
The idea of a child losing their innocence is a great fear of the people of the world. Children are the last individuals that can hold onto their innocence and not be affected by the horrors of the real world. Adults will do almost anything to preserve this and that is why it is such a big deal when a child’s innocence is lost. This is exactly what Balloon Girl is depicting. Balloon Girl was painted by Banksy in 2003 to show people what really happened to children when they lost their innocence.  But when children lose their innocence, many bad things can happen, such as childhood depression could happen.  This is a horrible, horrible thing. Banksy is a mysterious artist that will make a very current and very political piece of art almost overnight and will let the people that view it depict what it really means, but most of the times, Banksy’s meanings are quiet apparent. Banksy’s use of color, form, hierarchy, shade, space, and shape enforce his meaning of innocence lost for anyone who sees his artwork. 

To start, Banksy’s use of color in this work of art makes his meaning more apparent. If this piece of art was in black and white the meaning would still be apparent, but it would not be nearly as vibrant as it is in color. The red in the heart shaped balloon shows love and compassion, everything a child is initially born with. Children are born bright and full of life and always wanting to have fun. The red of the heart shaped balloon is the life of every child. The darkness of the child is used to show what happens to kids when their innocence is lost. When innocence is taken from a child, they can become very dark and serious. Children are supposed to be colorful, creative, and lively not dark and grim. One could view this the heart shaped balloon flying off to a brighter, better place while the little girl is stuck on this dark, sad world. Another reason why the little girl is depicted as such a dark figure because she is so far down she cannot see the light while the heart shaped balloon is flying off to brighter places. The color added to Balloon Girl shows the color almost being pulled out of the little girl and really lets the view get a sense for how bad it can be for a child to lose their innocence. Innocence is pulled out of children through horrible instances that can scar them for life. This is a huge problem in today’s society that will only lead to a worse future because the children of today are our future and we need to protect them. Besides the use of color, the use of shade is also a major point in the artwork. The darkness of the girl is one of Banksy’s smaller meanings in this art work. If the girl was colorful and full of life, Banksy’s full meaning of innocence lost would be very hard to pull out, but also it would be difficult to see what happens to the little girl when her innocence is lost. Young children are supposed to be cheerful and full of life yet this one in the painting is dark and dreary. Banksy is trying to show the people that when a child loses their innocence, they are not the same child anymore. This is very bad for not only the children, but society as a whole. Banksy is trying to alert people how bad it is for a child to lose their innocence. For the child, their world may seem dark, like how the little girl looks. This is a major problem for the future that Banksy is trying to bring to light. We need to care about the children of today because they are our future. And if the children of today are losing their innocence, the future will only look darker and darker. 

In addition, the form that this art takes is very important. The idea of innocence lost is almost always associated with children so having the picture of a little girl was a very crucial aspect of this painting. But the idea to have the heart shaped balloon almost being whisked away from the little girl adds so much more emphasis on the idea that innocence is being taken away from children. This work of art allows the viewer to truly see how children are reaching to hold on to their innocence but it is just being pulled away from them and being kept out of their reach. This is a very, very dark topic and idea, but it is one that more people need to be aware of because it is becoming more and more apparent with the rising number of childhood depression cases. Children have so much life ahead of them and they need to have as bright a future as possible. Banksy’s use of form brings to the surface that children’s innocence is not just lost, but taken from them and it will only lead to bad things down the road. 

Also, the use of hierarchy adds a great deal to the meaning of this piece. Banksy’s use of hierarchy shows how much more emotion than if the little girl and the heart shaped balloon were on the same plane. Putting the heart shaped balloon above the girl and out of her reach shows that the balloon is better than her and is above her, both literally and figuratively. This work of art can be viewed as the heart shaped balloon flying away to brighter better things while the little girl is stuck on this dark world. But one could also view this work of art as the girl being pulled away and being held back from the balloon. A loss of innocence could stop someone from being able to excel and grow This girl may be reaching for the skies to achieve her dreams but is unable to do so because she has lost her innocence or her way to reach the skies. Without a way to reach the skies, the little girl will be stuck down living on a dark world where she will never be able to reach her dreams or better herself.  

Similarly, Banksy’s use of space adds more effect to the meaning of the art. The use of a plain background while the little girl and the heart shaped balloon take up all of the wall is used to show the main focus point of this work of art as easily as possible. If there were other things added to the art, such as a background or other children, then the viewer could be distracted from the main purpose of the artwork. Keeping it simple and having the focal point right in plain view for everyone to see makes it the easiest to see the true meaning of innocence lost that Banksy is trying to inform people of. It also shows how important the main focus by not having anything else except the little girl and the heart shaped balloon. Having only what you want the audience to see can show the real importance of the meaning because adding anything else would take away from the meaning and only lower its importance. 

Lastly, the shape used to define the balloon adds emphasis to the meaning. Banksy could have made the balloon just a regular round shape, but doing that would have lowered the ease of pulling out his meaning. Using a heart shaped balloon shows that not only is the girl losing her color, but she is also losing her heart. The heart us where we as people draw our emotions out of and without it, we are not complete. The loss of innocence can take away much more than people think. It can also take away one’s emotions and turn them dark and depressed. This is what Banksy is trying to show by making the balloon in the shape of a heart because the girls emotions come from her heart and she just lost them. Without her innocence or her heart, the little girl and never be complete and that is a true tragedy that we as a people need to put an end to. 

All in all, Banksy’s use of features and principles of art enforce his meaning of innocence lost in the youth of today. Putting all of the features and principles together throws an uncomfortable problem in today’s society in the views face so they cannot avoid it. Having the meaning be so open and not blocked or clouded by anything else let’s the viewer take in everything and be able to pull out the meaning of innocence lost quiet easily. Doing this also gives the viewer the possibility of wanting to do something to solve this problem. Banksy’s work of art can be seen as a call to action to the people because the issues that Banksy brings up, especially the idea of innocence lost, are things that have to change, and soon. 
