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I’ve learnt from experience that a painting isn’t finished when you put down your brush – that’s when it starts. The public reaction is what supplies meaning and value. Art comes alive in the arguments you have about it.

Banksy

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.
BANKSY

Internet Looks People
Become good at cheating and you never need to become good at anything else.
BANKSY

Art Cheating Deep Thought
Although you might have to creep about at night and lie to your mum it’s actually one of the more honest art forms available. There is no elitism or hype, it exhibits on the best walls a town has to offer and nobody is put off by the price of admission.
BANKSY

Art Lying Wall
Keep your coins, I want change.
BANKSY

Coin Keep Want
Stencils are good for two reasons; one – they’re quick; two – they annoy idiots.
BANKSY

Annoying Idiot Two
If you want to say something and have people listen then you have to wear a mask. If you want to be honest then you have to live a lie.
BANKSY

Art Lying People
People either love me or they hate me, or they don’t really care.
BANKSY

Care Hate People
If it doesn’t matter, get rid of it. If you can’t get rid of it, it matters.
BANKSY

Get Matter Rid
If you have a statue in the city centre you could go past it every day on your way to school and never even notice it, right. But as soon as someone puts a traffic cone on its head, you’ve made your own sculpture.
BANKSY

Cities Past School
A lot of mothers will do anything for their children, except let them be themselves.
BANKSY

Children Mother Parenting
In the future, everybody will be anonymous for 15 minutes.
BANKSY

Anonymous Everybody Future Minute
People who get up early in the morning cause war, death and famine.
BANKSY

Art Morning War
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don’t do that so much anymore.
BANKSY

Art Encourage People Used
My lawyer’s opinion is that the cops might not actually be able to charge me with criminal damage any more – because theoretically my graffiti actually increases the value of property rather than decreasing it. That’s his theory, but then my lawyer also believes wearing novelty cartoon ties is a good look.
BANKSY

Believe Cartoon Ties
If you feel dirty, insignificant or unloved, then rats are a good role model. They exist without permission, they have no respect for the hierarchy of society, and they have sex 50 times a day.
BANKSY

Dirty Models Role Sex
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.
BANKSY

Art Clever Years
I’ve learnt from experience that a painting isn’t finished when you put down your brush – that’s when it starts. The public reaction is what supplies meaning and value. Art comes alive in the arguments you have about it.
BANKSY

Alive Art Painting
Brandalism Any advertisement in public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It belongs to you. It’s yours to take, rearrange and re-use. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.
BANKSY

Giving Rocks Space
When you go to an art gallery you are simply a tourist looking at the trophy cabinet of a few millionaires.
BANKSY

Art Cabinets Tourists
Film is incredibly democratic and accessible, it’s probably the best option if you actually want to change the world, not just re-decorate it.
BANKSY

Inspiring Movie World
I just wanna make the world a better-looking place. If you don’t like it, you can paint over it!
BANKSY

Look Over Paint World
I love the way capitalism finds a place – even for its enemies.
BANKSY

Capitalism Enemy Way
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

Asking Business World
If you want someone to be ignored then build a life-size bronze statue of them and stick it in the middle of town. It doesn’t matter how great you were, it’ll always take an unfunny drunk with climbing skills to make people notice you.
BANKSY

Climbing Drunk Skills
Nothing is black and white, and there is no purity and there is no such thing has justice.
BANKSY

Black Justice Purity White
Gaza is often described as ‘the world’s largest open air prison’ because no-one is allowed to enter or leave. But that seems a bit unfair to prisons – they don’t have their electricity and drinking water cut off randomly almost every day.
BANKSY

Air Cutting Drinking
It’s impossible to predict which paintings will last and which won’t. In New Orleans I painted on a dilapidated shop in a street littered with abandoned cars and rotting mattresses, then two hours later the piece was gone. It turned out I’d picked the side of a crack house and the proprietor didn’t like the attention.
BANKSY

Car New Orleans Two

I’ve learnt from experience that a painting isn’t finished when you put down your brush – that’s when it starts. The public reaction is what supplies meaning and value. Art comes alive in the arguments you have about it.

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I’ve learnt from experience that a painting isn’t finished when you put down your brush – that’s when it starts. The public reaction is what supplies meaning and value. Art comes alive in the arguments you have about it.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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