“Some feel the rain, others just get wet.” Bob Marley
Banksy, a masked street artist, has painted two signifiers in this piece; the man with the umbrella and the child. By painting the man with black and the child with bright colors, it makes us feel as if the man is lacking joy or life. This makes us relate to the child, who’s taking in the rain with arms up and mouth open, yearning for even a taste.
This is very interesting though.. When is the last time you played in the rain? We look at this image and tell ourselves we identify with the child and yet when it rains we reach for our umbrellas and try to not get wet. We go through life trying not to feel it, instead of taking it all in. Accepting the best and worst parts.. and then finding that what we thought were going to be the worst parts, were actually pretty great.
The social connotations Banksy makes in this piece are that there are two types of people in the world, those who hide under umbrellas and those who taste the rain.
Which are you?
Kadison Cole 
My two favourite things about this post- the way you have turned a photograph of infamous, seemingly simple art into a discussion, and the way readers are directly asked questions which invoke actual thought. I also think the way you acknowledged ‘two types of people in the world’ as two personality types- and not necessarily just adults and children (as the art would suggest, on the surface) as I agree this is what Banksy was conveying- the juxtaposition of two different mindsets and two different ways to perceive the world around us. Love your perception!
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thanks so much!
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Hi Kadison!
I really enjoyed reading this blog post, you picked a beautiful image to discuss. I like how you linked the signifiers in this image to the quote “some feel the rain, others just get wet” by Bob Marley, very clever! It highlights how our ideologies and things we have seen before impact how we view an image. I agree with your view of the image however I also read it as suggesting that we lose our child like curiosity as we age and perhaps we lose our appetite to discover. I think the juxtaposition of the child and the older man highlight this. What do you think of this?
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I agree! that is also a good way to read the image. I always think that the best pieces of art can be interpreted in many ways. It’s sad to see the truth in that idea, that as we age these child-like things, such as playing in the rain, become a nuisance or discomfort. We need to go back to being comfortable experiencing the world with bright eyes.
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Hi,
I love how you’ve written this! It is professional but also light hearted. It is great how you provoke thought through asking the audience questions. It makes us think beyond what you have written but to also think about our lives.
I wish it was a bit longer because I would be interested in hearing more about your views on this topic.
Overall I really liked it and it made me think about appreciating all of the little things in life that I used to enjoy as a child.
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Kadison’s writing style is so abstract and original. I adore reading every one of her posts. Her interpretation of this image showcases her writing ability and her style. She identifies the artist and gives background context on the artist and the work. But then addresses her interpretation of the work and explains it so thoroughly and clearly from such a different and original perspective of the piece. She’s being so honest and open about her opinion of the work and showcases a diffrerent angle introducing the controversy of the work. I really enjoyed reading this particular blog. But also love all of her blogs.
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