How Banksy Saved Art History

A new take on the history of art as parodied, reinterpreted and ultimately reinforced by the international phenomenon that is Banksy. Few would dispute that Banksy is the most famous urban artist in the world today. That he is also one of the most perceptive art historians of our age might come as a surprise to many. Taken together, the myriad memorable works the street artist has created over the course of the past thirty years, since his emergence in the Bristol underground scene in the early 1990s, constitute an audacious commentary on the history of image-making ¿ a captivating critique waiting to be pieced together. Armed with little more than stencils, spray paint and an anonymizing cloak of after-hours darkness, Banksy has forged an alluring identity for himself as an incorrigible prankster who doesn¿t embrace tradition, but shreds it. Consider Banksy and you think of grubby city walls far removed from elite galleries and privileged museums where art is conventionally shown. Wha