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Artistic Criticism-Banksy’s Balloon Girl, Artwork

According to Brown (2019), a piece of art should have some elements of truth to it. It

should also question and teaches someone something they did not know. Furthermore, a good

piece of art is the one that articulates something that people feel, and connect them to that thing in

a special way. Typically, good art is all about composition, balance, and how the artist moves the

audience's eye throughout the art. In other words, is about what the artist is trying to convey or

communicate. Snyder (2017), also argues that art is the way of comparing one insight to others by

the use of senses, emotion, and intellect. In particular, Banksy’s Girl with Balloon perhaps is the

main work created by Banksy in 2002. His artwork has an element of truth, balance, composition,

and moves the viewer's eye throughout his art. Through Banksy's art content and form, one can

critic his noble artic work (Heidegger 85).

After watching the Film on Banksy artwork in my neighboring shop, I decided to choose

Banksy's artwork: “the girl with the balloon” because his street art creates deeper meaning behind

every part. It was discovered in the South Bank London wall in the2002 (Heidegger 100). This art

piece raised my attention because this is not just all about a girl with a balloon, but the piece sends

a message of hope to me. Next to the picture, Banksy writes that there is always hope. By

exploring the piece content and its message to the audience, the painting indeed portrays a girl
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losing a balloon and at the same time trying to catch it. The red balloon stands for the child’s

innocence, love, and dream (DeTurk 28). The action of the girl losing the balloon can be

interpreted as a loss of innocence, and the act of trying to catch it means a child's arrival of love

and hope. The action of holding her hands on this balloon is also very meaningful. It means the

child is still hopeful in this environment. Therefore, can be supposed that Banksy embraces the

criticism of modern society in this picture (DeTurk 28). To validate this, the artist indicates that

children are always are the innocent victims of war and various disasters in society. In this case, the

girl’s image is metaphorical in a way that illustrates the loss of innocence and the end of childhood

in her life. It is also a reminder to adults about their childhood failure to follow their desires and

dreams, through the act of losing the “balloon”. (DeTurk 29).

By observing the form of this art piece, it is conceivable to state that the image is made of

acrylic technique and aerosol paint on canvas (Snyder 270). The image measure101 by 78 cm.

There is also an artist’s signature and inscription on the opposite side of the canvas. According to

Carter (2018), considers the golden enormous frame as an integral work element chosen by Banksy

himself. This chosen style of the image is similar to graffiti art and is logical for everyone because

it is a simple picture with cavernous meaning (Snyder 270). The aim of Graffiti is to awaken

viewers' interest not only to the portrayed object but also to its meaning and social implication

(Edwards 350). This illustration demonstrates Graffiti as a piece of art direction that is capable of

influencing a person's inner world with news ideas, emotions, and thoughts.

After analyzing this piece of work entirely, my low confidence was boasted towards the

world I live in. The girl with a balloon, Bankys' piece art, has not only inspired me but many others

in different ways; first, we have discovered that in life we are supposed to have hope. Second, is

true that when we develop a positive attitude in life, everything turns out successful. I believe that
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this art piece is the best work art that Banksy has created because people in the society can express

themselves by just looking at this something so powerful. I further believe that since our world will

change with time, the piece art will need further studying to accommodate the changes in the

interpretation of the artwork.

In conclusion, Banksy’s “Girl with Balloon" artwork, is perhaps the main work created by

Banksy in 2002. His artwork has an element of truth, balance, composition, and moves the viewer's

eye throughout his art. It is possible to believe that the presentation of the graffiti art piece

complicates the way we reason about the meaning of the art piece. A statement of social reality is

realized through the picture of the “Girl with Balloon". Therefore, it is true that by mixing different

artistic movements, it carries a very important social implication. This image is a message that

people should open eyes to the world around them, and act without desire of being frustrated

concerning their lost hopes and dreams. In all, the 'Girl with Balloon' considered the best-known

painting worldwide and which is largely sold in the market.

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Works cited

Bengtsen, Peter. "Beyond the public art machine: A critical examination of street art as public

art." Konsthistorisk tidskrift/Journal of Art History 82.2 (2013): 63-80.

Brown, Kathryn. "Collage as form and idea in the art criticism of Tristan Tzara." French

Studies 73.4 (2019): 544-560.

DeTurk, Sabrina. "The “Banksy Effect” and Street Art in the Middle East." Street Art and Urban

Creativity Scientific Journal 1.2 (2015): 22-30.

Duncan, Carol, Cheryl Bernstein, and Guerrilla Art Group. The aesthetics of power: Essays in

critical art history. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Edwards, Ian. "Banksy's graffiti: A not-so-simple case of criminal damage?." The Journal of

Criminal Law 73.4 (2009): 345-361.

Heidegger, Martin. "The origin of the work of art." The continental aesthetics reader. Routledge,

2017. 79-122.

Nodelman, Perry. "Touching Art: The Art Museum as a Picture Book, and the Picture Book as

Art." Journal of Literacy Education 1 (2018): 6-25.

Snyder, Gregory J. "Long live the tag: Representing the foundations of graffiti." Graffiti and

Street Art: Reading, Writing and Representing the City, London, and New York:

Routledge (2017): 264-273.