★ BANKSY Graffiti Locations | Stencil Street Art Photo Gallery ★

- Banksy was born in Bristol (in the UK) and first started out as a freehand graffiti artist in the 90's in his home city. He was involved in the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between musicians and artists. He switched from freehand to stencil graffiti later on so that he could complete art pieces much quicker.

- His true identity has never been revealed although there have been a few guesses and rumors over the years. The mystique surrounding him and his identity has certainly made him a more interesting figure.

- Banksy works under cover of darkness to remain hidden from the public and from the police, and his signature art style of using stencils means that he can be quick - the intricate stencils are cut beforehand so he just needs to spray paint over them when he reaches the desired location.

- The guerilla artist has created art in many different cities, but his most famous and favorite places are Bristol and London. His paintings are usually amusing and full of dark humor, whilst often addressing serious social and political issues.

- Banksy is by far the most well-known and popular street artist ever - this is mainly due to his art appealing to 'the masses' i.e. those that aren't involved in the art or graffiti world already. Most people, however, haven't ever seen a Banksy piece first-hand, which makes Banksy's success something that could only have happened in the modern world, as photos of his art are distributed throughout the Internet.

- There is no doubt he is very talented and creative, however this kind of art will always have critics as well as fans, not least because graffiti is classed as vandalism and is therefore illegal. People also slate Banksy for 'selling out'. I don't hold these views - I love his work and I love the fact he has made street art available to a wider audience who would not have been able to appreciate the skill and talent in urban art before - however I understand people who view graffiti as purely a crime too. Funnily enough, since Banksy has become famous, some city councils now try to preserve the valuable Banksy artworks, when previously they would have removed them immediately.

- Banksy is not just known for his stencils, but also for his stunts, pranks and 'pop-up' events. For example, he has attempted to sneak his own artworks into several art museums - and hilariously one of the museums then added one of his pieces to their permanent collection!

- Banksy events include the Cans festival, an exhibition in Bristol, and a pop-up cinema..

- In places where Banksy art is not preserved, the art is often erased within hours, so if you see one, you are very lucky. The temporary nature of the works adds to the interest in them since actually spotting one is exciting and feels like something special because you are one of the lucky few who get to view them first-hand.

- Banksy created a film called 'Exit Through the Gift Shop' which was released in March, 2010. It debuted at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary in January, 2011. The film is described as 'the world's first street art disaster movie'.

- In 2010, Banksy even designed an intro to a Simpsons episode - which you can see in the videos below.

Information source.
Photo by Nolionsinengland.