Century Publishing
It’s amazing the sort of fame you can achieve whilst remaining completely anonymous. Nobody knows what street cred feels like from the shadows more than London artist, Banksy. Wall and Piece is a collection of the artist’s three books that showcase his genius and provocative work. Some call it vandalism, others street art, in any case the street art that Banksy stencils on any surface definitely gets you thinking. Whether it’s a rat with a ghetto blaster, an ‘authorized graffiti area’ or the Virgin Mary listening to her I-pod, each of Banksy’s pieces are on the spot and spot on when it comes to witty social commentary. Sometimes the subtlety of the statement is what makes its beauty.
In this book, Banksy declares war on the advertisers that blemish our surroundings. They didn’t ask anyone for permission to see their biased comments and rants, so why should we ask theirs? That’s the question that Banksy has an answer to. But, Banksy doesn’t stop with a quick stencil piece in the street- No, he takes his art to the galleries; places he refers to as ‘trophy cabinets for the millonaires’. The urban subterfuge has found its way into the Louvre and Tate, but also into the Zoo of Madrid where the artist voices the distraught feelings of the caged specimens. The strongest piece, in my eyes, though, is the visit Banksy pays to the Segregation Wall in Palestine where he paints disillusions of hope and freedom on a canvas of oppression.
Wall and Piece is a must-have book for anyone that needs help to look outside of the box, and like Banksy says himself: “Think outside the box, collapse the box and take a fucking sharp knife to it.”
For more insight click : www.banksy.co.uk