Street Artist Banksy's Rise to Fame Tracked on Google

I am very partial to street art - wall murals, graffiti. I even write articles about it. And I guess when it comes to graffiti, Banksy is right there - A number One at the Top of the Heap.

So I was really interested when I got a post from Digg-buddy Colin Mc Dermot tittled Banksy's Rise to Fame.

No he wasn't waxing lyrical on the beauty of street art of Bristol Born Banksy. His blog post show via an analysis of Google search engine data a remarkable pattern between some of Banksy's press activity and his rise to fame over the last five years.

According to Colin:

"This represents another landmark for Graffiti's acceptance into popular culture.

Banksy's artworks have huge value - and forward thinking councils / property owners that understand this value (money talks!) are now actually maintaining these pieces of art.

Once it was the the job of councils to remove ALL graffiti.

Now they are starting to see that perhaps not all of this wonderful artwork can be classed as mindless vandalism."

Check the YouTube Video

Graffiti talks: Paint the city and protest

We always complain about graffiti because it messes up buildings and makes streets look like slums.

For many youngsters it is the only form of social expression that they find really makes sense to them; that has impact.

I know the eThekwini Municipality put up a Graffiti Wall at the Skateboard Park on the Beachfront a couple of years ago - I must go down and see what has happened to it.

Then there is graffiti like this - a very powerful medium for social protest. Some of these remind me a little of the wall murals in Belfast and Derry in Northern Ireland.

It would be a great way to create social awareness, especailly for something like HIV/AIDS - think of all those ugly bare walls, just waiting to be painted and all the creative young people aching to give expression to their feelings.

Corporates could even sponsor them - a little logo here and there would look cool - handpainted on the wall. (Look great in the SR portfolio too!)

These images are all from .matrix project, a blog by SEAN PATRICK COON, an experience designer and digital activist, living and working out of Greensboro, North Carolina,USA.