Graffiti: Street Crime or Street Art?

The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It's people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages -Banksy Banksy is one of the most famous street artists alive. His artistic style ranges from graffiti to sculpture-like works. Some view him as an obnoxious vandal while others believe him to be a brilliant genius. He keeps his identity a secret; his secrecy and brilliant works fascinate people. His art not only adds playful life into mundane buildings and streets, but also promotes an anti-war message. This artwork criticizes the government for making young children participate in war, though the war is supposed to be for the benefit of the people. Bansky questions what the government's purpose in the war was through this simple, yet powerful street art. In the Crayon Boy (Gun) by Banksy, there is a little boy, presumed to be a Vietnamese boy, reviving a scene from the Vietnam War (National Public Radio, Par 2). The landscape shows the type of activities this boy should be engaging in: drawing flowers and butterflies with crayons while the sun looks down happily. However, he is standing in the middle of this oh-so-happy garden, holding a machine gun, fighting for his life. Banksy revives a scene from a war, but instead of using deadly, metal bullets, he replaces them with rainbow-like crayons. This replacement shows his feelings about the phenomenon of forcing children to participate in war and how brutal that is. Although the subject of the artwork is Vietnamese, this piece comments on children (in general) that are forced to participate in war (National Public Radio, Par 3). Thematically, this artwork questions the purpose of war. The Vietnam War was supposed to be a war between the two major opposing sides in Vietnam; in the big picture, however, it was just a huge war between the USSR and the US. The two countries were supposedly fighting for the poor Vietnamese, when in reality; they were just fighting for their own greed as stronger nations. Banksy questions who this war was for and whether it was necessary to make children get involved in this greedy game for adults and by adults. http://jsimster.blogspot.com/2011/05/crayon-boy-gun-banksy-2011_13.html

 Another good example of Banksys art that challenges the viewer is this image of the hero. This hero is not your typical hero though; he is a homeless man holding a sign with this message to the public: KEEP YOUR COINS, I WANT CHANGE.

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