Banksy Quotes

Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.

Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make someone smile while they’re having a piss.

People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and childish… but that’s only if it’s done properly.

Art should never be a relic of the past, but a weapon for the present.

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

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

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

The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists.. 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.

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

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

Every time I paint a wall, I feel like I’m taking a brick from the wall of hypocrisy.

People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and childish… but that’s only if it’s done properly.

Banksy Quotes part 2

Think outside the box, collapse the box, and take a goddamn sharp knife to it.

Art should never try to be popular. The public should try to make itself artistic.

I love the way capitalism finds a place – even for its enemies. It’s definitely boom time in the discontent industry.

Artists are notoriously bad businesspeople. Their obsessions tend to be unmarketable and impractical. But ultimately, these obsessions are the engine that drives humanity forward.

The revolution that matters is the one that changes attitudes towards society, not the one that changes ownership of one corporate structure over to another.

Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty, you can make someone smile while they’re having a piss.

The holy grail is to spend less time making the picture than it takes people to look at it.

Let them eat bank.

You’re suddenly looking at things you don’t normally look at and you see things in a different way. Graffiti and painting in the street is supposed to be fun, and you get the benefit of looking at it.

The people who truly excel in this world are the ones who are really focused on what they love to do. They are the ones who take risks, who fall down and get back up. They are the ones who stay true to themselves, who follow their own path no matter what obstacles they may encounter.

A lot of people never use their initiative because no-one told them to.

People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.

You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.

Nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful people with talent, leave the house before you find something worth staying in for.

You’re mind is working at its best when you’re being paranoid. You explore every avenue and possibility of your situation at high speed with total clarity.

You want to say something but are not quite certain that you want to hear yourself say it.

But for what purpose was the earth formed? What was the end of all creation? To create England? No, but to create an anarchist.

The art world is the biggest joke, you couldn’t make it up… it’s the only market where the market controls the product. That’ll only last until the artists catch on.

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

The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists… 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.

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

Stop cutting down trees to print industry reports on sustainable business practices.

I am unable to comment on the authenticity or value of any of the pieces in your possession. However, any pieces brought into me for examination will remain in my possession.

I’m not really a street artist, you know. I don’t vandalize buildings; I vandalize streets.

A lot of people never use their initiative because no-one told them to.

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

Making money from art is like solving a puzzle. If you can’t solve it, you’re probably not going to be very successful.

I don’t agree with everything I do.

The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists.

I felt I should make paintings that smelled of bread. So, capacities for food production were put at the disposal of the production of food for paintings.

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

The time of getting fame for your name on its own is over. Artwork that is only about wanting to be famous will never make you famous. Any fame is a by-product of making something that means something. You don’t go to a restaurant and order a meal because you want to have a shit.

Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw whatever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like that and stop leaning against the wall — it’s wet.