Art not for sale: The artwork of Banksy
Art not for sale: The artwork of Banksy
The anonymous England-based street artist known only as “Banksy”, who will be referred to as they and them as their gender is unknown, has made headlines around the world yet again as they have admitted to sabotaging the sale of one of their most iconic pieces of art known as Girl with Balloon. The auction of Girl with Balloon was secretly filmed by either Banksy or one of their associates and the footage was posted on Banksy’s own Instagram account as an admittance of responsibility for the events which unfolded during the auction. In the video we can see the Girl with Balloon being auctioned off but right after the gavel seals the deal on the winning bid of over £1 million the piece of art begins to self-destruct as a hidden shredding device inside the frame has been activated. Banksy posted the video on the Banksy website and social media page and has titled the new artwork Love is in the Bin. There is a lot to unload regarding the choices made by Banksy in the methods they have deployed in the creation of this art and in how it articulates a certain message to viewers.
Julio García Espinosa has said that art is not something that is simply created for it to exist but that it is created with an artist’s own meaning behind it.[1] In agreement with this concept, it could be speculated that the very art form chosen by Banksy contains a meaning of its own. Banksy’s style of stencil graffiti shows that anyone can easily replicate this form of art or create similar work of their own. By using accessible methods and tools in the creation of the artwork, Banksy shows that art can be created by anyone in society. The use of public space for Banksy’s art could be thought of as a comment from them on the consumerism and ownership of art. Banksy makes it difficult for a single person to claim ownership of the artwork they create by doing it illegally and in public places. The free display of art in a public space combined with the lack of ownership can be regarded as an act of rebellion against the consumerist society we live in today. By Espinosa’s definition Banksy is creating and promoting popular art which is made for and by the masses. The refusal to be identified and known for their artwork also links in with Espinosa’s concept of everyone having the potential to become an artist. He proposes that people must not fulfil themselves as artists but as humans and regard art is an activity anyone can participate in.[2] Ironically the very message carried in Banksy’s art proposes the opposite of their own current reality as although they remain anonymous, they are still a highly regarded revolutionary artist. Although anyone can replicate or create the kind of images Banksy creates an original Banksy is still highly valued in the art world today. This point was proven in a stunt in which Banksy set up a stall in Central Park and sold original pieces of work for $60 each. Only three people bought the work as nobody knew who the artist was however Banksy later confirmed the work sold are verified Banksy’s and they are now valued at much higher amounts than the original purchase price based on this fact alone.
The new owner of the newly named Love is in the Bin is reported to be keeping the piece of art. This highlights the main issue with Banksy’s work as shredding it has reportedly made it gain even more value although this can also be said to work in the favour of the message as it proves the message true. In this respect, the piece of artwork has become the very pinnacle of what it is reacting against and yet it relies upon this fact in order to meet its end. Banksy’s artwork needs to gain attention and prestige in order to make a comment on the attention and prestige afforded to art. In this respect Banksy is taking part in what Christine Harold defines as media piracy as they are using the opportunities afforded to them by the media in order to criticise and expose commercialism and draw public attention to their own agenda.[3] Banksy seized the almost inevitable opportunity of the art auction as a method of channelling their own message to spectators and utilised the media by creating and capturing a spectacle which they then shared online.
The shredding of Girl with Balloon can be viewed as a rejection of what Espinosa describes as the “fascism of beauty”. Banksy is turning the idea of what we have been told to regard art on its head yet again as they have previously done with the status of graffiti which is normally considered one of the lowest forms of art due to its associations with destruction of property and criminal activity. Banksy is liberating art from Espinosa’s definition of “stifling norms of correctness and decorum” and quoted Picasso alongside the post of Love is in the Bin claiming in the video that the “urge to destroy is also creative”. This is then carried out through the destruction of what the arthouse has declared as art. Auto-destruct art is not a new artistic technique but is a movement which promotes the extraction of art from mass production and commercialisation. Through its destruction Banksy can be seen as making a statement that consumerism destroys art which links back to the earlier concept of art belonging to the masses rather than individuals. It is also a rejection of the idea that art can be controlled even if it is owned. Although someone now owns Banksy’s art they do not own the meaning of the art. The meaning is truly the piece of art itself, not the object used for its delivery. As appropriately summarised by Espinosa “nothing and nobody lets himself be imprisoned by a picture frame no matter how gilded” and as summarised by Banksy “I can’t believe you morons actually buy this shit”.
Bibliography
Banksy. “”The urge to destroy is also a creative urge” – Picasso” October 6, 2018, https://www.instagram.com/p/BomXijJhArX/?taken-by=banksy
BBC. “Banksy stall sells art works for $60 in New York” Accessed 14 October, 2013. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24518315
Espinosa, Julio García “For an Imperfect Cinema”, in Film and Theory: An Antholgy. Massachusetts: Blackwell, 2000.
Harold,Christine “Pranking rhetoric: “culture jamming” as media activism” In Critical Studies in Media Communication 21, no.3 (2004) 189-281.
News. “Banksy’s shredded Girl With Balloon renamed Love Is In The Bin, says Sotheby’s” Accessed 12 October, 2018. https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/banksys-shredded-girl-with-balloon-renamed-love-is-in-the-bin-says-sothebys/news-story/f5a2143c58c694661901dd35dbb459b3
WIKIART. “I can’t believe you morons actually buy this shit” Accessed 13 October, 2018. https://www.wikiart.org/en/banksy/i-can-t-believe-you-morons-actually-buy-this-shit-2007
[1] Julio García Espinosa, “For an Imperfect Cinema”, in Film and Theory: An Antholgy (Massachusetts: Blackwell, 2000), 288.
[2] Julio García Espinosa, “For an Imperfect Cinema”, 291.
[3] Christine Harold, “Pranking rhetoric: “culture jamming” as media activism” In Critical Studies in Media Communication 21, no.3 (2004) 189-281.