Courtesy of Linda Baker, via The Telegraph
Today I’ll take you in a time machine back to the early times of Banksy; all the way back to 1999. One of Banksy’s first notable pieces was created in what is considered Banksy’s hometown. This piece is one of the best examples of how Banksy utilizes the location of his pieces to give them meaning. The Mild Mild West depicts a fluffy teddy bear carrying a Molotov cocktail, approaching police carrying riot shields. If you were not able to immediately reference this picture you would probably think I was describing a bad drug trip, and that is exactly why this piece is so great. The concept of this picture is absolutely insane making seemingly no sense, but it is informed by the location. After doing some research, because I was very confused on the commentary initially as well, I learned that this piece made sense because of its location in Bristol.
The people of Bristol have been quoted to be very proud their town is the proud home of this Banksy. To best understand why Bristolians love the piece, listen to one of its denizen’s description, “Maybe because it’s a kind of comment on an aspect of the Bristolian character – a laid-back cider-drinking hippy who can nevertheless be roused into action. Fluffy but defiant” (Baker). The people in Bristol have accepted this unconventional description to be adequate for the overall setting of their area. From an American perspective, this description of a whole town is quite foreign (which it literally is). In America it is difficult to find a whole group of people to be described as “fluffy”, though the defiant aspect does stand true. In this way Banksy not only creates a piece to be appreciated by Bristolians, but also allows outsiders to gain a better prospective on the nature of the town.
The inscription of “The mild mild West” is referring to Bristol’s location in Western England. This title is also ironic given the depiction of a riot like situation. In this case, the image itself cannot solely convey Banksy’s intention; the depiction must be combined with the critical aspect of location to capture the true meaning. I chose this piece to analyze this week because it so heavily relies on outside context to inform meaning. Many of Banksy’s pieces will utilize this technique; therefore, it is important to understand how to read more deeply into the outside context of Banksy
Baker, Lindsay . “Banksy: off the wall .” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group , 28 Mar. 2008,
www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3672135/Banksy-off-the-wall.html.
This piece of Banksy is very interesting, especially if we applied the message to modern day America. I would be very curious to know your thoughts on the application of Banksy work to contemporary issues.
It’s so bizarre how this piece can appear so contradictory and even off-putting to outsiders, but that the people of Bristol for whom Banksy created the image feel a connection to the “fluffy but defiant” depiction, which speaks to Banksy’s success in representing and fully understanding his audience. Your explanation of how Banksy’s medium (street art) can have an influence on the reaction to the artwork is really compelling and something I hadn’t really thought about with street art before.