Instructional Resources

ILp

BY SHENG KUAN CHUNG

jW

Recommendedfor Grades9-12

toward the world, street art is regarded

ooted in graffiti culture and its attitude
as a postgraffiti movement (Bou, 2005;

MacNaughton, 2006). Street art encompasses a wide array oof

media and techniques, such as traditional spray-painted tags,
stickers, stencils, posters, photocopies, murals, paper cutouts,
mosaics, street installations, performances, and video projections displayed in urban streets (Bou, 2005). It represents the
desire of humans to leave traces of their existence in the public
sphere. As Lunn (2006) explains, "It has a rawness you don't
get through other forms of media. It is the voice of the world
around us" (p. 4).
As a vernacular art form, street art, such as the work of
British artist Banksy, deals with activism, reclamation, and
subversion and allows artists a platform to reach a broader
audience than traditional art forms. Street art can serve to
engage students in critical dialogue about art and visual culture
while they collectively explore the issues it raises. This Instructional Resource describes a learning unit for high school
students where they can address social and political issues by
studying street art, specifically the work of Banksy.

Learning Ojectives
"Whileparticipating i the activities suggested by
this instrucional resouce, students will acquire
a deeper understanding of how Banksys art
addressethde prceses of public interaction,
trvei
n,
anddialue involved in street art.
Students will:

"~descibe, analyze, and interpret Banksy's

streetart to explore the social and political

issues it raises;

"bpartiipate in a creativ writing activity to

understand Banksy's work;
"*investigate street art in their urban
neighborhoods in terms of its symbols,
ari4stic techniques, and meanings to make
connections to their lives and the lives of
others;
"*demonstrate how art addresses social issues
by stenciling a T-shirt that communicates an
important social issue or questions a social
practice;
"*examine the significance of culture 'jamming';
and public intervention by wearing the shirt
they designed and gteig fedback from
the pubilic.

July 2009 / ART EDUCATION

25

Figure 1.Street art by Banksy. Photograph taken by Alex MacNaughton, from his book London StreetArt (2006).
Reprinted with permission from photographer.

26

ART EDUCATION / July 2009

Instructional Resources

About Banksy and His Art

In contrast to government-commissioned public art, street art is illicit and
subversive in nature. Therefore, most street artists, including Banksy, use
pseudonyms to avoid legal prosecution for vandalism. Although Banksy
has traveled extensively across the world to create site-specific pieces, has
exhibited in major museums, and has had his work auctioned at Sotheby's in
London, his identity remains mysterious. He disguises himself while working
on his street projects and refuses to reveal his identity. This so-called "art
terrorist," according to Tristan Manco (2002), "was born in 1974 and raised in
Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier engineer, he trained as a butcher
but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the
late 1980s" (p. 74).
Banksy's street art focuses on the processes of intervention, public
engagement, and dialogue. He travels across the globe to stimulate political
dialogue on social issues by creating site-specific, ephemeral art, often in
combination with stenciling techniques. Banksy's work creates provocative sights that force pedestrians to question their everyday surroundings,
rekindling the functionality of public art. His stenciled street art often voices
sentiments felt by those living in urban environments and those who have
been marginalized. Banksy's pieces lead viewers to reflect on established
social practices, including the treatment of animals in zoos, the power of the
art world to define standards, and the reluctance of populations to confront
social and cultural aspects of who we are and what we do.

The Legality of Street Art: Graffiti Removal Hotline

The piece shown in Figure 1 was seen on Pentonville Road in the London
borough of Islington in May 2006. It was considered offensive and was soon
washed off by the Islington city council in charge of graffiti removal. Banksy
created this piece using spray paint, cardboard stencils, and several freehand
brushstrokes. Most, if not all, of Banksy's work shows a distinctive style that
is clean and instantly readable. This street painting appears to illuminate the
ongoing battle between the graffiti artist and the London city government by
portraying a boy defacing the fabricated public notice.
Dialogue Activity
Teachers can use this picture to initiate a discussion about street art and its
legality, including issues of vandalism, public/private spaces, and activist/
political art. Questions for dialogue include:
1.What do you see in this picture?
2. What is the boy doing? Why is only the number painted over?
3. Is this work created by one person or many people? How did the artist
do it?

4. Where was this picture presented? Is the location of this picture

important, and why?
5. What is the artist trying to communicate? What do you think the picture
means?
6. How does the artist feel about graffiti? Is this art or vandalism, and how
do you judge it? Should the city remove this picture? How would different
parties reach a compromise over graffiti?
7. Is the street a public space or a private space owned by the city
government? Why are only commercial signs allowed in public space?
What kinds of art can be considered acceptable in public spaces?
8. What kinds of art can be considered activist or political art? Is this work
political?

July 2009 / ART EDUCATION

27

Figure 2. A playful boy with bucket by Banksy on the West Bank barrier. Photograph taken by Richard Shotton/i-globe.org.
Reprinted with permission.

Breaking the Barrier

Banksy's visit to the Israeli West Bank barrier in 2005 appeared in
news headlines. During his visit, he made several thought-provoking
pictures on the 425-mile-long barrier (see Figures 2 and 3) that
Israel has constructed to separate itself from the Palestinian territories. While supporters of the barrier argue that it provides regional
stability and security by protecting Israeli civilians from Palestinian
terrorism, opponents make the case that it infringes on the rights
of the Palestinian people. The United Nations has ordered Israel to
dismantle the barrier because it violates international laws. According
to Banksy, the West Bank barrier essentially turns Palestine into the
world's largest open prison.

28

ART EDUCATION / July 2009

Dialogue Activity
Before showing Figures 2 and 3 to students, teachers should
encourage them to share what they know about the West Bank
barrier and provide further background information if necessary.
These images can be used to discuss issues of living with terrorism
in relation to the barrier and illuminate the importance of context
to understanding street art. Street art can add a powerful subversive
meaning to a site if displayed with the site's context in mind. Questions for dialogue using Figure 2 include the following:
1. Describe what you see.
2. What is Banksy trying to tell viewers through this picture?
3. What possible issues does this picture raise?
4. Is the site where this picture is shown important? How so?
5. How would you interpret this picture if you saw it in your neighborhood? Would the picture's meaning change if seen on the West
Bank barrier versus on your neighborhood street wall? How so?

Instructional Resources

Figure 3. Street art stenciled by Banksy on the West Bank barrier. Photograph taken by Richard Shotton/i-globe.org. Reprinted with permission.

Creative Writing Activity

After briefly discussing the West Bank barrier, teachers can use
Figure 3 to facilitate a creative writing activity. To begin, teachers
can divide students into pairs and then show them the image of the
girl. Ask each pair of students to write one story about the work from
the perspective of the girl in the picture, a viewer gazing upon the
picture, or the artist who made the image. Encourage the students to
use descriptive language and a first-person perspective as they write
their story, chronicling the thoughts of their chosen character. They
can include all elements seen in the picture and any metaphors or
similes associated with it. Have the students share their writing at the
conclusion of this activity.

Kissing Policemen
Several of Banksy's images of kissing policemen (see Figure 4)
have been seen in London city streets. The representation of these
policemen forces pedestrians to revisit their conceptions of homosexuality and masculinity and to confront the issue of homophobia.
In societies, including that of America, heterosexual couples are
often free to show their affection in public while homosexual couples
cannot. These latter displays of affection are considered a social taboo.
Banksy's kissing policemen can be used to explore such concerns,
and hopefully to develop respect toward differences among human
beings.' In America, it is not uncommon to hear school children use
homophobic language to humiliate their peers or make deliberate,
malicious jokes. Students uninformed about homosexuality are
more likely to form prejudices and use offensive behavior toward gay
people. Another direction for initiating discussions about homosexuality is to introduce the concept of heteronormality. In other words,

July 2009 / ART EDUCATION

29

Figure 4. Street art by Banksy. Photograph taken by Scott Davis. Reprinted with permission.

students need to understand that heterosexuals are the dominant

group in society, holding the political power to legitimize and
advance its own heterocentric cultural, economic, and educational
agendas. The dominant group defines, governs, and polices cultural
values and social norms such as sexual relationships, marriage,
family structure, and parenthood from a heterocentric cosmology.
Heterocentric gender roles have permeated mainstream ideology
that controls almost every aspect of social practice and portrays
gay people as deviant, which in turn has a detrimental effect on gay
youth as they struggle to understand themselves and construct their
identity.
Dialogue Activity
1. Teachers can use this picture to explore homophobia and the
concept of heteronormality. Questions for dialogue include:

30

ART EDUCATION / July 2009

2. What is your first reaction to this picture? What responses is the

picture meant to elicit from the viewer?
3. What is the picture trying to tell us? Are there elements you
would characterize as symbolic?
4. How do you think this picture was made?
5. Where was this picture presented? Is its location important, and
why?
6. Is this art, and why?
7. Are policemen authority figures in our society? Is it socially
acceptable to see policemen act in this way? Would it be more
socially acceptable if one of the policemen was a woman, and how
so? Are there other implicit messages in this picture?
8. Can societies be truly equal and democratic? How does American
society as a whole discriminate against gay people? What can we
do to make America a truly equitable society?

Instructional Resources

Figure 5. Sweeping It Under the Carpet by Banksy. Photograph taken by Canonsnapper.

A Voice for the Marginalized

Banksy's spray-painted image entitled Sweeping It Under the Carpet
(see Figure 5) was seen in Chalk Farm, London. According to newspaper reporter Arifa Akbar (2006), the image depicts a maid called
Leanne who cleaned the artist's room in a motel in Los Angeles.
Considering that in the past only the rich could afford to have their
portraits painted, the portrait of the maid serves to highlight the
democratization of subjects in works of art.
A Fieldwork Investigation
This image illustrates how art can be a voice for the marginalized.
Teachers can use this image to prompt students to further investigate
street art in their own neighborhoods and the voices that proliferate
there. Teachers can give a fieldwork assignment, asking students to
survey their neighborhood streets, document street art, and present it
to the class. Encourage students to take pictures and notes during the

fieldwork, document issues and stories important to the location, and

present their findings. To conclude their investigation, students can
discuss the following questions about the street art world (Erickson,
2002):
1. Which people do members of the street art world judge to be
important?
2. What sort of places do members of the street art world meet to
share activities and ideas?
3. What activities are essential to maintaining street art culture?
4. What important ideas are members of the street art world
engaged with?
This neighborhood inquiry will deepen students' understanding of
street art and allow them to gain firsthand knowledge of how street
artists, like Banksy, resist established social practices, address social
issues, or mark traces of human existence.

July 2009 ! ART EDUCATION

31

Studio Activity: Stenciling and Culture Jamming

Students can stencil T-shirts that illuminate or challenge social
practices, demonstrating their understanding of how art can act as an
intervention. First, ask students to individually identify an important
social issue or a questionable social practice and draw a black-andwhite image for stenciling a T-shirt based on this issue. Students
need to understand that their images should address individually
chosen issues or bring to light a questionable social practice. Remind
students that because they will use their images to make stencils,
they should be simple, instantly readable, and in black and white (the
black area will be the cutout area where the ink is filled). Then intro3
duce stenciling techniques to transfer the images onto the T-shirts.
The ultimate goal of the studio project is to allow students to enter the
real world with their art to increase public awareness about important social issues. They can participate in culture jamming using the
guerrilla communication approach.4 To do so, encourage students
to wear their designed T-shirts as human billboards while soliciting
comments or reactions from the public. Culture jamming moves
students from passive spectatorship toward active involvement
with culture production.

Assessment and Conclusion

Teachers can assess this unit through class participation, writing
assignments, and studio production. Students should be able to articulate an understanding of street art and Banksy's work and apply it
to a developing knowledge of activist art that initiates dialogue. They
should examine such questions as: How do street artists mark their
existence in the street? What issues does Banksy's work raise? What
issue did you address and how did you approach it in your work?
What responses do you hope to elicit from the audience through
your piece? How is your own work similar to or different from that of
Banksy or other street artists?
Street art is omnipresent in urban streets and is a rich source of
inspiration for artistic creativity. From this learning unit, students
will begin to understand that street art reflects the unedited world
in which we live. It possesses the aesthetic voices of the ordinary
and enables resistance for the marginalized. Banksy's street art, in
particular, can guide students to think about various social and
political issues and to reflect upon the immediate, if not unjust, world
in which they live, to transform that world, and to possibly initiate
change.
Sheng Kuan Chung is Associate Professorand GraduateProgram
Directorof Art Education in the Departmentof Curriculum and
Instruction at the University of Houston, Texas. E-maih:skchung@
uh.edu

RESOURCES
http://www.banksy.co.uk/
http://www.instructables.com/
http://www.youtube.com
REFERENCES
Akbar, A. (2006, May 16). Banksy takes to streets to highlight Aids crisis. The
Independent. Retrieved December, 2008, from http://www.independent.
co.uk/
Bou, L. (2005). Street art: The sprayfiles. New York: Collins Design, Monsa.
Erickson, M. (2002). What are artworlds and why are they important? In M.
Erickson & B. Young (Eds.), Multiculturalartworlds:Enduring,evolving,
and overlapping traditions(pp. 17-25). Reston, VA: National Art Education
Association.
Fischer, T. R. (1982). A study of educators'attitudes toward homosexuality.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Virginia, Charlottesville,
VA.
Lampela, L. (1996). Concerns of gay and lesbian caucuses within art,
education, and art education. Art Education, 49(2), 20-4.
Lasn, K. (1999). Culturejam: The uncooling of America (TM). New York: Eagle
Brook.
Lunn, M. (2006). Street art uncut. Australia: Craftsman House.
MacNaughton, A. (2006). London street art.London: Prestel.
Manco, T. (2002). Stencil graffiti. New York: Thames & Hudson.

32

ART EDUCATION / July 2009

ENDNOTES
1 Culture jamming is an activist tactic for breaking corporate domination over
what we consume and experience (Lasn, 1999). Culture jammers appropriate
mainstream media constructs or produce alternative cultural forms to illuminate important issues or question social practices.
2 The lack of discussion about homosexuality or gay issues in schools has
encouraged ignorance and fear about homosexuality. A consequence of ignorance is intolerance based on sexual orientation, leading people and several
states in the United States to adopt practices that are openly discriminatory
(Fischer, 1982; Lampela, 1996).
3 Websites such as YouTube.com and Instructables.com have numerous stepby-step video demonstrations for art teachers unfamiliar with stenciling techniques. A stencil can be made out of paper, translucent mylar, or poster board
and the image can be set using fabric spray paint, which is recommended to
get a cleaner result. Due to possible health hazards, spray paint should not be
used in the classroom.
4 Guerrilla communication is a communication method and a political intervention using street performance/events or public engagements designed to
disrupt or change the public's perceptions.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

TITLE: An Art of Resistance From the Street to the Classroom

SOURCE: Art Educ 62 no4 Jl 2009
The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it
is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in
violation of the copyright is prohibited.