Analyzing one of Banksy’s Art Work
Creativity has always had a way and the ability to transport the human mind to another dimension. The artwork discussed below was done by Banksy when he traveled to the West Bank in 2005, he painted the security fence at Bethlehem using a technique that makes the image exist in three dimensions. The painting falls within the landscape genre. The image is of a realistic place, the beach behind the wall is realistic enough to convince the human eye. Human images have been included in the artwork; the painting has two small boys one is holding a tin while the other kneels beside the wall with a bucket close by with a painting brush at hand. From their pose, they are painting the image at the center of the wall. They seem uneasy and are both looking at the same direction staring at something, none of them paying attention to the wall they seem to be painting. The swinging and bent palm trees are abstract elements that have been inspired by realistic form, the bending of the trees that are well spaced is a deliberate arrangement. The glittering beach on the other side gives one the illusion that some had dug his way to paradise.
The focal point of the picture is the beach behind the round hole in the concrete wall, Banksy makes the beach the focal point of the painting by placing it right in the middle of the artwork, the colors that are used on the beach also play an important part in making it the focal point since they immediately attract the attention of the viewer. At the foreground of the painting, there are the two boys, at the middle ground there is the concrete wall and a part of the beach, ocean and the palm trees, the background of the image is dominated by palm trees, an ocean that stretches to the horizon and is mostly blocked by the palm trees and the clear blue sky that is cloudless. The colors used in the painting greatly affect the mood of the picture, the color used to portray the two boys is a lighter shade of black, the color portrays these boys as troubled, the color is an illustration of troubled times, the colors used to portray the beach bring about a change of mood in the image, the mood transitions from a gloomy mood to a lively mood. The color blue waters and sky bring to mind a calming effect. Blue is a color of cool expansiveness and openness and creates a soothing mood. The color green used to paint the leaves of the palm trees brings about a feeling and mood of harmony and a calming effect that symbolizes hope, gentleness, and modesty.
This painting is the symbolic representation of light at the end of the tunnel. From a personal view I feel like the wall is a barrier to paradise, the wall stands in between two different places, one miserable place another lively place, digging through concrete is a hard task but it seems like someone finally broke down the barrier that stands between them and paradise and finally the person found the light at the end of the tunnel.
