Banksy: King of All Street Art

Banksy rose to prominence vandalizing public property on the streets of Bristol, the bustling UK city located south of London. The elusive British artist found fame by leaving his street art wherever he saw fit. Set apart by clever innovations that differentiated him from other graffiti artists, Banksy’s graffiti was deemed art and preserved on city walls while all other graffiti art was scrubbed clean. City maintenance came to not only spare Banksy graffiti from property maintenance cleaning, but began preserving and even retouching any defacement or deterioration to his installations.

The irony is not missed by the artist. While Banksy is notoriously private and does not make any personal appearances, communicating only by email or social media, he said, “I love the way capitalism finds a place–even for its enemies.” 

He is not incorrect. The commercial market embraces this particular street artist. His art is celebrated by highbrow art enclaves and sold for hundreds of thousands of euros at art auctions. Banksy is an exception.

Rival graffiti artists who canvas open concrete structures, on the other hand, are not in accord with his artwork getting special treatment. They respond boldly with spray paint complaints visible to all.

That’s what happened in this example left on a wall in Bristol. On Valentine's Day 2020, a rival street artist defaced Banksy’s latest installation. It depicts a girl launching a bouquet of red flowers with a slingshot. It was marked over within days by a tagger who scrawled, “BCC Wankers,” in pink, a reference targeting Bristol’s city council decisions to clean up some graffiti but not Banksy's.

Banksy responded. On a February 20, 2020 Instagram post, he wrote, “I’m kind of glad the piece in Barton Hill got vandalised.” He posted this comment next to an image of his original sketches and stenciled graphics, marking a subtle point about his invincibility.

Aachoo!

This Banksy artwork of a woman sneezing on a rooftop was discovered in December 2020 in Bristol. A clear plexiglass sheet was immediately installed over the stenciled painting. It was entitled, “Aachoo!” by the artist.

Street Artist Rivalries

Graffiti art came to the UK from America, and the subculture had a profound influence on the city of Bristol. The large urban area is about an hour and a half train ride from London. It was home to a vibrant bohemian music and art scene as Banksy first started making his mark. Artistic styles were fed by the dynamic diversity of the multi-cultural port city, primarily influenced by folks of Caribbean roots. Local artists developed their talent around rap, punk, and other 1980s urban influences.

When Banksy first grabbed a paint can and sprayed stenciled commentary upon an open space, he was of this subculture and was engaging in a distinctive art form that had been developing in the area for over a decade, namely, the established Bristol graffiti art scene, home to a unique British subculture. Using stencils was a bold move. Graffiti artists considered it foul play.

Banksy's Rise to Prominence

It was out of a rivalry between graffiti artists that raised Banksy to prominence. Specifically, he went after King Robbo, Bristol’s most renowned tagger. Challenging Robbo got the young street artist noticed immediately. Robbo reigned as ruler of street art canvases since the early 1980s. Pictured here is one of his most respected street images.

During the early days, Robbo's markings dominated the walls of the city. He gained the recognition of having left his paintings on more trains than any other graffiti artist in Bristol. His look reflected the era’s standardized style of graffiti. Then, in the early 1990s, Banksy hit the scene. His trademark stenciled art challenged graffiti culture. Banksy boldly took on Robbo by confronting him publicly, taking on one of his most revered graffiti installations.

Robbo, who had quit street art years earlier, left his retirement to respond to Banksy’s humiliating message: a satire painted over his longtime prized mural painting. It was war.

The eyes of all watched the walls of Bristol chart the battles of these two graffiti kings. These battles made both artists famous.