3rd Non Web Designer

The third non web designer that i have decided to evaluate is the Graffiti Artist Banksy. Banksy has not always been a main influence for me and my work. I only discovered his work last summer on a trip to London hence the reason for not influencing any of my work yet. I had glanced his work before but had never really got the time to find out what he was about; I researched him and was fascinated by his story and the quality of his work under the circumstances.

I purchased a book on Banksy (Wall and Piece) after the trip displaying some of his most famous work and giving some brief information about the guy however he remains anonymous. It is thought that he was born just outside Bristol in 1974, and became interested in Graffiti art during the great Bristol aerosol boom in the late 80’s.

His work fascinated me because they are not just pretty pictures there is a meaning behind each of his pieces of work. His work often has a hidden message mainly on the delicate topics of politics, ethics and our culture. His work is not only highly illegal but also holds the greatest detail created by just stencils and spray paint. Banksy’s work has been illegally displayed in Bristol, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris and Israel. It has been know that art experts have auctioned off Banksys work on site, where the winner of the auction has to deal with the Graffiti, for example if it is ordered to be washed off the new owner of the piece will have to do this. There have been roumers and articles in newspapers about revealing the identity of Banksy, weather these are true or not I am not sure.

Banksy could have a great influence on my graphic designs on the websites I create in the future; I am especially interested in the hidden meanings behind the images. I would like to be able to create graphics which make people stop and specifically think about the meanings. This would of course depend on the genre of the website that I create. I also think that the look of graffiti art is very effective, I am not recommending graffiti art however the circumstances of Banksys work makes it all the more exiting and impressive. I could attempt graffiti art for a future project; this greatly interests me as I did Art at a-level and have never tried it before.