Banksy: Prints

Art collector Campolucci-Bordi debuts with a straightforward study of the printed works of street artist Banksy. Known primarily for his graffiti, Banksy began churning out screen prints in the early aughts, and the cheaply sold reproductions (that now command exorbitant prices) opened up his work “to a wider audience.” Focusing mostly on the early and mid-aughts, the book highlights his signature themes—childhood, hope, critiques of consumerism and capitalism——in screen prints, some of which feature images initially displayed elsewhere, like Girl with Balloon, Banksy’s “most iconic image,” which first appeared on a London wall in 2002 and depicts a child reaching into the wind for a heart-shaped balloon. Works first released as screen prints include 2006’s Sale Ends, which critiques the ironies of consumerism in a parodied crucifixion scene where figures bow “before a bright-red sign that reads ‘Sale Ends Today,’ ” and 2002’s Rude Copper, in which a policeman gives the viewer the middle finger. The author provides minimal analysis and only basic details about the original medium and distribution of each work, mostly allowing the striking art to speak for itself. The result is a worthwhile survey of a lesser-known element of the enigmatic artist’s oeuvre. (Nov.)