Banksy on graffiti
Banksy115 quotes“Graffiti is only dangerous in the mind of three types of people; politicians, advertising executives and graffiti writers.”
Filed under
More from 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.
BanksyBanksy 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.
BanksyBanksy I don’t know why people are so keen to put the details of their private life in public; they forget that invisibility is a superpower.
BanksyBanksy The bad artists imitate, the great artists steal.
BanksyBanksy I 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.
BanksyBanksy Nobody ever listened to me until they didn’t know who I was
BanksyBanksy There’s nothing more dangerous than someone who wants to make the world a better place.
BanksyBanksy Nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful people with talent, leave the house before you find something worth staying in for.
BanksyBanksy I just wanna make the world a better-looking place. If you don’t like it, you can paint over it!
BanksyBanksy 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.
BanksyBanksy Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing.
BanksyBanksy Fight the fighters, not their wars.
BanksyBanksy I tell myself I use art to promote dissent, but maybe I am just using dissent to promote my art. I plead not guilty to selling out. But I plead it from a bigger house than I used to live in.
BanksyBanksy You can win the rat race but you’re still a rat.
BanksyBanksy I don’t believe in anything. I’m just here for the violence.
BanksyBanksy I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website – but on the internet, people only look at pictures of kittens.
BanksyBanksy
Original quotes
From our community writers
We were dirt poor but we had each other. We didn’t need much to have a lot.
Brad NeatonBrad Neaton Always show kindness and love to others. Your words might be filling the empty places in someone else heart.
Alexander KandovAlexander Kandov One quick sip of your memory I let it slip, and I go on without you.
Emma SchippersEmma Schippers If the scars on my heart were visible to the naked eye, maybe you’d think twice about inflicting more.
Laura Natoli-KearneyLaura Natoli-Kearney I am getting better at forgetting you. I am slowly but steadily learning the art of forgetting you.
Juana GarciaJuana Garcia Paper and pen petrify me, for they pierce right through me, drawing deep blue blood, leaving me utterly cold.
Shreya JoshiShreya Joshi Spend time with people who get excited over even the smallest victories you earn.
Sonia SabnisSonia Sabnis I wonder if you were the poison or the antidote.
Ginnie BaleGinnie Bale
Meet the writers
More on graffiti
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.
BanksyBanksy 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.
BanksyBanksy Nobody ever listened to me until they didn’t know who I was
BanksyBanksy Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing.
BanksyBanksy Graffiti is one of the 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 someone smile while they’re having a piss.
BanksyBanksy Writing graffiti is about the most honest way you can be an artist. It takes no money to do it, you don’t need an education to understand it, and there’s no admission fee.
BanksyBanksy The parts of graffiti I like are really antagonizing still – it’s not something that a museum would really embrace.
Barry McGeeBarry McGee A wall is a very big weapon. It’s one of the nastiest things you can hit someone with.
BanksyBanksy
