You’d be hard pressed to find a person who isn’t familiar with Banksy and his work. With prints of his graffiti adorning living rooms, T-shirts and mugs across the country, even earning permanent residence on bolder individuals' bodies in the form of tattoos, his popularity is unwavering. So why are people so horrified at the fact that, in a recent poll, the nation named his iconic Girl with Balloon as its favourite artwork?
Earlier this week, when news broke that Banksy had won the vote, sceptics were quick to denounce the public’s opinion, calling the result “proof of our stupidity”. Ironically, it’s this kind of damnation within the art world that makes the work of street artists like Banksy so important. Art is a game that, for the most part, only the privileged can play. Graffiti is not. Would expressionist painter of the Eighties Basquiat’s painting Untitled have recently sold for £85 million were it not for his street-art beginnings? A high-school drop-out who was homeless at the beginning of his career, it was his work as part of graffiti duo SAMO that first caught the media’s attention. Now he is recognised as representing the epitome of contemporary art culture in the Eighties.
At the heart of the debate over whether or not Girl with Balloon is deserving of its title is the piece’s meaning and depth, with many claiming that the image of a forlorn young girl either losing, or letting go of, her balloon is as shallow as a puddle. Accompanied with the words “There is always hope”, it’s true that it’s not difficult to discern the work’s meaning, but is it really any surprise that in a post-Brexit society, constantly anticipating Trump’s next move, Banksy’s message of hope resonates with the masses? While classicists can rage about how John Constable’s The Hay Wain is a more fitting choice to herald the title of Britain’s most beloved, they can’t deny how apt Banksy’s work is to represent the country’s current political climate.
Read more: Vogue View: Can Art Imitating Real Life Cross The Line?
Always subversive, Banksy, like many other graffiti artists, uses his work to expose and undermine the most sordid aspects of our society. Street art may not be highfalutin, but when we’re constantly being distracted by the trivial, it’s crucial to awakening our consciousness to issues that are more important, and it’s right there for us to see on our daily commute. Banksy’s piece from 2011 that emblazoned a garage in Fitzrovia, London, sums it up: “If graffiti changed anything - it would be illegal”.
Whether it’s political or within the art industry, inspiring change is what graffiti does best. Giving an artistic voice to those who may not have had the opportunity or desire to attend a prestigious art school, it’s a vehicle of expression for all, for the oppressed and disillusioned. And it’s clearly what Britain needs.
