Line #56 Creator/Banksy


1	[[quoteright:247:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BiogPic_Banksy_8600.jpg]]
2
3	->''"A wall is a very big weapon. It's one of the nastiest things you can hit someone with."''
4
5	Banksy is a famous artist, most well-known for his stencil-based graffiti. He was born in Bristol, England in the mid '70s. That's really all we know about him. While [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/31/banksy-identity_n_4179303.html?utm_hp_ref=arts an alleged photograph of him unmasked has turned up]], his real name remains unknown. Despite this he has become quite popular, sold paintings, put on gallery shows, in 2005 released a photo book of his work, ''Wall and Piece'', and in 2010 made an Oscar-nominated documentary film, ''Film/ExitThroughTheGiftShop''.
6
7	His work is often politically charged and rather funny. He's been compared to Creator/AndyWarhol for their similar sense of humor. You can see more of his work [[http://www.banksy.co.uk/ here.]]
8
9	!! "Exit Through The Trope Shop":
10	* AnachronismStew:
11	** His famous "Caveman With Shopping Cart" painting, which he snuck into the British Museum.
12	** "[[UsefulNotes/{{Boudica}} Boudicca]] with wheel clamp". [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Just the bronze statue of Boudicca with a wheel clamp on the chariot.]]
13	* BaitAndSwitchComparison
14	-->"Is graffiti art or vandalism? That word has a lot of negative connotations and it alienates people, so no, I don't like to use the word 'art' at all."
15	* BitingTheHandHumor: After one of his paintings broke records at an auction he auctioned off a piece called "I Can't Believe You Morons Buy This Shit."
16	** Managed to take this to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX1iplQQJTo new levels]] with his CouchGag for ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
17	* CanisLatinicus: He's dabbled in it. For example, his pen name in "Caveman with Shopping Cart" is Banskymus Maximus.
18	* CrappyCarnival: Dismaland, a scathing parody of Disneyland meant to be as strange, depressing and off-putting as possible.
19	* DeadpanSnarker: All of his comments on this page, and many outside, are either sarcastic remarks or dry comments on something.
20	* {{Eagleland}}: Invoked type 2 with a poster in Britain reading "Americans working overhead" along with silhouettes of some soldiers and a Black Hawk helicopter.
21	%%* EatTheRich: Used the phrase in one of his works with his own humorous slant.
22	* TheFaceless: He was this for a long time until a photo of him was published (see below)
23	* GoneHorriblyWrong: In 2018 he rigged a painting (''Girl with Balloon'') to be destroyed after being auctioned off, as a TakeThat to people paying so much money for art; there was a shredder hidden in the bottom of the frame, which activated the moment the painting was sold. The shredder jammed partway through, and in its partially shredded state it was declared to be even more valuable. The buyer decided to go through with the sale and keep the piece, which has since been renamed ''Love Is in the Bin''.
24	* GratuitousNazis: Done to make a point in "The Banality of the Banality of Evil".
25	* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: "GUARDED 24 HOURS (by a drowsy fat bloke reading pornography)"
26	* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: Only [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/31/banksy-identity_n_4179303.html?utm_hp_ref=arts one photograph]] of him is known to exist.
27	* HiddenInPlainSight: He claimed this is how he can get away with what he does in such a surveillance-centric culture as modern Britain. Dressing up in black and sneaking around in the dead of night is far more likely to get you noticed than standing there in broad daylight in a high-vis tabard.
28	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Several European Union courts have dismissed his cases against people selling his art because maintaining copyright and trademarks would require that he not be anonymous and actually sell them himself.
29	* HypocriticalHumor
30	-->"We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves."
31	** His list of people who should be shot: "Fascist thugs, religious fundamentalists, people who write lists telling you who should be shot."
32	* IndyPloy: Banksy intended to paint "Laugh now but one day we'll be in charge" in Spanish in animal enclosures in the Barcelona zoo. Upon realizing he lost the note he had the translation on, he just painted some tally-marks to make the animals look like bored prisoners.
33	* IwoJimaPose: Has appeared in not [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lUIbQFSCMpA/S-PQlI-ZZpI/AAAAAAAAANY/pnZBJ1kwkRo/s1600/iwojima.jpg one]] but [[http://s2.e-monsite.com/2010/01/07/03/resize_550_550//banksy-iwo-jima.jpg two]] of his works.
34	* LiteraryAllusionTitle: ''Wall and Piece'' is presumably a reference to ''Literature/WarAndPeace''.
35	* LoveItOrHateIt: "People either love me or they hate me, [[SubvertedTrope or they don't really care]]."
36	* LoversLedge: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Banksy-ps.jpg This]] painting is a good example. It is made doubly hilarious by the fact that it's painted on a wall of a sexual health clinic.
37	* MyBelovedSmother: "Lots of mothers will do anything for their children, except let them be themselves."
38	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Done near the end of ''Film/ExitThroughTheGiftShop'' [[spoiler: when Mr. Brainwash becomes an artist.]]
39	* NoPeripheralVision: Pointed out in ''Wall and Piece''. The fact that cops often have some sort of visor that exacerbates the human habit of not looking up is a huge boon to Banksy.
40	* NotAMorningPerson: Presumably, given his claim that "People who get up early in the morning cause war, death and famine."
41	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His real name was said to be Robin Banks[[note]]Robin Banks? Like robbin' banks? Yeah, right. As if the name hadn't already been used by two separate [=DJ=]s anyway.[[/note]] or Robin Gunningham, but we can't know for certain.
42	* PatrioticFervor: Denounced. "Those who enjoy waving flags don't deserve to have one."
43	* ReclusiveArtist: Part of the reason he's so popular is the mystery around him; no name, no face, but his art work could be on your daily commute.
44	* ReferencedBy:
45	** In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', Tony Stark refers to an image at a crime scene as "A Banksy."
46	** On ''Series/{{Misfits}}'', Nathan argues that scary graffiti declaring "I'm going to KILL you" is just "that Banksy prick."
47	** On ''Series/WhiteCollar'', Neal pretends to be a Banksy expy to sneak into a space for an investigation. He takes a moment to use his skills as a MasterForger to leave behind an original piece to sell the ruse.
48	** He's also referenced in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Rosa". When the Doctor starts to draw on a motel wall, Graham tells her to stop, saying "You're not Banksy!" The Doctor replies with a mysterious "Or am I?"
49	** The ''WebAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsDigitalSeries'' has a [[ParodiedTrope parody]] in the form of [[PunnyName Flanksy]], [[spoiler:true identity Sunset Shimmer,]] using their graffiti skills to help Rarity design a new window display for an upcoming fashion show the boutique the latter works at is hosting.
50	** In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' a pedestrian remarks about the dimension-amalgamate streetlight to another pedestrian, "[He] think[s] it's a Banksy"
51	** In ''Series/TheGoodPlace'', ParodySue Kamilah is rumored to be Banksy in-universe, but she refuses to confirm or deny this.
52	** He has been referenced in the Music/TheyMightBeGiants song "Celebration".
53	--->''I see that Banksy left a post-it note, for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group) Anonymous]], for Anonymous.''
54	** In ''Series/TedLasso'', Edwin Akufo introduces Sam to a middle-aged White man in a rumpled suit and says that it's actually Banksy.
55	** In ''Series/TheOutlaws'', the cast examine a piece of grafitti and debate whether or not it's a real Banksy before being ordered to paint it over.[[note]]It was a genuine piece created by Banksy specifically for the show. He thought it was a fun way to continue the debate over the merits and permanence of his work.[[/note]]
56	** ''Film/GlassOnion'': Miles Bron's has a glass pier that rises out of the sea, flanked with glass statues of hooded anarchists throwing an object. Lionel asks if it's a Banksy, prompting the ship's captain to call it a "Pisceofshite" which Lionel confuses for the name of another artist.
57	* RefugeInAudacity:
58	** Putting up his painting in the Louvre without being caught.
59	** Also, as noticed in the HiddenInPlainSight entry above and the WeirdnessCensor entry below, Banksy "hides" by wearing an extremely brightly-colored safety-vest.
60	* RodentsOfUnusualSize: A rat that's [[http://www.globalgraphica.com/sneakers/Banksy-loves-NY-3.jpg three stories tall.]]
61	* RuleAbidingRebel: [[invoked]] A poster stating "Graffiti Artists Must Report To Reception Before Starting Work".
62	* SecretIdentity: Banksy's real name is unknown to the public.
63	* SelfDeprecation: Constantly, when asked to comment on a guess at his identity he said this:
64	-->"I am unable to comment on who may or may not be Banksy, but anyone described as being 'good at drawing' doesn't sound like Banksy to me."
65	* ShoutOut: Evokes iconic photographs and pop culture imagery in his work.
66	* SitcomArchNemesis: Banksy unwittingly painted over a long-preserved piece by graffiti artist King Robbo, which prompted him to come out of retirement with a grudge, vandalizing all and any Banksy pieces, until his unitimely death in 2014. Since his death, various fans of King Robbo have continued the war, vandalizing new Banksy pieces with "Team Robbo".
67	* ThisPageWillSelfDestruct: He built a hidden shredder into the frame of one of his paintings from 2006, ''Girl with Balloon''. It came up for auction in October 2018, with a winning bid of £1.04 million; as soon as the auction ended, the mechanism kicked on and started shredding the painting, with the sliced pieces hanging out of the bottom and part of it still inside, intact. Banksy later stated that the device was meant to shred the whole painting, but had malfunctioned. The buyer decided to go through with the sale and keep the painting, which has been renamed ''Love Is in the Bin''.
68	* ThoseWackyNazis: Inserted into the otherwise unexceptional landscape painting "The Banality of the Banality of Evil".
69	* {{Troll}}: A major component of his work, with the above incident with the £1.04 million painting being a prime example.
70	* [[invoked]] TrueArtIsAngsty: [[ParodiedTrope Spoofed]] with "The Banality of the Banality of Evil", the title of which suggests that simply putting a Nazi officer into a painting will not automatically make it more deep.
71	* {{Watershed}}: Possibly unintentional example. One of Banksy's stencils shows Queen Bessie shoving her cooch into a poor girl's face. Whenever he painted it, it would quickly be removed...with the exception of one installment on a shop shutter, meaning the painting can only be seen after 9:00 PM when the shop closes.
72	* WeirdnessCensor: Banksy, like most graffiti artists, uses this to his advantage. There are several photos of Banksy painting in the middle of the day with no one caring.

Context Creator / Banksy