Death of a Phone Booth

Melding sculpture and graffiti, Banksy elevated an ordinary London phone booth into a work of art. The dark red booth, appearing overnight in Soho in 2006, seemed to have been the object of a psychotic killer's rage. In a classic case of overkill, the booth was thrown from its feet, bent in half, and pick-axed to ensure its eternal silence. The innocent corpse lay bleeding on the sidewalk until some passersby found it the next morning. 

 Birth of a Phone Booth

Born in the early 1900s, shortly after the telephone gained popularity as a form of communication, the telephone booth first appeared in London near the Grand Central Railway. These jaunty red boxes provided the convenience of instant communication while traveling. The booths were large enough to accommodate an average-sized person. They provided protection from the elements, a certain amount of privacy by closing the door, and electric lighting for nighttime calls. They served the needs of the masses, providing telecommunications to anyone, regardless of whether or not an individual actually owned a phone himself. One could even use a phone booth to make a collect call if he had no change in his pockets with which to pay for his conversation.

Was the Banksy phone booth a statement on the decrease of such egalitarianism in society? After all, in order to make a phone call while traveling today, one needs to purchase a cell phone and a usage plan, and he must remain near an electrical outlet periodically to charge the phone. Banksy, artist for the masses may be upset that telecommunications are no longer for the masses.

Decline of a Phone Booth

With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 1970s saw the removal of phone booths throughout the United States in order to accommodate callers who were wheelchair-bound. By the 1990s, the gaining popularity of cell phones rendered public phones obsolete. While some public phones still exist, their numbers are dwindling rapidly. Those that remain are often in a state of disrepair. The major phone companies that own and maintain the public phones find more profit in concentrating on the wireless communication market than in repairing antiquated technology. While phone booths once graced virtually every street corner, public office building and hotel, and were indeed part of the fabric of the culture, it is now a feat akin to finding buried treasure to find an operable phone booth.

Was the Banksy phone booth a statement on the demise of what had once been an iconic presence in art, entertainment and society? Superman used phone booths to change from being Clark Kent. The Beatles were famously filmed talking to one another in adjoining phone booths in the title sequence of "A Hard Day's Night." Alfred Hitchcock's tale of horror, "The Birds", would not be complete without its heroine running into a phone booth to escape her avian attackers. Dr. Who used phone booths for time travel. Perhaps Banksy is frustrated that the heroes and heroines must now duck behind the counter of the nearest Radio Shack in order to achieve their original purpose.

Rebirth of a Phone Booth

Coincidentally, the year 2006, the year in which Banksy created his phone booth, is also the year in which Time Magazine broke from its long-standing tradition of naming its Person of the Year. Instead of naming a world leader or a controversial figure, Time named You (collectively, not individually) as Person of the Year. Instead of a portrait, the cover featured a generic, white computer and keyboard. The caption proclaimed, "You control the Information Age. Welcome to your world." The magazine noted that its choice reflected the increase of information available on the World Wide Web. No longer would an individual need to go through the time and expense of hiring a publisher in order to have his words read around the world. A sense of community and collaboration created by Wikipedia, MySpace, YouTube and Facebook glorified the anonymous author. Theoretically, these venues permitted the average person to express his or her opinion. The world did not need major network news teams to dissect, digest and present news and information.

Was Banksy protesting the very anonymity of social media? Like most graffiti artists, Banksy takes ownership and responsibility for the works of art that he creates. The anonymity of these new forms of social media allows individuals to hide behind a screen name. They can pretend to be that which they are not. They can claim statements as fact with no basis in research. Instead of celebrating social media, perhaps Banksy was decrying the lack of personal contact and personal responsibility inherent in anonymity.

Stencil Revolution Banksy work is commonly referred to as "Murdered Phone Booth." Perhaps a more fitting title would be "Phone Booth Reborn." After all, once the phone booth ceased to be useful as an egalitarian means of communication, once it could no longer be used by society's heroes and heroines, once it no longer identified the person with which one communicates, Banksy gave it new life as a work of art.