By understanding the various ‘practices of illustration’ one is able to progress and advance one’s own practice

Artist, illustrators and designers get their inspiration from the world and surroundings all around them. Everyday objects can inspire an artist to create some of their best work. But it is not just their surroundings that inspire, but also politics and our media obsessed culture. This inspiration is very prevalent in the graffiti artist Banksy’s work.

Banksy use’s walls, bridges and poster as his blank canvas, this is with the intention of his political art being seen by all, and reaching all audiences. But it is mainly aimed at younger generation who don’t visit art galleries, and aren’t interested in the world around them. By having it open on the streets, people can’t help but look and have their own interpretation of what it means, and see if it’s relevant to them.  

Graffiti is usually seen as anti-social and an eyesore, but Banksy uses this media to his advantage. His work consists mainly of graffiti stencils, with a political message painted on urban landscapes. Banksy’s work consist mainly of subjects and topics familiar in the 21^st century, but with a dark twist and hidden messages. For example, the image below shows how the government/people are ‘sweeping things under the rug’.  They don’t want to get involved in topics/subjects that don’t involve them or they want certain things to be forgotten.  Banksy images speak to us subconsciously, we can either appreciate them as a piece of art, or delve deeper and look at their hidden political messages.

The notion of ‘inspiration’ derives from constant inquiry, based on research, observation, recording and experimentation.

Kanye West is seen as a modern pop icon, pushing the boundaries both visually and musically. But with each new project he creates, he gathers inspiration from looking back at past musicians and artist. Through his research of older songs, he has experimented with them and used samples of them on his own songs. By using older songs as his inspiration, Kanye can add his own twist to it and makes the song his own. But it will still have relevance to the older song. One of Kanye West most famous samples is in the song, ‘Diamonds from Sierra Leone’ which samples Shirley Bassey’s ‘Diamonds are forever’. Kanye has changed the context of the song, with the intention of his music having a different meaning to the original. It is now about conflict diamonds and how people are being hurt and treated unfairly. By using the sample, the song automatically reaches a wider audience. The older generation will already be familiar with it, but by adding his rap and drum beats, it can also appeal to a younger and cooler audience. Kanye not only uses past songs as inspiration but also by looking back at past cultural icons. This is evident in the music video, ‘Touch the sky’ where he pays homage to Evel Knievel, with his character being renamed Evel Kanyevel. Kanye West gathers his inspiration from things that were popular when he was younger and before. He then adds his modern spin to them so they are more relevant with now, and connect to a younger audience.

Knaye West-Touch The Sky

Kanye West-Diamonds from Sierra Leone