Banksy

Lesson 3

Eng A Language and Literature 23

22.4.2022
Aapo Rauha
JSA
 Today’s agenda
• Presentations
• More work on today’s Banksy pieces
• Independent study instructions
• More
 Presentations
• 5 minutes per presentation
• Pay attention to others’ presentations: we will do more work based on these after
we are done!
 5-minute oral commentary
1. You will be assigned a partner and one of the Banksy texts presented today (one
text each).
2. Prepare in 5 minutes a 5-minute commentary on the text assigned to you.
- Comment on the context and other elements that are relevant for analysis.
- Feel free to use the terms from 13.4. when preparing what you want to say.
For example, symbolism, meaning, visual choices and so on
3. Present your 5-minute commentary to your partner. Your partner will tell you
when your 5 minutes is up. You must speak about your text until then.
4. Switch roles.
Piece / Amanda Botond Isabel Juan Diego
Group 1

Piece / Sarah Pyry Risa Antonette Talemwa

Group 2

Piece / Aida Vladimir Maria Keagan Axel

Group 3

Piece / Sofia Konstantin Sofia Madeleine Laura

Group 4
Source

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNJVoC8l45A
What did you think?
(that has not been said yet)
• Phones light up their faces: concrete but also symbolic
meaning. Background dark, world without phones… also, kind
of blurry, no sharp lines. What does this mean? Effect on
mood?
• Body language: their faces do not look happy or express a lot
of emotion in general. Professional-looking clothes.
• Tone gloomy, feeling: is this really how life is? Attempts to
reach phone users. Also, looks about life-size
• Main purpose: living in the moment?
• Is living “through” your phone bad – and is it portrayed as a
bad thing here? View on technology in general?
 What did you
think?
• Classic Banksy: light + dark, red to highlight. Eye first drawn to the red
text
• Person in suit and has a briefcase. Social commentary – work and career
are everything in our society, no time for people?
• Gaze: they are looking at the camera. Fun effect – “this sign includes you”
• A thought I found online: “these high bankers and CEO's of the banks and
larger finance companies make billions of dollars, and they do not care
about the greater good of OTHER people and other lives” (link below)
 Person in suit symbolises corporations, business, society – even
capitalism (running theme with Banksy!)
 People or humans less important
http://micaelamarie.weebly.com/art-bloginspiration-digital-design/0-
interest-in-people
What did you
think?
• Union Jack highlighted.
• Child labourer seems to be working on something for the
UK. Critique of colonialism? Nationalism?
• Ragged clothes, child barefoor, again showing that the
Western world could do better. The child’s face is not
looking happy
• Context-wise London Olympics and related sweatshops.
Also, originally painted on a cheap one-pound-everything
store “Poundland”
 What did you
think?
• Very context- and knowledge-dependent piece
• Zehra Doğan holding a pencil – symbolism obvious
if you know the story behind this work
• Very large, very attention-catching, very important. Light and dark again.
• The bars look like she is counting days in prison
• Spreading knowledge globally and also targeting the Turkish authorities. Agenda against (Turkish)
censorship. Also, Banksy’s personal agenda, as he is in the same business of controversial art
• Zoomed in, her face looks more determined than sad or angry?
 Directions: Independent study on the 25th
• HL: Recreate a Banksy piece (any that we have discussed) as a poem
• SL: Create a pastiche of a Banksy work

 pastiche: Imitates the style of an artist but is your own piece of work.
 Not a parody – pastiches are about embracing the artist and their style, not making fun or
mocking them.

• Return to the forum on Moodle before the class on 27.4., so that others can give feedback
• HL: Give feedback + thoughts on one of the pastiches (due: before class on the 29th)
• SL: Give feedback + thoughts on one of the poems (due: before class on the 29th)
 1. Share what you thought was the most interesting aspect of the work.
2. Ask a question about the work.
 Feedback partners

Keagan Isabel Juan Talemwa Antonette Maddie Diego Laura Maria Risa

Konstantin Axel Pyry Sarah Amanda Fred Botond Vladimir Aida Sofia
 Multimodality
• Multiple means (or modes) of conveying or understanding a message
• For example: text, image, moving image, sound…
• Does multimodality help Banksy’s messages? Do you find it important, and do you
think you are aware of the multimodal messages you are taking in?
• In Banksy exhibitions, some works are often enhanced with sound or moving visual
effects. Do you find this good, bad or neutral?
• Has an effect on what your focus is on. For example, choice of music in
the background of an image (but this steps into the territory of psychology)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXKE0nAMmg4

Have a sunny weekend!