Methods of Defamiliarization and Semioclasm in Banksy’s Artworks

Banksy is an anonymous British street artist and political activist, which is known for his satirical street art combine dark humor with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. He displays his art on publicly visible surfaces and self-built physical prop pieces. He characterises graffiti as a form of underclass revenge, or guerrilla warfare that allows him to snatch away power, territory and glory from a bigger and better equipped enemy. Banksy’s works have dealt with various political and social themes, including anti-consumerism, anti-war, anti-imperialism, anti-fascism, anti-authoritarianism, nihilism, anarchism and existentialism. Additionally, the components of the human condition that his works commonly critique are greed, hypocrisy, poverty, absurdity, boredom, alienation and despair. His works usually rely on iconography and visual imagery to put forth their message. In January 2011, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary for Exit Through the Gift Shop < /em>. In 2014, he was awarded Person of the Year at the Webby Awards. The main objective of this paper is to first to tracing defamiliarization and semioclasm in the artworks of Banksy. This research is a semiotic case study with a descriptive - analytical approach. Defamiliarization is the artistic technique of presenting common things in an unfamiliar or strange way in order to enhance perception of the familiar. Semioclasm begins when the creator of a cultural message, uses the signs with a different signification from their common meanings, with the aim of breaking the ruling conventions of a social context. By analyzing eleven artworks of Banksy, this paper attempts to reveal the methods of defamiliarization and semioclasm in his work. In this regard, we specified three categories: 1. Political defamiliarization and semioclasm: in Napalm Girl (2004, referring to the link between warfare and capitalism as two major tools of American hegemony); Unwelcome Intervention (2005, to protest against all the walls and barriers between people around the world); Rage, the Flower Thrower (2005, to complain about war, bellicosity and carnage); Crayola Shooter (2011, to blame child abuse on battlefields) and Missile instead of Javelin (2012, to protest against political interventions in sport). 2. Economic defamiliarization and semioclasm: in Paris Album (2006, mockery of the celebrities’ greed) and Coney Island Adventure (2018, protesting large companies from seizing property of the poor). 3. Religious defamiliarization and semioclasm: in Toxic Mary (2003, criticizing the ineffectiveness and profitability of the religious authorities); Christ with Shopping Bags (2004, to complain about consumerism); Grin Reaper (2005, to minimize death) and Sale Ends (2017, protesting against greed and shopaholism). The artist in these works, by removing the meaning of known symbols, has been attached a new concept to them. He used alternate codes as follows: Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald instead of soldiers, window instead of wall, flowers instead of grenade, Crayolas instead of bullets, missiles instead of javelin, dog’s head instead of Paris Hilton’s, growth charts instead of lashes, venom instead of Madonna’s milk, shopping bags instead of cross nails, smiling emoji instead of skulls, and auction-end billboards instead of crucifixion icon. The main objective of this paper is to first to tracing defamiliarization and semioclasm in the artworks of Banksy. This research is a semiotic case study with a descriptive - analytical approach. Defamiliarization is the artistic technique of presenting common things in an unfamiliar or strange way in order to enhance perception of the familiar. Semioclasm begins when the creator of a cultural message, uses the signs with a different signification from their common meanings, with the aim of breaking the ruling conventions of a social context. By analyzing eleven artworks of Banksy, this paper attempts to reveal the methods of defamiliarization and semioclasm in his work. In this regard, we specified three categories: 1. Political defamiliarization and semioclasm: in Napalm Girl (2004, referring to the link between warfare and capitalism as two major tools of American hegemony); Unwelcome Intervention (2005, to protest against all the walls and barriers between people around the world); Rage, the Flower Thrower (2005, to complain about war, bellicosity and carnage); Crayola Shooter (2011, to blame child abuse on battlefields) and Missile instead of Javelin (2012, to protest against political interventions in sport). 2. Economic defamiliarization and semioclasm: in Paris Album (2006, mockery of the celebrities’ greed) and Coney Island Adventure (2018, protesting large companies from seizing property of the poor). 3. Religious defamiliarization and semioclasm: in Toxic Mary (2003, criticizing the ineffectiveness and profitability of the religious authorities); Christ with Shopping Bags (2004, to complain about consumerism); Grin Reaper (2005, to minimize death) and Sale Ends (2017, protesting against greed and shopaholism). The artist in these works, by removing the meaning of known symbols, has been attached a new concept to them. He used alternate codes as follows: Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald instead of soldiers, window instead of wall, flowers instead of grenade, Crayolas instead of bullets, missiles instead of javelin, dog’s head instead of Paris Hilton’s, growth charts instead of lashes, venom instead of Madonna’s milk, shopping bags instead of cross nails, smiling emoji instead of skulls, and auction-end billboards instead of crucifixion icon.