BLECK LE RAT:
Blek le Rat is often described as the Father of Stencil Graffiti and is credited with creating the technique which has been adopted by artists such as Banksy. He has often said that he is motivated to create more art to spread social consciousness and to make art more accessible to people.
His works often feature people who are alone than groups in chaos. Blek's work depicting the homeless, which he began in 2006, became extremely popular. When he began stenciling, he painted rats on walls, describing them as the "only free animals in the city... they spread plague everywhere, just like street art."
BANKSY:
He is from Bristol, England.
Banksy is one of the most popular graffiti writers in the world. The fact that his actual identity remains unknown adds to the aura and hype surrounding his work. He has a distinctive style that uses the technique of stenciling. His works are often comments on the social and political situation of the world and have been featured on streets, walls and bridges in different cities.
Some of his most famous works include the Naked Man which is created on the wall of a sexual health clinic in Bristol, and his recreation of an image from Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, wherein John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson are holding bananas instead of guns.
Graffiti as an art form has existed for several centuries now, with evidence dating back to the Stone Age. Of course, over the years it has evolved tremendously. While for several decades graffiti was viewed as form of vandalism, today it is considered an art style with specific features, standards, and characteristics.
