Is street-art Banksy sending a message with his mysterious mural?

Banksy's street-art that appeared in May 2010, Chinatown in Boston, Massachusetts.

What comes to your mind when immediately looking at this photo? Do you see a cheerful and optimistic image? Your answer is probably no. I chose to do a visual analysis on Banksy’s “Follow Your Dreams, Cancelled” piece because it relates to many young people around me every day who desperately want to reach their dreams but can’t. During college, you may realize you can’t always get what you want due to financials, health conditions and other obstacles. Due to these reasons, I feel  that doing an analysis on this artwork is relevant. 

When I look at this specific piece of art, I see a gloomy, discouraging man who is putting a harsh end to the happy-go-lucky saying “follow your dreams.” In may 2010, popular street artist and political activist white-washed a wall in Chinatown, Boston and left his mark to the people around it. Most of us have been told by our parents, friends, and teachers something along the lines of “reach for the stars,” or “don’t stop until you get there.” However, according to Banksy sometimes our dreams are in fact out of reach. The location of the street-art shows emphasis in analyzing this text.

1. Let’s start with figuring out what street art is. According to Art Republic, “street art is any art developed in public spaces. The term can include traditional graffiti art work, as well as, stencil graffiti, sticker art, wheat pasting and street poster art, video projection, art intervention, guerrilla art, flash mobbing and street installations.” Though Banksy is credited for this piece, he did not sign it. He wants the people who see this mural to take in consideration if their dreams and realities are in reach. This piece’s goal, politically, is for people to take and accept what it is saying- we are no longer free to follow our dreams – until we change them more accordingly.

2. It’s interesting that this art appeared in a low-poverty section of Chinatown, in Boston, Massachusetts. In low- income areas, young teens and adults are less likely to reach, let alone follow their dreams due to money shortage, and other obstacles they face daily. I think the location of this art is very crucial to its meaning. If you know anything about Banksy, it’s interesting to know that he does all his work in secret. Street Art Bio says, “very little is known about Banksy himself, as he refuses to be interviewed and keeps his identity carefully maintained. A world-renowned mystery man, Banksy has risen through the ranks to become one of the world's greatest street artists partly by creating an urgency to understand his character. Street art fanatics are consistently satisfied with every piece of art he delivers, though he often leaves them wanting more. This tactic carries one's curiosity to explore a completely new perspective or idea, leaving his artistic creations to inspire beginning and advanced artists”. This inspiration is also known as the Banksy Effect.” What is he scared of? Politics? Controversy? Imagine this. If you see a man in broad daylight painting this on the street, you might give an eye roll, or even call the cops for vandalizing property and graffiti. It’s not like it was hidden from people at all either, Geoff Edger’s from Globe Staff says, “What seemed like proof stared out from a gray wall next to parking space number 32 in a neighboring lot. There, a 6-foot-tall stenciled figure with a brush and bucket stood next to the spray-painted cliché “FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS.’’ In typically Banksian fashion, the drip-dried message had been stamped over with the word “CANCELLED,’’ outlined in red.”  I can imagine that most people could get offended at this work. He never does press conferences or interviews, categorizing him as a man who keeps to himself, and works in silence.

3.  The colors in this art do not at all strike me as bright and buoyant. To start, he white-washed the wall and grey scaled this piece to give it a very dull feel. Considering the only thing in color is the big red “cancelled” word that looks like a manufactured sticker, while the words “follow your dreams” are looked to be hand-painted. The color red is known as angry, forceful, and violent. Sugoi Harris, who also created a blog about Banksy’s piece, takes a deeper look into the word cancelled, and these synonyms are as followed: “abolish, destroy, remove, repeal, kill, break-off.” I take it as though Banksy was trying to convey the word “cancelled” as the main point of the piece by having it stand out. However, ‘cancelled’ looks like a sticker. Sticker= removable. If the American people chose dreams that are more in reach, the sticker can easily be removed.  What exactly is a “dream” in the saying “follow your dreams?” A few synonyms for the word dream are ambition, aspiration, hope, aim, objective, wish. The words cancelled, and dream, don’t go hand in hand with each other. They are very opposite meanings. Banksy putting them together is showing a very derogatory message. The picture shows that the words were freshly painted, having the excess paint dripping down the letters to emphasis messy sloppiness. Another attribute in thinking it was freshly painted is the bucket and paintbrush in his hands. He did not have time to put the bucket and paintbrush down, therefore they are still in his hands.

4. The picture screams discouragement, including the tired-looking man with his shoulders hunched down and a long face. His tethered clothing shows that he has been working long hours maybe trying to support a family. His jacket looks big on him and the sleeves are rolled up meaning he possibly found it, it was passed down from someone, or was bought at a thrift or consignment shop. With his sleeves being rolled up, it may mean he was trying to get them out of his way while working. Could he perhaps be an immigrant failing at the vision of the American Dream?  Chinatowns or places like it, like the one in Boston, became immigrant havens where they can pursue the American Dream. The realistic stencil of a lower-class worker is obviously an older man weathered by life. He is not happy, and doesn’t seem to be capable of living the American Dream.  Banksy is representing Americans as a whole, through this man.

Resources

Edgers, Geoff. "Tag - We're It." Boston.com. The Boston Globe, 15 May 2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

Harris, Sugoi. "Analysis of A Visual: Banksy Street Art." Analysis of A Visual: Banksy Street Art. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

"Street Art." Artrepublic.com. Art Republic, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

"Street Art Bio | Street Artists Biographies." Street Art Bio | Street Artists Biographies. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.