110 Banksy Quotes From And About The Iconic Bristolian Graffiti Artist

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Well, you are in the right place! We have gathered the best Banksy quotes right here for you, featuring funny graffiti quotes and inspiring famous artist quotes.

It is believed that the real name of the street artist Banksy is Robin Gunningham, but he is predominantly known as Banksy. Banksy was born on 28 July 1973 in Yate, a town in South Gloucestershire. This is about 12 miles away from Bristol in southwest England.

Banksy is not only a street artist but also a political activist and a film director. His combination of graffiti and dark humor is executed using the technique of stenciling. His works can be seen all over the globe on the walls, bridges, and streets. His artwork has a great impact.

The most expensive painting by Banksy is 'Devolved Parliament.' It was sold for £9.9 million, and with fees counted too, it was sold for a total of £12.1 million.

With this sale, Banksy became one of the most expensive artists in the world. It is estimated that the net worth of Banksy is $20 million, but interestingly if his artwork is ever sold by museums, he donates all the money to the charity.

Street artists often have a message to convey so you will always find great quotes from famous artists. The main message from Banksy is that society has created a futile attempt to make itself feel fulfilled and happy by buying more than is necessary, as we are focused only on material goods.

He criticises this material obsession in his art, along with making many other bold statements.

We have collected the best of Banksy quotes for you. You will find quotes by Banksy on advertising, funny artistic quotes, anti-establishment quotes, art gallery quotes, and utopia quotes, among these best art quotes from the British graffiti artist Banksy. You might even end up finding out some Banksy artwork meanings from these quotes.

If you like these Banksy quotes, you can also check out these Frank Lloyd Wright quotes or Georgia O'Keeffe quotes.

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Famous Banksy Quotes

Some Banksy famous pieces are mentioned among these art quotes and sayings.

1. "When graffiti first started it was about getting noticed. Now you have to be a genuine nuisance if you want to get along."

- Banksy.

2. "People who enjoy waving flags don't deserve to have one."

- Banksy.

3. "Remember crime against property is not real crime."

- Banksy.

4. "The problem with painting in zoos is that it's slightly too effective. They tend to get rid of it as soon as possible."

- Banksy.

5. "Why would someone just paint pictures of a revolutionary when you could actually behave like one instead?"

- Banksy.

6. "Only a few hundred people in the world have any real say."

- Banksy.

7. "Some mothers will do anything for their children, except let them be themselves."

- Banksy.

8. "The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules. It's people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages."

- Banksy.

9. "Graffiti is one of those few tools you have if you have almost nothing."

- Banksy.

10. "Graffiti has been used to start revolutions, stop wars, and generally is the voice of people who aren't listened to."

- Banksy.

11. "As a precaution to ever committing major acts of evil it is our solemn duty never to do what we're told, this is the only way we can be sure."

- Banksy.

12. "Film is incredibly democratic and accessible, it’s probably the best option if you actually want to change the world, not just re-decorate it."

- Banksy.

13. "'I'll meet you in that pub, you know, the one opposite that wall with a picture of a monkey holding a chainsaw'. I mean, how much more useful can a painting be than that?"

- Banksy.

14. "We the people affect the making and quality of most of our culture, but not our art."

- Banksy.

15. “I don’t believe in anything. I’m just here for the violence.”

- Banksy.

16. "Not everyone will understand your journey. That's okay."

- Banksy.

17. "I mean, they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time."

- Banksy.

Best Banksy Quotes

Here is a collection of some of the best art and politics quotes by English graffiti artist Banksy.

18. "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable."

- Banksy.

19. "People either love me or they hate me, or they don't really care."

- Banksy.

20. "If it doesn’t matter, get rid of it. If you can’t get rid of it, it matters."

- Banksy.

21. "Workers of the world unite."

- Banksy.

22. "Graffiti's always been a temporary art form. You make your mark and then they scrub it off."

- Banksy.

23. "Winners are not those who never fail but those who never quit!"

- Banksy.

24. "I just wanna make the world a better-looking place."

- Banksy.

25. "Live as a villain, die as a hero."

- Banksy.

26. "Keep your coins, I want change."

- Banksy.

27. "One original thought is worth 1000 meaningless quotes."

- Banksy.

28. "Some people represent authority without ever possessing any of their own."

- Banksy.

29. "The bad artists imitate, the great artists steal."

- Banksy.

30. "You don't need planning permission to build castles in the sky."

- Banksy.

31. "I originally set out to try and save the world, but now I'm not sure I like it enough."

- Banksy.

32. "If you don't like it, you can paint over it!"

- Banksy.

33. "It doesn't take much to be a successful artist. All you need to do is dedicate your entire life to it."

- Banksy.

34. "Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint."

- Banksy.

35. "In the future, everybody will be anonymous for 15 minutes."

- Banksy.

36. "Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little."

- Banksy.

37. "Stencils have been used to start revolutions and to stop wars."

- Banksy.

38. "Blank walls are criminal."

- Banksy.

39. "If at first you don’t succeed, call an airstrike."

- Banksy.

40. "Nobody knows what you feel inside unless you tell them."

- Banksy.

Banksy Quotes From 'Banging Your Head Against A Brick Wall'

This section comprises sayings about art, graffiti quotes, and famous art quotes by none other than Banksy.

41. "You will probably be punished for something you never did anyway. People get it wrong all the time."

- Banksy.

42. " You're here to live your life, not to make everyone understand."

- Banksy.

43. "I'm not interested in looking at things made by people who aren't paranoid, they're not working to their full capacity."

- Banksy.

44. "Every time I hear the word culture I release the safety catch on my 9mm."

- Banksy.

45. "Bus stops are far more interesting and useful places to have art than in museums."

- Banksy.

46. "You could say that graffiti is ugly, selfish and that it's just the action of people who want some pathetic kind of fame. But if that's true it's only because graffiti writers are just like everyone else in this country."

- Banksy.

47. "Some people think you should have better things to think about than trying to think about better things. But the instinct is still there."

- Banksy.

48. "A wall is a very big weapon. It's one of the nastiest things you can hit someone with."

- Banksy.

49. "Writing graffiti is about the most honest way you can be an artist."

- Banksy.

50. "Doing what you're told is generally overrated."

- Banksy.

51. "Graffiti has more chance of meaning something or changing stuff than anything indoors."

- Banksy.

52. "Well I'm frustrated by many things but trying to get accepted by the art world isn't one of them."

- Banksy.

53. "There are no exceptions to the rule that everyone thinks they are an exception to the rules."

- Banksy.

54. "Pace yourself and repeat [graffitiing] as often as you feel inadequate and no-one listens to a word you say."

- Banksy.

55. "Graffiti ultimately wins out over proper art because it becomes part of your city, it's a tool."

- Banksy.

56. "At least graffiti has a fighting chance of meaning a little more to people."

- Banksy.

Banksy Quotes From 'Existencilism'

Below, you can read quotes about art and love, graffiti love quotes, art sayings, and more by Banksy.

57. "All artists are willing to suffer for their work. But why are so few prepared to learn to draw?"

- Banksy.

58. "There's nothing more dangerous than someone who wants to make the world a better place."

- Banksy.

59. "If you want to say something and have people listen then you have to wear a mask."

- Banksy.

60. "I was concerned the piece was a bit too much like a legitimate sign and told my mate I thought it went over people's heads. 'It's not that it goes over people's heads,' he said, 'it's just that they all ducked.'"

- Banksy.

61. "Painting something that defies the law of the land is good. Painting something that defies the law of the land and defies the law of gravity at the same time is really good."

- Banksy.

62. "Dissent pays the rent."

- Banksy.

63. "The only problem with graffiti is that there isn't enough of it."

- Banksy.

64. "On Tuesday I went around San Francisco dressed in overalls designating large parts of it as legal graffiti areas."

- Banksy.

65. "This is not a photo opportunity."

- Banksy.

66. "People say 'I'm just being myself' as if that's some kind of achievement. That's not an achievement, that's not honesty, it's just a lack of imagination and cowardice."

- Banksy.

67. "Imagine a city where graffiti wasn't illegal."

- Banksy.

68. "People who know you rarely listen to a word you say."

- Banksy.

69. "Twisted little people go out every day and deface this great little city."

- Banksy.

70. "If you want to be honest then you have to live a lie."

- Banksy.

Banksy Quotes From 'Cut It Out'

In this section, you can read street artist quotes, modern art quotes, quotes about children and art, and more from Banksy. Which of these Banksy quotes is your favorite?

71. "If you only ever read one book in your life I highly recommend keeping your mouth shut."

- Banksy.

72. "Bloodthirsty people should bite their tongues."

- Banksy.

73. "I'd been painting rats for three years before someone said 'that's a clever anagram of art' and I had to pretend I'd known that all along."

- Banksy.

74. "The anger management is not working."

- Banksy.

75. "Fight the fighters, not their wars."

- Banksy.

76. "In a recent survey of American men 42% were found to overeat, 34% were critically overweight, 10% technically obese, and 8% ate the survey."

- Banksy.

77. "It's going to take one very special lady, or a whole load of average ones, to get over you."

- Banksy.

78. "The human race is an unfair and stupid competition."

- Banksy.

79. "Mindless vandalism can take a bit of thought."

- Banksy.

80. "When the time comes to leave, just walk away quietly and don't make any fuss."

- Banksy.

81. "As soon as you meet someone you know the reason you will leave them."

- Banksy.

82. "I think I was trying to make a statement about the endless recycling of an icon by endlessly recycling an icon."

- Banksy.

83. "An illegal monument to the British talent for binge drinking and vandalizing public property."

- Banksy.

84. "People seem to think that if they dress like a revolutionary, they don't actually have to behave like one."

- Banksy.

85. "Oh my god, that's so cute the way you just draw on stuff and think about yourself all the time."

- Banksy.

Banksy Quotes From 'Pictures Of Walls'

Read more quotes by famous graffiti artist Banksy.

86. "Graffiti is like boxing."

- Banksy.

87. "The bitter and twisted unleash all their pent-up frustrations ln a desperate attempt to make some kind of point."

- Banksy.

Banksy Quotes From 'Wall And Piece'

Here you can read famous Banksy quotes about art, street art quotes, and more by Banksy.

88. "I need someone to protect me from all the measures they take in order to protect me."

- Banksy.

89. "Think from outside the box, collapse the box and take a knife to it."

- Banksy.

90. "Sometimes I feel so sick at the state of the world I can’t even finish my second apple pie."

- Banksy.

91. "Become good at cheating and you never need to become good at anything else."

- Banksy.

92. "I used to tell everyone I meant to be an artist. I don't do that anymore."

- Banksy.

93. "People who get up early in the morning cause war, death and famine."

- Banksy.

94. "We can't do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime, we should all go shopping to console ourselves."

- Banksy.

95. "We don’t need any more heroes; we just need someone to take out the recycling."

- Banksy.

96. "Try to avoid painting in places where they still point at aeroplanes."

- Banksy.

97. "A lot of people never use their initiative because nobody told them to."

- Banksy.

98. "Graffiti has remained gloriously unspoilt by progress."

- Banksy.

99. "Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place, some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better-looking place."

- Banksy.

100. "Conversations don't get any better as you get older."

- Banksy.

101. "Nobody ever listened to me until they didn't know who I was."

- Banksy.

102. "You can win the rat race but you're still a rat."

- Banksy.

103. "People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible, and childish. But that's only if it's done properly."

- Banksy.

104. "If you want someone to be ignored, then build a life-size bronze statue of them and stick it in the middle of town."

- Banksy.

105. "I like to think I have the guts to stand up anonymously in a western democracy and call for things no-one else believes in—like peace and justice and freedom."

- Banksy.

106. "Art is not like other culture because its success is not made by its audience."

- Banksy.

107. "T.V. has made going to the theatre seem pointless, photography has pretty much killed painting..."

- Banksy.

108. "The Art we look at is made by only a select few."

- Banksy.

Quotes About Banksy

Read what the world has to say about Banksy in these Banksy quotes.

109. "Nearly a hundred pictures are featured here. Each and every one of them a pathetic cry for help."

- 'The Guardian'.

110. "Superficially his work looks deep, but it's actually deeply superficial."

- 'Evening Standard'.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Banksy quotes, then why not take a look at these [Picasso quotes] or Jackson Pollock quotes for more quotes by famous artist figures?

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