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Banksy

Author(s): Will Ellsworth-Jones

artists biographies

For someone who shuns the limelight by concealing his real name, never showing his face and never giving interviews except by email, Banksy is remarkably famous. In his home town of Bristol, in Los Angeles, in London, in New York, where there is a Banksy exhibition there is always a queue - often three hours long. His book of his art, Wall and Piece, has sold over a quarter of a million copies. Such is the commercial value of his work that people have hacked an entire wall off a building because it bears some of his graffiti. His popularity is such that councils who in the past saw him as a vandal whose work should be washed off the streets now hurry to protect it. But who is this man; how did he become what he is now; what makes him tick? How far can we get to know and understand someone who goes to such lengths to keep his distance from us? Now, in first ever biography of Banksy, Will Ellsworth-Jones pieces together Banksy's life and builds up a picture of the world in which he operates.
He talks to both his friends and enemies, those who knew him in his early un-noticed days and those who have watched him try to come to terms with his new-found fame and fortune, and asks what, ultimately, this enigmatic character and his life's work add up to.

$60.00 NZD

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'This is a fascinating portrait that elicits admiration for a man who, despite his increasingly unconvincing efforts to retain some shreds of his vandal status, has had an undeniable impact on art' The Times 'Ellsworth-Jones casts a detailed and enthusiastic eye over all aspects of Banksy's career, from the Bristol graffiti scene where he first experimented in the 1980's, through the development of Banksy's trademark stencilled style, to his growing audacity and success and the controlling and sophisticated publicity and business machine of today' Evening Standard 'a fascinating history of a wholly likeable art phenomenon' Sunday Times 'Ellsworth-Jones writes perceptively about the "ethical dilemmas" created by Banksy's marketing techniques, yet still communicates the excitement of a "treasure hunt" for traces of his work in the scruffier purlieus of London' The Observer 'a credible and intelligent portrait of a unique artist, reluctant capitalist and control freak struggling to preserve his own myth and maintain his outsider status' The Independent

Will Ellsworth-Jones was chief reporter and then New York correspondent for the Sunday Times as well as holding senior editorial positions at the Telegraph Magazine, The Independent Magazine and Saga Magazine. His previous book for Aurum was a history of conscientious objectors in the First World War, We Will Not Fight. He lives in London.

General Fields

  • : 9781845136994
  • : Aurum Press Ltd
  • : Aurum Press Ltd
  • : 01 April 2012
  • : 234mm X 153mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : 01 May 2012
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Will Ellsworth-Jones
  • : Hardback
  • : 751.73092
  • : 320
  • : black & white illustrations