Banksy
Big Idea or Subject:
Suffering/Animal rights
Major Theme:
Orcas in Captivity
Medium or Presentation:
Sculpture
Visual Components:
Form, public art, sculpture, movement, emphasis, space, proportion, scale
Category:
Fine Arts, Pop culture
Authorship:
Banksy
Title:
Untitled
Original Location:
Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England
Description/Interpretation
To begin, the surrounding setting of the sculpture appears run down, bleak, dead, and falling apart. There is a toilet, with a very large animal, an orca, appearing to jump out of it. The orca is jumping out of the toilet, toward the center of a hula hoop held by a diver or performer of some sort. The orca does not appear as if it fits in the toilet it came from, the hoop it is going towards, nor does it look that it will have room in the small kiddie pool, filled with disgusting liquids. I interpret this as a statement on Sea World, which has had much recent coverage on its treatment of orcas, including a popular documentary. Much of the controversy surrounding Sea World and its ethics is that the orcas are kept in very small tanks, which are a million times smaller than the orca’s natural environment- the ocean. Many speculate that this is not healthy for the orca, physically or emotionally. This is why all of the elements the orca in the photograph appear to be held in or going into are much smaller than what would be realistic for the animal.
Use in Teaching:
I would use this as an example to my students on using art as a statement on social issues like animal welfare. It think it has a big impact on the viewer, and would like to have the students think of their own ways to talk about how animals are mistreated, or how students can help animals through artwork.
Source:
Artofthestate.co.uk
Suffering/Animal rights
Major Theme:
Orcas in Captivity
Medium or Presentation:
Sculpture
Visual Components:
Form, public art, sculpture, movement, emphasis, space, proportion, scale
Category:
Fine Arts, Pop culture
Authorship:
Banksy
Title:
Untitled
Original Location:
Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England
Description/Interpretation
To begin, the surrounding setting of the sculpture appears run down, bleak, dead, and falling apart. There is a toilet, with a very large animal, an orca, appearing to jump out of it. The orca is jumping out of the toilet, toward the center of a hula hoop held by a diver or performer of some sort. The orca does not appear as if it fits in the toilet it came from, the hoop it is going towards, nor does it look that it will have room in the small kiddie pool, filled with disgusting liquids. I interpret this as a statement on Sea World, which has had much recent coverage on its treatment of orcas, including a popular documentary. Much of the controversy surrounding Sea World and its ethics is that the orcas are kept in very small tanks, which are a million times smaller than the orca’s natural environment- the ocean. Many speculate that this is not healthy for the orca, physically or emotionally. This is why all of the elements the orca in the photograph appear to be held in or going into are much smaller than what would be realistic for the animal.
Use in Teaching:
I would use this as an example to my students on using art as a statement on social issues like animal welfare. It think it has a big impact on the viewer, and would like to have the students think of their own ways to talk about how animals are mistreated, or how students can help animals through artwork.
Source:
Artofthestate.co.uk
Here is a video on Banksy's Dismaland Exhibit which features the sculpture in my VCDB.
View more art by Banksy: