Imagine seeing Banksy from your Couch! by Sneha RK

Contents of the Blog

- Importance of accessible art

- Cause and Effect of Accessible Art

- Creative ways to implement accessibility of Art

- Art as a medium of communication

- Creating this website

- One of my favorite pieces, Banksy’s “ Girl with a Balloon”

It's my strong opinion when I state that everyone has the right to art, it is a part of human culture. It aspires to inspire, transform and induce retrospection and to think in a human to understand the thought behind such simple yet complicated visual pleasure. Unfortunately, not many people are able to experience this in real life, due to barriers such as physical and financial accessibility.

Accessible art is influential because it is advantageous to an individual and society as a whole. It is a powerful tool for self-expression, healing, and unity because it connects people with other people as well as their own thoughts and feelings. Accessible art could have a positive effect on affecting a society’s approach to being open-minded, evolving with the current times, and so on. Accessible art can help in making communities more inclusive, visually highlighting their fight and plight resulting in empathy, regeneration of humanity, and unity in diversity.

More importantly, accessible art can positively affect the economy in two specific ways, one: bettering hobbies and recreational space for the community, and two: providing opportunities for new and upcoming artists and organizations. I even think that the education sector could also definitely have crucial takeaways from making art accessible/ Students and teachers alike are always surrounded by a learning and budding environment. With the help of art, they can inculcate more creativity, critical thinking, and other forms of expression. It will also help in the education system providing an equal footing to all students and ensuring that everyone has the same opportunities

In short, I truly believe that accessible art will be transformative in uniting and being inclusive as a community as a whole. Through this website, I have tackled making art accessible by providing a VR experience of a gallery mainly consisting of local, national, and international graffiti art. More often than not, graffiti tells the more personal, gruesome truth. Its choice of location, symbols, and signs used is so significant to the artist as well as the entire locality or community they belong to. Making these stories heard exactly as they were told to be experienced while being sat in the comfort of your own home should be an option, and hence ArtBanks was created.

The name itself was inspired by my favorite artist Banksy. The visual representation/ recognition of the website, as in, the logo is directly tied to one of his graffiti - Girl with a Balloon. The Girl with a Balloon is an excellent, enigmatic piece by Banksy. It is a stencil painting that became an iconic symbol of hope and love. The piece was said to have been painted on a wall in East London in 2002. It depicts a girl with her hand stretched out towards a heart-shaped balloon that appears to be floating away. This was the inspiration for the logo, if you’ll notice, the Banks part of it, in red, is shaped quite similar to the balloon in Banksy’s depiction.

The art itself is simple, whimsical even. But it’s quite evocative in its simplicity. The way I interpret it is how a human mostly desires whatever they gaze upon, and that becomes an obsession to attain especially the more it seems unreachable. However, I do also see the hope that this art portrays, the hope that if you reach out a little more toward your dreams and aspirations, things that you love and cherish, you will be able to have a firm grasp on them and they won't float away. Something that absolutely makes this art piece stellar is the way the balloon, in the set environment of London, seems like it’s actually floating away! It’s truly praise-worthy how Banksy paints his work in public spaces, taking full advantage of their ecological interactions and surroundings. Over the years, though I have noticed that the “Girl with a Balloon” has been reproduced in different forms like coffee mugs, t-shirts, caps, and other merchandise. This only further contributes to the fact that this painting in particular was highly relatable and transformative for society.

But alas, my fascination doesn't end here. In 2018, the painting was auctioned and sold at Sotheby’s for over a million dollars. But, here’s the mystique, as soon as the gavel fell, announcing the winning bet, the painting that had been securely framed started shredding itself! Such a stunning piece left to shred! The consolation remains that this stellar piece of work was only partially shredded, but imagine the suspense, mystery, and panic that would’ve passed the room in ascending waves. Well, thank the gods for the existence of digital replicas and media, haha.

Anyways, I truly think that this piece was, is still, and will remain relevant to interpretation in the decades to come. And I am truly convinced that it's a successful piece of work, especially if it is talked about decades or centuries even after its creation. My fascination with this mysterious enigmatic tale of “Girl with a Balloon” was the initial reason I started exploring graffiti and realized that I want to see all these stunning pieces in the environment they are painted/ created in, but currently being restrained by the responsibilities of being a student and the actual restriction of time and funds, I landed upon the idea of a VR Gallery for graffiti pieces. This VR Gallery is set apart from the competition due to my unfair advantage of being a design student, well versed in visual aesthetic pleasure, and genuine curiosity about all the pieces of art that could possibly be discovered and depicted all around the world. The relatability that I feel for people who wish to explore but can’t is real, and most understood by everyone experiencing it on their own. Bringing the same environment and feel while having the painting in its own location using virtual reality seemed like the only sane and justifiable option for both the art lovers as well as the paintings themselves. Having to somehow replicate them or displace them didn’t settle well with me. If you can’t transport to the art, let the art come to you!

The design of this website follows minimalism to simply bring attention and focus to the intricacy of the graffiti art itself. It has subtle interactions to maintain a good user experience but never strays away from the art, as this website is just a medium to connect art to people. I really do think this website is successful in doing its part of bringing inspiration and a fun and memorable experience to people, but I will only be sure if I hear from you!

Leave your feedback down here! I would love to hear your thoughts.

Regards

A fellow art-lover

Sneha.