Banksy: The Man behind the Wall: Revised and Illustrated Edition
Original price was: $30.00.$15.39Current price is: $15.39.
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For someone who shuns the limelight so completely that he conceals his name, never shows his face and gives interviews only by email, Banksy is remarkably famous.
This fully updated and illustrated story of Banksy’s life and career builds an intriguing picture of his world and unpicks its contradictions. Whether art or vandalism, anti-establishment or sell-out, Banksy and his work have become a cultural phenomenon and the question ‘Who is Banksy?’ is as much about his career as it is ‘the man behind the wall’.
From his beginnings as a Bristol graffiti artist, his artwork is now sold at auction for seven-figure sums and hangs on celebrities’ walls. The appearance of a new Banksy is national news, his documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop was Oscar-nominated and people queue for hours to see his latest exhibition. Now moreNational Treasure than edgy outsider, who is Banksy and how did he become what he is today?
This book charts Banksy’s journey from the graffiti-scrawled streets of Barton Hill, the working class neighbourhood of Bristol where he and others covered the walls with vibrant pieces while trying to avoid the police, through to some of the most prestigious galleries of the world, where his daring acts of guerilla art have forced us to reconsider how we define as art.
From the artist’s own words to recollections of friends and colleagues, this book also examines the contradictions of Banksy’s life: charting how a privately educated boy from a middle class area of Bristol reinvented himself as a rogue and an outlaw who would take the art world by storm.
With beautiful reproductions of some of his most controversial and recognisable works, this detailed study is a truly indispensible guide to understanding the ultimate art rebel whose work is no less relevant today than it was when he first started out some thirty years ago.
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188 reviews for Banksy: The Man behind the Wall: Revised and Illustrated Edition
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Original price was: $30.00.$15.39Current price is: $15.39.
V. Vargas –
Insightful and interesting look at Banksy and how his art has impacted the world at one point of another. Definitely a book that any fan should take a look at. Well not a fast paced book it does keep readers entertained.
Anon –
I’m positive this is by far, the best book written about the life of Banksy to date. A little about where I’m coming from: I wouldn’t say I’m an obsessed Banksy fan or collector of his work but I have read three other books about Banksy (You are an Acceptable Level of Threat, Seven Years with Banksy, The Art of Banksy: A Visual Protest), as well as the four books he has published himself. NOTE: This is not a coffee table book with only pictures of his work. It definitely has a lot of pictures and uses them wisely when they relate to the text but the majority of the book is text.
This is a book about who Banksy is, where he grew up, what he’s like as a person and an artist, how his work and scale progressed from Bristol to all over the world, and the team of people that surround him. Will did a really, really phenomenal job reaching out to basically anyone who has been in contact with Banksy and actually convinced a few to talk to him. Will obviously doesn’t reveal the artist’s name, although he mentions where to find that information on the internet if that’s why you’re interested in the book. I’m not sure what the 2013 version was like, but this 2021 version is definitely the way to go. So much has happened in the 8 years between and Will covers all that in the book. It was jaw-dropping to see how little Banksy sells prints or artwork for and then what resellers are getting for them. I don’t know why it never really occurred to me that Banksy sees practically none of the money that his art fetches because it’s all private collectors selling it. The Sources and Bibliography sections at the end of the book are stunning. The amount of articles, books, and interviews read, videos watched, websites and forums Will visited was staggering.
Most importantly, Will has written as far as I know, the most unbiased book on Banksy to date. None of the other books I mentioned in my intro offered a single negative critique of the artist, only reverence (maybe one of them mentioned the whole Robbo affair actually). Will is obviously a fan and in fact mentions an interesting story about going to pick up a Banksy print himself, but he isn’t afraid to point out ironies surrounding Banksy as well as other controversies and hypocrisies.
I’m trying to think of what I didn’t like about the book but honestly I can’t come up with much. There were a couple typos…
I would suggest opening the preview on Amazon in order to read the table of contents, the first few chapters, and the Sources and Bibliography sections I was talking about. That will tell you if it is a good fit for you.
Simply put, if you are interested in learning about Banksy, this is the book for you.
Neil Browning –
Excellent exhibition. Highly recommend it.
Teresa –
A very interesting and informative book about the man behind the stencils. It’s written in a way that is simple to understand and I like that it doesn’t try to unveil the mystery surrounding Banksy. Highly recommended!
Didier –
Its a reading book, not to mutch a pictures book.
Sandy Sigsbee –
This is artist biography and some of is work.
September Scott –
Great coffee table book!
Sandy –
A fascinating if unauthorized bio of Banksy. Raises many interesting issues regarding the value of art and the power of social media. If you have ever wondered about graffiti writers, this book takes you into their world.
J. Burns –
Bought as gift for son. Arrived in excellent condition.
Viaggiatore curioso –
It’s a very enjoyable book, well-written and impartial in its thoughts and judgments. It’s a kind of biography without pedantry.
Lanah Bardier –
Giving 5 stars BC the seller shipped the item quickly and the condition was as described, new. The book itself isn’t bad. It wasn’t what I expected. If I had to rate the book itself, I’d give it 3 stars due to the authors writing style. I’m happy with the purchase and I feel I got a great deal. The author isn’t trrrible but certainly not exceptional. In all, there are certainly many interesting points and some of the information I found quite interesting. I loved the design and the pages are all black on the edges which I thought was really cool. I’d buy it again.
Patricia –
Excellent condition! Extremely happy with my purchasr and time it took to get my book. The book was brand new and was in better shape than described.
Florent –
Attention, textes en anglais et zero photos pour cet ouvrage dédié à Banksy.
C’est de ma faute j’avais mal lu le descriptif.