The Girl With the Red Balloon
When my sister and I went to Paris, we stayed in a B&B on the outskirts of the city. Some online reviewers called the neighborhood seedy and even dangerous--it wasn't. Not really. But it wasn't what most people imagine when they think of Paris, either.
On the first night, on the bus into the main part of Paris, we drove under a dark overpass, and on the concrete wall I saw a beautiful piece of graffiti art: a little girl, her hair and her skirt lifting in the breeze, her hand outstretched toward the string of a heart-shaped red balloon. The string is close to her fingers, within inches, but the viewer already knows she won't catch it. In fact, I'm still not sure if she was trying to catch the balloon or letting it go.
We had an amazing time in Paris. We left Paris. And then I kicked myself for not taking a picture of the girl with the red balloon.
Months later, back at UofM, I decided on a whim to search the graffiti on Google. I knew it was a long shot--but I was bored. Might as well see if some other traveler had spotted the beautiful piece of street art and snapped a picture. I crossed my fingers for one accurate result.
I found hundreds.
When my sister and I went to Paris, we stayed in a B&B on the outskirts of the city. Some online reviewers called the neighborhood seedy and even dangerous--it wasn't. Not really. But it wasn't what most people imagine when they think of Paris, either.
On the first night, on the bus into the main part of Paris, we drove under a dark overpass, and on the concrete wall I saw a beautiful piece of graffiti art: a little girl, her hair and her skirt lifting in the breeze, her hand outstretched toward the string of a heart-shaped red balloon. The string is close to her fingers, within inches, but the viewer already knows she won't catch it. In fact, I'm still not sure if she was trying to catch the balloon or letting it go.
We had an amazing time in Paris. We left Paris. And then I kicked myself for not taking a picture of the girl with the red balloon.
Months later, back at UofM, I decided on a whim to search the graffiti on Google. I knew it was a long shot--but I was bored. Might as well see if some other traveler had spotted the beautiful piece of street art and snapped a picture. I crossed my fingers for one accurate result.
I found hundreds.
Humanity and Red Lipstick
As it turns out, the girl with the red balloon is one of the classic images of Banksy, an anonymous British tagger whose pseudonym is almost legendary in the London (and worldwide) graffiti scene. His stencils are famous--especially the girl with the red balloon, which I stumbled upon in Paris.
According to an article in Esquire, Banksy's manifesto is a diary entry of a British officer who'd been among the first to liberate a concentration camp:
"It was shortly after the British Red Cross arrived, though it may have no connection, that a very large quantity of lipstick arrived. This was not at all what we men wanted, we were screaming for hundreds and thousands of other things and I don't know who asked for lipstick. I wish so much that I could discover who did it, it was the action of genius, sheer unadulterated brilliance. I believe nothing did more for these internees than the lipstick. Women lay in bed with no sheets and no nightie but with scarlet red lips, you saw them wandering about with nothing but a blanket over their shoulders, but with scarlet red lips. I saw a woman dead on the post mortem table and clutched in her hand was a piece of lipstick. At last someone had done something to make them individuals again, they were someone, no longer merely the number tattooed on the arm. At last they could take an interest in their appearance. That lipstick started to give them back their humanity."
Legendary Artist or Vandal with a Spray Can?
In the Esquire article, everybody knows Banksy's name. One man refers to him as "the next Warhol." But like the original mural in Graffiti Alley of Ann Arbor, Banksy's work is temporary--and, arguably, illegal. His passionate following demonstrates the fine line between vandalism and art (and the tendency for the two categories to overlap). Banksy's art is so powerful because it's NOT framed in a museum, behind glass. It's unsanctioned. On the margins. Banksy uses his stencils, sometimes whimsical, sometimes deadly serious, and sometimes both, to critique the world on the stage where everything intersects: the streets.
On Banksy's website, anyone can look through some of Banksy's art. And Google Images provides an even bigger gallery. His stencils resonate with numerous themes: anti-war, anti-capitalism, issues of sex and violence, environmental awareness, and loneliness/alienation, among countless others.
In the Esquire article, everybody knows Banksy's name. One man refers to him as "the next Warhol." But like the original mural in Graffiti Alley of Ann Arbor, Banksy's work is temporary--and, arguably, illegal. His passionate following demonstrates the fine line between vandalism and art (and the tendency for the two categories to overlap). Banksy's art is so powerful because it's NOT framed in a museum, behind glass. It's unsanctioned. On the margins. Banksy uses his stencils, sometimes whimsical, sometimes deadly serious, and sometimes both, to critique the world on the stage where everything intersects: the streets.
On Banksy's website, anyone can look through some of Banksy's art. And Google Images provides an even bigger gallery. His stencils resonate with numerous themes: anti-war, anti-capitalism, issues of sex and violence, environmental awareness, and loneliness/alienation, among countless others.
Banksy isn't a legend with everyone. According to the New Yorker, some critics feel that Banksy's art "glorifies what is essentially vandalism," and that his work contains "some wit . . . some cleverness--and a massive bucket of hot steaming hype."
On the other hand, it could be argued that Banksy's art is not as marginalized and alternative as he (or, rather, his supporters) would like it to be; his pieces have been known to sell for thousands of pounds, and his name pops up everywhere. But his fame isn't typical of our Hollywood-generated culture. His name is out there, his art increasingly mainstream, because people embrace his rebellion against artistic norms and his mode of critique. Banksy says graffiti speaks for those whose voices often aren't heard, and in the modern capitalist machine, there are many who feel their voices aren't heard.
"Bus stops are far more interesting and useful places to have art than in museums. Graffiti has more chance of meaning something or changing stuff than anything indoors. Graffiti has been used to start revolutions, stop wars, and generally is the voice of people who aren't listened to. Graffiti is one of those few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don't come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make somebody smile while they're having a piss."
--Banksy, Banging Your Head Against A Brick Wall
On the other hand, it could be argued that Banksy's art is not as marginalized and alternative as he (or, rather, his supporters) would like it to be; his pieces have been known to sell for thousands of pounds, and his name pops up everywhere. But his fame isn't typical of our Hollywood-generated culture. His name is out there, his art increasingly mainstream, because people embrace his rebellion against artistic norms and his mode of critique. Banksy says graffiti speaks for those whose voices often aren't heard, and in the modern capitalist machine, there are many who feel their voices aren't heard.
"Bus stops are far more interesting and useful places to have art than in museums. Graffiti has more chance of meaning something or changing stuff than anything indoors. Graffiti has been used to start revolutions, stop wars, and generally is the voice of people who aren't listened to. Graffiti is one of those few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don't come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make somebody smile while they're having a piss."
--Banksy, Banging Your Head Against A Brick Wall
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