I’d been painting rats for three years before someone said ‘that’s clever it’s an anagram of art’ and I had to pretend I’d known that all along.
BANKSYI like to think I have the guts to stand up anonymously in a western democracy and call for things no-one else believes in – like peace and justice and freedom.
More Banksy Quotes
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I know street art can feel increasingly like the marketing wing of an art career, so I wanted to make some art without the price tag attached. There’s no gallery show or book or film. It’s pointless. Which hopefully means something.
BANKSY -
It doesn’t take much to be a successful artist-all you need to do is dedicate your entire life to it.
BANKSY -
Nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful people with talent, leave the house before you find something worth staying in for.
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I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don’t do that so much anymore.
BANKSY -
A lot of mothers will do anything for their children, except let them be themselves.
BANKSY -
All artists are willing to suffer for their work. But why are so few prepared to learn to draw?
BANKSY -
You owe the companies nothing. You especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.
BANKSY -
People seem to think if they dress like a revolutionary they don`t actually have to behave like one.
BANKSY -
You’re mind is working at its best when you’re being paranoid. You explore every avenue and possibility of your situation at high speed with total clarity.
BANKSY -
The one thing you can rely on is if you get disturbed halfway through a painting and it looks a bit naff, then someone will preserve that piece, remove it and a few months later it’ll be paraded round Sotheby’s by people wearing white gloves.
BANKSY -
I mean, they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.
BANKSY -
I don’t think you should have to pay to look at graffiti. You should only pay if you want to get rid of it.
BANKSY -
If Michaelangelo or Leonardo Da Vinci were alive today they’d be making Avatar, not painting a chapel.
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People who get up early in the morning cause war, death and famine.
BANKSY -
I don’t know if street art ever really works indoors. If you domesticate an animal, it goes from being wild and free to sterile, fat and sleepy. So maybe the art should stay outside.
BANKSY