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On-line Papers / Journal
Articles
Paul Gough
‘Existencillism’: Banksy and the stencil
as radical graphic form
Journal: Drawing: Research, Theory, Practice
, 2015 (in Press)
Abstract
Contemporary graffiti artists, or ‘writers’
as they are known, observe a strict hierarchy that self-ranks ambition,
daring and calligraphic innovation. At the apex are those writers
who create the imposing wildstyle exhibition pieces, large-scale
vivid inscriptions that require a high degree of graphic invention
and daring. At the other extreme are the stencil-cutters, who by
comparison are regarded within the peer community of the subculture,
as lesser writers, relying on craft skills that are held to be quaint,
even fraudulent. This paper explores the persistence and ubiquitous
spread of the stencil as a vehicle for mass–produced street
art, made especially popular through the iconic work of British
street-artist Banksy. Exploring the origins of his work in stencil
the paper examines how he has both radicalised the genre, while
still retaining its essential value as an industrial, utilitarian,
and iconic graphic.
The paper compares the deadpan, but hugely popular, drawn language
of the stencil with the freehand calligraphy of the taggers, ‘kings’
and other exhibition ‘writers’, and closes with a set
of questions, in particular what is the future of drawing in countercultural
expression.
Keywords:
Subcultural graffiti
Banksy
Blec le Rat
Street art
Stencil
Stencilling
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