quotes by Banksy

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

"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."
— Banksy (Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall)

"he human race is an unfair and stupid competition. A lot of the runners don't even get decent sneakers or clean drinking water. Some people are born with a massive head start, every possible help along the way and still the referees seem to be on their side. It's not surprising some people have given up competing altogether and gone to sit in the grandstand, eat junk food and shout abuse. What we need in this race is a lot more streakers."
— Banksy (Cut It Out)

"My main problem with cops is that they do what they're told. They say 'Sorry mate, I'm just doing my job' all the fucking time.
"
— Banksy (Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall)

"Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a great and glorious nation. Favourite amongst his subjects was the court painter of whom he was very proud. Everybody agreed this wizzened old man pianted the greatest pictures in the whole kingdom and the king would spend hours each day gazing at them in wonder. However, one day a dirty and dishevelled stranger presented himself at the court claiming that in fact he was the greatest painter in the land. The indignant king decreed a competition would be held between the two artists, confident it would teach the vagabond an embarrassing lesson. Within a month they were both to produce a masterpiece that would out do the other. After thirty days of working feverishly day and night, both artists were ready. They placed their paintings, each hidden by a cloth, on easels in the great hall of the castle. As a large crowd gathered, the king ordered the cloth be pulled first from the court artist’s easel. Everyone gasped as before them was revealed a wonderful oil painting of a table set with a feast. At its centre was an ornate bowl full of exotic fruits glistening moistly in the dawn light. As the crowd gazed admiringly, a sparrow perched high up on the rafters of the hall swooped down and hungrily tried to snatch one of the grapes from the painted bowl only to hit the canvas and fall down dead with shock at the feet of the king. ’Aha!’ exclaimed the king. ’My artist has produced a painting so wonderful it has fooled nature herself, surely you must agree that he is the greatest painter who ever lived!’ But the vagabond said nothing and stared solemnly at his feet. ’Now, pull the blanket from your painting and let us see what you have for us,’ cried the king. But the tramp remained motionless and said nothing. Growing impatient, the king stepped forward and reached out to grab the blanket only to freeze in horror at the last moment. ’You see,’ said the tramp quietly, ’there is no blanket covering the painting. This is actually just a painting of a cloth covering a painting. And whereas your famous artist is content to fool nature, I’ve made the king of the whole country look like a clueless little twat."
— Banksy (Wall and Piece)

"Once upon a time there was a bear and a bee who lived in a wood and were the best of friends. All summer long the bee collected nectar from morning to night while the bear lay on his back basking in the long grass. When winter came the bear realised he had nothing to eat and thought to himself 'I hope that busy little bee will share some of his honey with me.' But the bee was nowhere to be found - he had died of a stress induced coronary disease."
— Banksy (Wall and Piece)

"Painting something that defies the law of the land is good. Painting something that defies the law of the land and the law of gravity at the same time is ideal."
— Banksy (Wall and Piece)

"If you are dirty, insignificant and unloved then rats are the ultimate role model."
— Banksy (Wall and Piece)

"I'd been painting rats for three years before someone said 'that's clever it's an
anagram of art' and I had to pretend I'd known that all along."
— Banksy (Wall and Piece)

"A lot of people never use their initiative because no-one told them to"
— Banksy

"Policemen and security guards wear hats with a peak that comes down low over their eyes. Apparently this is for psychological reasons. Eyebrows are very expressive and you appear a lot more authoritative if you keep them covered up. The advantage of this is that it makes a lot harder for cops to see anything more than six foot off the ground. Which is why painting rooftops and bridges is so easy."
— Banksy (Wall and Piece)

"Become good at cheating and you never need to become good at anything else."
— Banksy (Wall and Piece)

"If you want to say something and have people listen then you have to
wear a mask. If you want to be honest then you have to live a lie."
— Banksy

"You owe the companies nothing. You especially don't owe them any courtesy. 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."
— Banksy (Wall and Piece)

"There are four basic human needs; food, sleep, sex and revenge."
— Banksy

"All artists are willing to suffer for their work. But why are so few prepared
to learn to draw?"
— Banksy

"A lot of mothers will do anything for their children, except let them be themselves."
— Banksy (Wall and Piece)

"It's a very frustrated feeling you get when the only people with good photos of you work are the police department."
— Banksy

"There's nothing more dangerous than sometone who wants to make the world a better place."
— Banksy

"People either love me or they hate me, or they don't really care."
— Banksy (Wall and Piece)