Banksy (lesson 2)

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 3

Aims:

By the end of the lesson,you will be better able to use the following vocabulary to praise/criticise Banksy’s art: irresponsible, satirical; vandalism, a valid art form; controversial; provocative; anarchy-lite; defaces buildings; derivative; hideous; pioneering; iconic; subversive, distinctive.

 In pairs,  discuss the following two questions:

 

What do you think of this piece of art? 

 Why do you think the artist painted this picture? 

 Feedback: Do this as a whole-class activity. Depending on what your students are like, you might not have to do any work at all here. If they’re struggling to interpret the work, guide the discussion by asking them: Who can you see in the picture? Does she still look like that now? Why has the artist chosen to depict her as a young woman? What could the lightning bolt represent? Why combine iconic images of the Queen and David Bowie in this way? What moral or message could be behind the picture? What kind of person do you think the artist is? What are his beliefs? Encourage them to think as critically as possible!

 irresponsible, 

satirical; 

vandalism, 

a valid art form; 

controversial; 

provocative; 

anarchy-lite; 

defaces buildings; 

derivative; 

hideous; 

pioneering; 

iconic; 

subversive, 

distinctive.

Make a note of any words you are not confident about.

Vocabulary: Tell students you’re going to give them some useful vocabulary, written on cards. (If you don’t have time to prepare these, just dictate the word list.) Working in small groups, ask them to sort the cards into two categories: I’m confident about this word/phrase vs I’m not confident about this word/phrase.

Feedback: Students can peer-check any new or difficult words/phrases with the rest of the class, or using dictionaries and translation tools. Give teacher-led explanations only when students really need it, e.g. perhaps with anarchy-lite or pioneering, where they might need a few more examples to get the idea.

 In pairs,

You are going to look at some more work by the same artist. You should discuss the same two questions (What do you think of this piece of art? Why do you think the artist painted this picture?), using the new vocabulary on the previous slide.

Speaking: Tell students they’re going to look at some more work by the same artist. In pairs, they should discuss the same two questions (What do you think of this piece of art? Why do you think the artist painted this picture?), using the new vocabulary to help them. Now show them slides #2-#7, spending 45-60 seconds on each picture.

Response: In pairs, students choose their favourite and/or least favourite picture from the slides. Use this as a starting point for a large-group or even whole-class chat. 

 Discussion Questions

Why has Banksy chosen to stay anonymous? 

Should graffiti be legalised? 

Would Banksy want graffiti to be legalised? 

What would have to happen for Banksy to consider his art a success? 

To what extent does his work encourage vandalism?

 To what extent does it cheapen the work of other contemporary artists? Who gets to decide what is art and what is not?

 What would happen if Banksy painted a mural in your town/city?