The trip to the city was not actually that bad. I went to Bay Ridge with a friend and had a coffee before heading to the Banksy Museum. I took the R train all the way down, and although the ride was long, it was not bad at all. The only real problem was the rain and wind; the weather has really changed to fall. Regardless, when I finally got off the train, the museum was right next to the station.

I knew a little about Banksy before my trip to the museum, but nothing more than the basics. I knew he did graffiti art, and that style often conveys a political message. Graffiti art is illegal, so when it is created, it usually has a message behind it. However, anything beyond that was unknown to me.

Walking into the museum was a special experience for me. The art on display was amazing, and the messages conveyed were powerful. It is clear that Banksy hates two things: the police and big businesses. In other words, Banksy is the average person’s painter, someone who stands up for the little guy and shows the elite that art is for everyone. This was evident when one of his paintings went to auction and shredded itself after being sold, effectively destroying the artwork. In short, his graffiti art is for the public and is not meant to be gatekept by the elite.

I feel the piece of art that best represents Banksy’s style is titled “I Fought the Law and I Won.” This artwork does a great job of making historical allusions and relating them to modern times. The man getting pinned down is reminiscent of the man who shot ex-president Ronald Reagan. In the piece, however, the man is a graffiti artist, and Banksy tries to show that graffiti artists are treated in a similar way to those who are seen as dangerous. The artwork also alludes to the Clash song “I Fought the Law, But the Law Won.” Along with being a great song, it adds to Banksy’s sense of humor and emphasizes that his graffiti art has legitimized graffiti as a form of art.

My favorite piece in the entire museum was the one shown below. It depicts a criminal holding onto the paper of a typewriter while scaling down a wall. `Besides being aesthetically pleasing, the piece carries a great message. My interpretation is that people can escape from the prison of their minds through creativity. This is very similar to the route Banksy has taken in his art; his creativity comes in a taboo form, but it serves as an escape from tradition.

 

 

 

All in all, my trip to the Banksy Museum was very special, and I genuinely had a great time. Banksy is so different from other artists, and the message he conveys is important: art is for everyone, not just for one class of people.

 

”I Fought the Law and I Won” (top)

Banksy’s criminal (bottom)