Banksy is probably the most popular, yet most mysterious, urban street artist in the world - and he works at incredible extremes. He has become an internationally known as a subversive graffiti artist - yet manages to maintain a secret identity. He is a counter-cultural prankster, but has art in major cosmopolitan galleries around the globe. Banksy's work has sold to Hollywood celebrities for over a half-million dollars a piece, but much of his subvertising is freely (and illegally) drawn on public surfaces. He works against the mass media establishment, but has been featured in local, national, international news. He is on some level clearly a geek at heart but at the same time his art is always on the cutting edge. The following seven examples illustrate the fascinating range of Banksy's life and works through his most controversial and compelling projects.

Tags: Graffiti, Guerilla Action, Street Art, Subvertising, Travel, Urban, Urban Art, Urban Images, Urban Videos by Urbanist - 80 Comments »