have touched upon all of the same themes as
No matter what people say about it, Graffiti is a form of self-expression. It is important to realize the amount of talent and work required to create a piece of graffiti. The scale of such a piece can be small found on a corner to massive one taking up an entire wall. However, there are varying