Jennifer De Los Santos cwl 161 Reading the World

Jennifer De Los Santos
CWL 161 - Reading the World
Banksy - Understanding the Argument. What facts can you discern about the child from examining the image Is it possible to speculate about the child’s race, nationality, age, or any other factor that could help audiences identify him - Just from looking at the image, I can see that the child is
young. He is working from the floor as opposed to on a desk and chair so he is
definitely in an area that forces him to be used for labor. Some speculations about
the child can be that he is within the age range of 7-10 years old, that he is a child of
POC, that he is probably from a Latin country, and that he is poor.
2. Why does the mural use real flags Why did the artist not paint them himself - I think
the artist used real flags in his mural to make the item standout and show the
audience that the small, cheapest item has a sad history behind its production.
Painting the flags wouldn’t make them standout as much and not show the true
meaning behind the painting.
3. What does the placement of the mural on the side of a discount store suggest - Banksy
painting this mural on the side of the Poundland store, which sells its products for 1
pound, sends the message that all those items in the store are so cheap because they
were produced in the sweatshops by a child, just like the mural shows. His choice of
placement allows for the shoppers in the store to second guess supporting the
horrible work conditions each of those cheap items cause.
4. Does the subsequent treatment of the painting as a valuable work of art change its message in anyway Does changing the work’s context change the way that you interpret it How does the story behind a work of art affect the way that you understand it - In a
way, making the painting a valuable work of art does change its message because it
makes it seem as though there is no message behind it, just an expensive picture to
look at. If the painting was bought and placed somewhere else, the message and
context behind it would seem less significant and important. My interpretation of it
would be someone wanting to buy an image of a child working, not of a slave labour
message.