A good artist is not someone who sells a lot of paintings for an exorbitant price. A good artist is not someone whose name is famed all over the world. The skill level of an artist is not judged by his/her critics or reviews. It's not based on the number of paintings completed within a certain period. It's not based on who likes the art or who buys it. In my opinion, the world's best painter should be judged solely on skill and creativity used in his or her creations and possibly an x factor. This may be a more difficult, ambiguous, and subjective criterion than the previously listed measurements, but in all honesty, I can think of no better reasoning for the selection of such a title that will pay more respect to the artist’s raw ability and talent.
So now that we have established the unit of measurement, let's get down to the main topic. The year 2021 will most likely be remembered as the year the Covid-19 pandemic ran riot in most countries around the world. Without doubt it was a year that required inspiration and motivation to press on and survive. Art can bring hope. This phrase was experienced and brought into reality in more ways than one in 2021. Creating a masterpiece that inspires hope during a period of calamity and suffering is, in my view, an accolade that deserves the title of the best painter in the world for the year.
Ironically, my vote for the best painter for 2021 is a mystery man who goes by the nickname Banksy. Nobody knows his real name for certain and, in fact, his physical appearance is mere speculation based on eyewitness testimony at recently conducted one-on-one interviews. He is commonly known to be Robin Gunningham as identified by a local newspaper in 2008. To be honest, everyone who calls themselves an art lover knows Banksy by his ability to dazzle the world with his vision, creativity, and skill. Banksy is a political activist who communicates his views on local and global matters via street art. He is based in England, where most of his work is seen on walls, subways, buildings, bridges—basically any public place with a suitable surface. Given the social, financial, and political turmoil caused by the Covid pandemic, it was no surprise that this influential artist would use his talents to promote his ideology and publicize his opinion on the matter through art. His ability to make us stop and think is unbelievably refreshing, as he accomplishes this with simple sketches utilizing minimal color combinations. This ability was heavily used at a time when most of the world was incarcerated and more or less shut down—confirming the fact that art can not only survive a global pandemic but also thrive, as it speaks directly to human emotion and offers empathy within a message.
At midnight on Valentine’s Day 2021, Banksy posted on Instagram a photo of his latest artwork, which was meant as a tribute to the celebration of love. The painting was in the form of graffiti on a wall in Bristol, England. It featured a little girl using a catapult to fire red flowers toward an aimless target higher up on the wall. The splatter was created with spray-painted red flowers, which also fell upon the road nameboard alongside the wall. The artwork beautifully captured the heart and emotion behind the auspicious day and, not surprisingly, was named “Valentine’s Banksy.”
Banksy’s rise to fame is mainly due to his attitude, which is very visibly portrayed in his art and his mysterious identity. As the year 2020 unfolded, the need for “out there” art and extroverted opinion sharing became greater. It could be because people were often fighting boredom and monotonous hours due to the never-ending lockdowns and travel restrictions brought about by the pandemic. This fight created a pull toward “not the usual” type of entertainment and art. Banksy obliged with his fearless depictions of human behavior and personal ideology. He not only gifted the world of art with his usual brilliance but also used his talents to assist in the need of the hour. As an artist who always shared the heartbeat of the common man, Banksy identified the growing need of the healthcare industry and the urgency of helping those who were sick. As a result, he gifted a painting to a British hospital together with the funds from its anticipated sale. The painting was a monochrome sketch of a small boy playing with a nurse doll, depicting love and appreciation toward frontline healthcare workers who were fighting the pandemic. In the summer of 2021, this exceptional artist pledged the proceeds from the sale of “Mediterranean Sea View” to a hospital in Bethlehem. The sale resulted in the hospital receiving USD 2.8 million in funds, which incidentally was Banksy’s second-highest sale at auction. A few months later, he directly helped fund the work of a refugee rescue ship, which was the inspiration behind the masterpiece.
Possibly Banksy’s most famed painting in 2021 was the sketch of an elderly lady sneezing, titled “Achoo.” It was painted on the side wall of a house on Vale Street in the British city of Bristol. It captured the theme of the season and vividly depicted how the pandemic spread from person to person. The detail of the depiction was so striking that it even included the lady’s dentures flying out of her mouth due to the force of her sneeze—blending humor with reality. The street art has since been shared countless times across social media and publications, making it arguably one of the most viewed paintings of 2020.
Banksy’s contribution to art and to the world goes far beyond paint on a canvas—or in this case, a wall, a boat, or the subway. Like I said at the start, an artist cannot be judged on the monetary value of his or her paintings or fame. There is an x factor that comes into play, and Banksy has it. More importantly, he has proven to be a master at identifying and recreating the human response to reality through art. This has given him my vote for the best painter in the world for the year 2021.
By Arun Perera (2021)
