Banksy's inspirations

Artists who obviously inspired him

Influences

Although information remains very limited on this, Banksy is said to have some sources of inspiration very different. In general, we can say that demoralizing inspires him greatly but, in depth, we note in his works some similarities with those of other artists sharing the same vision. Among them, artists that have been admired and that are admired to this day, people that have made a major difference in the world of contemporary art.

We thus find Blek le Rat, French stencilist using graffiti since the beginning of the 1980s as well as Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Parisian plastic artist contributing to the urban scene for more than 30 years. These similarities are very small but, they are palpable. For example, the mark of Blek le Rat is a little rat made with stencils, very similar to the rats often illustrated by Banksy.

The latter says:
“Every time I paint something, I discover that Blek le Rat has already done it, just 20 years earlier!”. Thus, Banksy paints police officers, servicemen or others, to discover then that Blek le Rat has already done it in the past. Banksy admires the art of Blek le Rat, and this one does the same.

In the case of Ernest Pignon-Ernest, it is more about joining a mentality, a way of doing rather than producing similar works visually. He put his painted, drawn or silk-screened works on the walls of cities and in a wide range of public places with the support of the population who defended his artworks. Pignon-Ernest denounced prefabricated art for museums, which is annoying and dull for him. Moreover, Ernest Pignon-Ernest installs his artworks himself, discreetly and when everyone is sleeping, during the night. Like Banksy, Pignon-Ernest gives powerful messages through his art, often composed of characters drawn to scale. He is today a reference, a bright star in the artistic universe.

In another order of ideas, we can say that Andy Warhol’s artworks influenced very differently Banksy’s art. In 2006, Bansky sold a work for a sum a lot beyond the primary estimation. The subject of this painting was none other than the top model Kate Moss, painted in the manner of the famous painting of Marilyn Monroe that Warhol made a few decades ago. “Art terrorist” also makes a reproduction on canvas of the "Campbell's" canned soup produced by Warhol in 1962. The main differences lie in the choice of colors and the “Value” brand, which is a pure invention. Reproductions developed by Banksy of these various famous works tend to suggest a specific fact.

The only real inspiration of the artist is actually the human being, in all his forms, with his faults and qualities, his ideals and his crazy ideas. He creates a way to entertain and transcend what was established until now; he wants to ennoble the “street art” in order to make of this the art of all backgrounds, of all cultures, of all peoples. He achieves that so far elegantly and skillfully, without falling into the bad taste.

And we, fans, are only a tiny point in the huge creative macrocosm of Banksy.