Semiotic Analysis of Banksy Graffiti

SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF BANKSY GRAFFITI INSPIRATION It is a cold winter night and the avalanche of assignments towards the end of the trimester has taken a toll on my patience. As I lay on my bed gazing at the blank ceiling, I am reminded that I need to select a topic on which I will do my semiotics assignment. For the last two weeks I have been scourging the internet for inspiration, but every road leading to discovery and every path which promised, ostensibly of striking gold has culminated in a culde sac. Exasperated with my futile attempts I head towards the Mess to seek solace in food. The hostel courtyard is lit up brightly and as I descend the stairs, my eyes again befall on the iconic graffiti of a masked man throwing a flower bouquet, an image which has become synonymous with PALAASH-The men’s hostel. The graffiti is an imitation of Banksy’s famous Flower Thrower stencil Illustration on a wall in Jerusalem and has subsequently been reproduced in the form of T-shirts and posters the world over- Ironical? Such graffiti are a commonplace at MICA and I am elated that I could finally hit upon a topic. The excitement of this epiphany which dawned on me overshadowed my sulkiness at the sight of unpalatable food. The scope of this short response paper is to do a semiotic analysis of two of Banky’s artwork. The analysis contains my viewpoint and incorporates some of the frameworks of semiotic analysis. (Sassurean model, Pierce’s model, Umber Eco et al.). The artworks are open to interpretation and this paper does not intend nor claim to give an exhaustive analysis. BANKSY- AN INTRO Banksy is the nom de plume of a street graffiti artist, activist and a documentary film-maker. He is notorious for his highly controversial and politically charged graffiti and artwork all around the world. He rose to prominence in the late 90’s because of his signature style of stencil graffiti. He uses street walls and self-built props for his artwork. He pops up at different places around the world to display his art and to support humanitarian causes. Recently his graffiti were spotted in Gaza where he made a CAT on the wall of a decrepit house and Syria where his graffiti depicted Steve Jobs as a migrant. Both these graffiti went viral on the internet. He is the subject of a 2010 documentary titled ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’.

SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS Graffiti-1 ‘Protester and Mother’

With the whole world caught up with the problem of governance and the changing landscape of power dynamics in their country, taking a subject close to which represented the current mood in world politics seemed appropriate to me. The medium of this message is graffiti on a wall. The focus seems to be on the texts because it is proportionately much larger compared to the image on the right. So when you look at the image (graffiti) your attention falls first on the texts. Also if you look at the still visual on the right first in isolation i.e without the text it may not capture the crux of the message. Your best way to capture the complete essence and meaning of this graffiti would be to enter the frame from left and move towards right. In the image used for analysis, you are not viewing the actual ‘graffiti’. It is a photograph (replica) of the graffiti drawn by Banksy. In this sense according to Umberto-Eco’s three [1] kinds of sign vehicles , the type and the token (replica) are distinct from each other. A person actually viewing the actual graffiti (and not this image) may interpret the message in a different way because she is not exposed to any particular frame. SIGNIFIERS & SIGNIFIED Ferdinand De Saussure had stated that there exists an arbitrary relation between the signifier and signified and to interpret the signifiers one to be familiar with the conventions used to communicate meaning. From this graffiti you could interpret the following signs. Large Capital Texts: represents the graffiti shouting at you to gain attention. Black and Red Colours in text: Signifying Power (Control) and danger respectively Liberty Spike Hair: Signifying the United States of America (Statue of Liberty). This depicts the protester in power and rebelling against American Government interventions.

Blue Jacket and Jeans with chain: This signifies modernity, trendiness and youthfulness Red Mask: Showing the anonymity of the protester and his thirst for vengeance (Blood) Black Flag with the symbol of ‘A’: Signifies anarchism and complete freedom Apron and dark rimmed glasses: Housewife and motherly figure. Flask, Bag and Green Apple: the care and warmth shown by the mother. DENONATIVE MEANING The relationship signifiers and the signified described above were based on the denotative interpretation of the signifier. The graffiti shows a protestor holding a black Anarchy flag and letting his mother adjust the mask that he is wearing. It depicts angst and love in the same frame which is one of the striking dichotomies in this graffiti. The blue jacket, narrow bottom jeans with chains gives a Western undertone to the graffiti. The Liberty Spikes hairstyle which gets its name from the Statue of Liberty further strengthens the interpretationrebelling youth being Western (American). The Youth is shown expressing his dissent towards the Government and demanding complete Anarchy. The Black flag that he holds in the left hand is a personification of his thoughts and his values- expression of idea and freedom. Yet the red mask that he is wearing signifies that he wants to remain anonymous and still take vengeance for the atrocities of the Government. But the unwillingness of the protester to be identified shows his cowardice- Again the dichotomy (Rebel and Coward). The quote “Don’t Forget to Eat Your Lunch and Make Some Trouble’ is actually the words of the mother to her child while setting his mask. The text itself presents a dichotomyHow can a mother love her child and yet encourage him to break the law? The apron signifies that she was in the kitchen packing his food when he came. She gives him the food and sets his mask in a way to express that she cares for him. The phrase ‘MAKE SOME TROUBLE’ is written in bold red. This denotes that the mother wants him to fight against the government for his rights and freedom but at the same time she is worried that it might portend danger for him (Red here denotes danger). Also the fact that her face is invisible denotes that she is hiding her face from the social stigma of being a mother who inspires her child to be notorious. CONNOTATIVE MEANING