Banksy and Cultivating the Cultural Soil

 Banksy, who, I am sure, most people are at least familiar with, is an anonymous English street artist. He has been active for over thirty years, creating art as a political and social statement. One of his most famous works is "Balloon Girl", which is a stencil that depicts a young girl reaching out to a red balloon, which happens to be the only color throughout the artwork. Banksy’s painting of "Balloon Girl" was sold at an auction in 2018, and right when it was sold, the picture frame started to shred the painting. This was the first artwork to be created live during an auction. Banksy did this in protest of the commercialism in the art world, which did end up backfiring because the painting was then worth even more. 

Most of Banksy’s work all has some message to it. "Balloon girl", for example, symbolizes the lost innocence that children in conflict and war zones experience. Others include “Love is in the Air,” which depicts a protester with a mask on, throwing flowers instead of something harmful. This represents the choice to turn violence into peace. There are many more powerful artworks that Banksy has created; however, those are the ones that are most well-known.

In Culture Care, Fujimara mentions how we have done little to cultivate the soil of culture for the next generation and how efforts made to plant seeds culturally will most likely not yield any significant results for some time. He does then go on to mention how, when under the right conditions and care, “rapid regeneration” is possible after a major disaster. Fujimara uses the example of volcanoes and forest fires. Banksy’s work is a good example of how regeneration is possible. His work has a clear message and has reached a lot of people. His work didn't necessarily happen as a result of a major disaster, but more as a result of a buildup of tensions, politically and socially.