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Text & Image Write-Up

 Banksy

Banksy is an elusive English artist who has taken the world by storm with his street art across the world. Many of his works center around activism whether it be political or a critique on the art world.

One piece of his features a businessman running away with a handful of money next to words that read, “You Loot, We Shoot.” The art was created in 2018, but the phrase goes back to the 1960s but has been used all the way to 2020. Typically, it is used by police officers to warn rioters (who are usually black) that they will be punished if they ransack businesses.  Banksy flips the narrative, shedding light on the thievery of businessmen, who leach money from the public but are never penalized the same way rioters are. 

The next two street art exhibits share a theme. One shows two children tossing around a sign that blares, “No Ball Games.” The other one has a child swinging off the ‘P’ of the word ‘Parking,’ but the ‘-ing’ has been faintly painted over. Both showcase the ingenuity of children to find fun in a world that doesn’t want them to. Or, to look at it another way, children being able to see the fun in something that adults do not.



Another work of his has a man cleaning the end of a sentence that says, “What we do in life echoes in Eternity.” The ironic art disproves the statement, instead bringing up the idea that nothing's legacy is permanent. The saying itself will not stand the test of time whether it be a week, a month, or decades later. To add to the irony, other unaffiliated graffiti artists tagged the piece with their own name and some even drew over Banksy’s art. The tags add a reflective layer for the street artist. The art nor the artist himself will last far into the future. Similarly then, the artists who tagged the work will also fade away into obscurity, even after defacing the work of one of the world’s most popular modern artists.

What have you learned about text & image?


Text & image is a method that combines two art forms (writing and art) in order to create something new. It is used to deliver a message with better understanding than what would be achieved by the individual form. In Banksy’s work, we see text used for satire or irony, but other artists use text for statement pieces. The method is not just in street art or print art, it is present on clothing, advertisements, books, etc. Text & image can be used to develop many different works.


How do contemporary artists use the concept of text & image in their artwork?


Banksy encourages viewers to interact with some of his pieces digitally. The work shown here is just a QR code. Compelled by curiosity as well as the need for Banksy fans to take a picture of all his work, the code is scanned. Upon opening it, a youtube video pops up, titled, “Calais Jungle police assaults (5th and 6th of January).” For context, in an attempt to get rid of refugees staying in Calais, France, French police destroyed their camps. Many brown and black refugees were forced to sleep without shelter as a result (Townsend). Banksy uses his art and technology to spread the news to an audience who would otherwise ignore it. 


How might you be able to use text & image in your own art? / Is there something that you found in your investigation that specifically interested or inspired you?


When editing films or creating posters, I can add text to give a name to the work or explain what the art will be about. In individual pieces, I can add text to deliver a statement, adding to an image that would otherwise be contextless. Or, using text to give the art even more meaning that it already has.

Banksy’s QR code piece is absolutely brilliant and was my favorite of his that I researched. I think him using his platform like that, and understanding his audience well enough to know that they will look at whatever he tells them to, is a great display of power used for good. I know that when I first opened the video, I was shocked and confused that Banksy would link content so unrelated to him. It prompted me to research the context behind the video, which I’m sure many others did too. It was just a really impressive stunt.



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