Category: Banksy Art

Many street artists like Banksy compare themselves with rats, since they also have to hide, often work under cover of darkness and always be on the alert because their work is considered illegal.

This artwork is located at Broadway and was created with the permission of the city authorities. Maybe that is why the image of the rat here has an absolutely opposite meaning.

The phrase “let them eat crack” is a metaphor for the famous quote by Marie Antoinette “let them eat cake”. She said this in response to hearing about starving French peasants. This quote through the years has shown the inability of wealthy people to understand the problems of the lower class because of their privileged lifestyle.

With the money falling out of the rat’s brief case it is obvious that the rat resembles a Wall Street figure. By using the word “crack” in the place of “cake” Banksy suggests that the wealthy 1% of New York are out of touch and insensitive to the problems of the poor communities.

The artwork inspires the people and provokes emotion by providing a powerful message. Rich people are ignorant to the problems of the lower class completing the metaphor for Marie Antoinette was notoriously ignorant in her quote “Let them eat cake”

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