Banksy, the star of Social Media

https://www.instagram.com/banksy/

I studied many times Banksy and I have to say that this is one of my favourite artists of all time. I always studied him (or her, who knows) for his artistic works but since this blog is about Art & Social Media, I searched information about what relationship had Banksy with Social Media.

To briefly introduce Banksy for those who don’t know him that much, he (or she) is a British artist exclusively known for his/her street art throughout the world, he is a graffiti master, painter, activist, filmmaker and all-purpose provocateur.

I also found a very clear description about him on StreetArtBio (http://www.streetartbio.com/banksy) which says :

“Arguably the most controversial street artist in the world, Banksy has developed an entire art subculture devoted to his works. Banksy’s art can impact any location at any given moment. His identity remains unknown, even after over 20 years of being involved with the graffiti scene. He has worked with many different types of street art media and street art types. His work not only includes many powerful, often controversial images, but they may also be found throughout the Internet as viral images."

This directly exposes the relationship we can make between Banksy and Social Media : his artworks go viral on the Internet thanks to his fans.

Street Art is basically a temporary Art made with spray cans and paint, which adapts everywhere and are called graffiti, mainly on walls in the street. The street artists are considered as criminals and what they do is called vandalism. But for some this is way more subtle than this. For me, this is not vandalism, this is Art and I find this movement probably the most creative of all of them. It creates colours, it delivers powerful messages, it denounces many vices of society and it decorates the walls of a city. It makes it alive and positive. Obviously not everyone’s a real artist and by that I mean that some people just want to cover the walls with their graffiti without a specific meaning and without real art in it : they just want to leave their fingerprint somewhere and this is different.

Banksy overpassed this impression. He actually became a “respected artist” and not just a vandal, his graffiti are very appreciated and wanted by museums or just art sellers and bought by collectors even without his permission since his identity remains totally secret. This subject is actually a big debate between both sides (artists and sellers) : is this right to sell something that doesn’t belong to them but which is illegally created and showed on streets ? Many things to say about this issue but my point isn’t about that for today !

We are aware that Banksy has known how to touch people and not just with his art but with the spread of it through social media, his creations go viral everywhere on the Internet, not especially from the artist himself but mostly by his supporters and fans : a lot of Instagram accounts are dedicated to him but also Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest ones too.

We don’t know for sure but we suppose that Banksy created a few accounts on the Internet such as a Facebook, an Instagram, a Youtube channel and a website under the name Banksyny. All created around October 2013 which means that he only created those three years after his celebrity. He has now millions of followers but his accounts aren’t the only ways of circulating his works on the Internet. In fact the real transmission is made by all his fans who creates fan accounts or just post as they see on the streets his art.

“While it easily connects artists to art lovers, social media has mostly failed to help emerging artists grow. The artist who has made the biggest impact on art in the last few decades, Banksy, uses social media differently.” (http://www.dylangoettlich.net/how-banksy-uses-social-media-the-right-way/)

This is where he is is different from other artists. Instead of doing the leading advertising of his art by himself, his fans do it for him. We are tempted to believe that social media are a real springboard for all artists but in fact it doesn’t help them as much as we think, many artists still struggle for being well-known. Banksy, without even asking for it, is one of the most known artist even though he is still totally anonymous today.

“That love of mystery seems antithetical to having multiple social media accounts, but it appears the British graffiti icon and noted lover of confusing the living crap out of people has gone and joined the social Web.” - https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/banksy-has-instagram-or-hes-tricking-us/

Photos, Videos posted, showing his projects such as Rebel rocket attack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsF3HspQY6A) posted on Youtube, related to his beliefs and his massive arguments to denounce society’s vices, shook a lot of people but also made them react massively.

“The most ironic part is that while Banksy is probably one of the most

well-known artists of the twentieth-twenty first century he has managed to stay complete

ly anonymous. The mystery of Banksy and his identity has added to his appeal. Banksy has managed to stay relevant in a way that no other artist has in this decade. He uses social media in a way that no other artist does. Instead of operating the leading advertising of his art himself, his fans do it for him.” - http://www.dylangoettlich.net/how-banksy-uses-social-media-the-right-way/

Banksy is definitely one of the best artist I know and by far, he is totally worth his worldwide fame and I hope that someday we will know more about that intriguing character.

Written by Pauline