Banksy Essay

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Page 1/8 30/09/2009 Essay Question: Students are to write a cultural critique essay on an aspect of culture that is particularly impacting young adults. The paper will follow the method laid out in Vanhoozer’s Everyday Theology.1 The critique will exegete the culture and give a biblical perspective on the subject. Approx 1750 words; 40%. Image created by Banksy on the 02/10/2008. Spray painted on the side of a building at the corner of Broadway & Howard Streets Soho, New York, USA.2 Graffiti is an unrestricted and uncensored form of expression that seems to strike a cord with teenagers and young adults, and the graffiti artist Banksy - in particular this image - makes an ideal text for a cultural critique that is particularly impacting young adults3. Firstly, Banksy is probably the most famous graffiti artist in the world to date, and he enjoys most of his popularity from the teenage/young adult age range4. His artwork is also being used as tattoo artwork for many young adults.5 Secondly, this particular Banksy image is one of his most recent documented pieces and it’s message and location makes a good sample of his work. 1 Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Charles A. Anderson, and Michael J. Sleasman, Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends (annotated ed.; Baker Academic, 2007). 2 Banksy, ‘Banksy.co.uk’, Banksy, Cited 28 Sep 2009, Online: http://www.banksy.co.uk/. 3 My intention is to one day do a full theological critique of graffiti and young adults in general, but Banksy will suffice for this paper. 4 A quick scan of the many Banksy fan sites on the web indicates that most of the fans are of this early teens to late twenties age cf. ‘The Banksy Fan Club’, Cited 28 Sep 2009, Online: http://www.bebo.com/Banksy-Fan-Club 5 Delana, ‘Web Urbanist’, Web Urbanist, Cited 28 Sep 2009, Online:
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