This image is of painting by Banksy who is known for making meaningful graffiti also called street art. The theme or message of this piece is a condemnation of society. The speaker in the artwork states “I see humans but no humanity.” This message about society is the main message or theme for this particular piece of artwork. The statement is supported by the use of color, or lack thereof, the positioning of the periscope, and quote stated by an unknown speaker. Although, there are one or two things that can possibly be seen as detracting from this message or argument.  The person speaking is an unknown entity which shall be assumed to be human. The purpose shall be to show how the use of color, periscope 

The color scheme of the artwork is very monochromatic All that the speaker can see is this dull and featureless landscape, and the only color that is seen is varying degrees of gray and black. This contributes to the sense of hopelessness and despair of the artwork. The presence of any sort of color would add a sense of life to the artwork; however, the lack of color creates a mood of monotony and a feeling of uniformity. This reinforces the message of the quote, “I see humans but no humanity.” The gray color scheme of the piece implies a dullness of the world in which it is framed.

The use of the periscope is an interesting method by which to separate the speaker from the rest of the world. Whoever is using this periscope cannot see anything other than this monochrome world that is devoid of, what he defines as, humanity. What does the speaker actually see? The speaker makes a critical remark about society, and yet he can only see a small portion of that world. He is not even aware of the viewer. This in and of itself invalidates his conclusion about the horrific state of society and the state of the world. He cannot make a judgement of the world or society if he does not fully grasp the scope of what he is judging. Another interesting view of the purpose is that this observer is searching for his definition of what society should look like and to do this they needed to remove them self and view society from an impartial and detached vantage point to find it. 

One interesting aspect of this piece that contributes to the message is the subject of the artwork. The periscope and by extension the view condemnation of the speaker is not directed towards the audience.  This acquits the audience of any guilt or fault for the condition of society as a whole and invalidates the claim of the speaker, as is previously mentioned. This implies that the audience is not a part of this society and just being detached observers, or it could be that he has not taken into account the fact that he, the speaker, cannot view the entire world. The lack of a defined subject also detracts from the message of the piece. The purpose of the lack of subject is to send the message that the society needs to change as opposed to acquitting the observer of guilt. 

 The idea that there could be humans but no humanity is an interesting idea. Humans are incapable of lacking the quality of being human which is to say that humans are incapable of lacking humanity. An interesting thing to note is that in stating this, it is assumed that the speaker is also talking about himself. In criticizing the world around him he shows his own lack of humanity, because he shows that he has no compassion or kindness himself. He judges based solely off of what he sees and knows nothing of the true meaning of that which he sees. Even a kind word or gesture can be misinterpreted if one looks at the interaction from a purely visual vantage point. One example of this is the simple expression of a smile could mean a hundred different things other than just a feeling of happiness. 

All of these things relate to the idea that the society we live in is devoid of humanity. Through the use of color it shows the uniformity and hopelessness of the surrounding. The use of direction and positioning shows the detachment and dismisses the audience as part of this landscape. These are but just a few of the ways that the elements of this artwork reinforce the message that it champions.