The veil over one of the main secrets of modern mass culture was lifted this week thanks to forgotten archives. The BBC has published a fragment of a 2003 radio interview with future street art idol Banksy.
To the correspondent’s clarifying question:
“Robert Banks, right?” – the then young artist replies: “I’m Robbie.”
20 years ago Banksy was practically unknown, and this fragment was simply thrown out during editing. Since then, the fame – and mystery – of the graffiti artist has become so total that the archival recording looks like a sensation.
Banksy remains one of the most prolific and sought-after contemporary artists, and certainly the most famous anonymous artist. His most recent confirmed creation is a silhouette of a boy with a cat on a British house scheduled for demolition. The drawing was called “Broken Morning” – and the building was indeed destroyed shortly after the graffiti appeared.
They have been trying to establish the identity of the most famous street art artist in the world for many years. According to the most common version, Robin Gunningham, a graduate of the Cathedral School in Bristol, may be hiding behind the pseudonym. According to another version, the artist’s real name is Robert Del Naya, a member of the musical group Massive Attack, who was a graffiti artist at the beginning of his career.
Well, the story of an old interview confirms that the answers to the most pressing questions are often contained in the legends of deep antiquity, which is generally justified, because everything new is forgotten old.
You might also be interested in reading our other posts related to the artist: The world of Banksy in the UAE and Banksy 360°: Art of the Rebel at ToDA.