King Robbo is a graffiti artist who rose to fame in the 80s when he started to tag trains. But what he is probably most famous for is his 'war' with fellow street artist Banksy. Below is a a timeline of the war in photographs...
After retiring, all save one of Robbo's work slowly disappeared. Above is that remaining piece, originally painted in 1985 on a tunnel in Camden.
By 2006, the original was barely visible.
An unspoken rule of the graffiti world is never use another artists work in your own without their approval, which is exactly what Banksy did in 2009, igniting the war between street art and graffiti.
King Robbo came out of retirement to retaliate.
A few months later Banksy further adds to the artwork.
And again King Robbo strikes back.
Fade to black. The wall is painted black by an unknown 3rd party.
King Robbo is the first to place his mark.
Fade to black. Again the wall is painted.
This time Banksy acts first.
Before King Robbo had the chance to launch a counterattack, he was found unconscious after suffering a head injury. This was in April 2nd 2011, it is thought he remains to be in an induced coma.
In tribute, Banksy paints an interpretation of the original.
(images from Twisted Sifter)
I don't know a whole lot about graffiti or street art so I didn't realise the controversial effect that Banksy had on the art form. Banksy exploded onto the scene in the 2000s, bringing with him this so called unique form of street art obtained using stencils. In reality, many of Banksy's works are in fact interpretations of Blek le Rat's work in Paris in the 80s.
(image from Daily Mail)
Many graffiti artists criticise his style of work, claiming that graffiti is about free hand and the use of stencils is essentially cheating. The idea of using stencils came to Banksy one night when he was hiding from the police. It gave him the ability to create pieces a lot faster - as street art or graffiti is illegal. This brings about the fundamental distinction between street art and graffiti.
Further adding fuel to the fire is the response of local governments. Clean up teams work daily to remove graffiti - often classed as 'vandalism' - whereas Banksy's work is not to be touched, and in some cases is protected with plexiglass. This discrimination is heavily felt by fellow artists who are not given the same generosity.
The celebritization of Banksy has affected the way in which people view the industry - like they only have a partial view of what is on offer and what talent is out there. It's an interesting watch - and it's only 45 minutes.
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