Tag Archives: Banksy

Birmingham: Banksy festive artwork to highlight homelessness

December 10, 2019 butterfly

Banksy has unveiled new artwork in Birmingham to highlight homelessness this Christmas.

The painted mural appeared on a brick wall on Vyse Street in the city’s jewellery quarter on 9 December. In a video posted to Banksy’s Instagram page, a homeless man named Ryan can be seen having a drink before settling down on a bench with his belongings. As the camera pans outwards, a pair of reindeers can be seen painted next to the bench, appearing to carry him away into the star-filled sky.

The caption with the video reads: “In the 20 minutes we filmed Ryan on this bench passers-by gave him a hot drink, two chocolate bars and a lighter – without him ever asking for anything.”

London, Uncategorized

Banksy’s online store: ‘Why does art matter?’

October 23, 2019 butterfly

GDP homepage

Two weeks ago Banksy opened a homewares store called Gross Domestic Product ^TMin Croydon, South London ( see our coverage here ). He made it clear that interested buyers weren’t in for a regular shopping experience and while the store attracted crowds, it physically did not open and it was not possible to purchase anything. Now that the pop up display shop has closed, the Gross Domestic Product ^TM official website reveals the homewares brand from Banksy^TM.

In true subversive and irreverent Banksy style, the English artist continues to offer an unconventional retail experience where fans can, not purchase, but apply to purchase some of the pieces that were displayed in the Croydon pop-up.

The Gross Domestic Product online store offers merchandise with prices starting at £10 ($13) for a Banksy branded aerosol of paint to £850 for the stab vest as worn by Stormzy at the Glastonbury Festival in June.

Welcome mat

A “Banksy Welcome Mat,” is “hand stitched using the fabric from life vests abandoned on the beaches of the Mediterranean,” the website says. The product is produced in collaboration with the organization Love Welcomes, which works with refugee women to produce mats from “life vests and blankets worn by frightened, exhausted Syrians as they wash up on European shores” and directs proceeds back to the refugee weavers.

The site also warns customers that they may have a “disappointing retail experience,” explaining, “Everything is produced by a handful of people using recycled material wherever possible in a workplace culture of daytime drinking. So there isn’t loads of it and it’s not all ready to ship straight away.”

Each Banksy’s creations will be sold to the most deserving bidder, as determined by his good will. There are some strict specific rules.

The website is clear from the outset that the store doesn’t work on a “first come, first serve” basis. Until October 28, shoppers can browse the items and sign up to a list. Each buyer can only sign up for one item—so choose wisely.

Those who want a Banksy original must answer the question ‘Why does art matter?’, with the ‘Why’ crossed out, in 50 words or less, and supply their contact information.

The reply to this question will be vital—if demand spikes, they will be used to help evaluate who gets to make the purchase. In fact, buyers are asked to make their answers “as amusing, informative or enlightening as possible.”

Applications will be randomly selected and then narrowed down. According to the website, answers will be assessed by an impartial and independent judge, namely a professional stand-up comedian. Winning registrants will receive word that they have won the option to purchase the selected item.

The original products, which will be awarded a certification of authenticity on the second anniversary of the purchase, are priced far below market value.

In fact, Gross Domestic Product isn’t aimed at the high-end collector. A disclaimer on the store’s website actually states that wealthy art collectors should “refrain from registering at this time,” in order to give lower-income art lovers a chance at this piece of history.

It will be interesting to see if Banksy’s safeguards keep these items out of the hands of people looking to flip the work and make a profit and, instead, into the homes of those who could never afford a $12 million painting.

So to enter the competition to purchase an item from Banksy’s online store, please provide your answer to the question “Why does art matter?” on www.GrossDomesticProduct.com by 28 October 2019

Photo credit: Gross Domestic Product website

Auctions

Smashing record of £9.8m for Banksy Devolved Parliament at Sotheby’s London

October 4, 2019 butterfly

Banksy’s painting depicting chimpanzees sitting in parliament has sold for more than £9million at auction, breaking the record price for a work of the elusive British artist.

‘Devolved parliament’, in which chimpanzees replace politician in the House of Commons, measures 4 meters long, making it Banksy’s largest known canvas. Despite being painted in 2009, many commentators have drawn comparisons to current-day politics, and the chaos witnessed in the House of Commons over Brexit.

It was first unveiled as part of the Banksy versus Bristol exhibition in 2009, and was lent to the Bristol Museum earlier this year, marking both the exhibition’s 10th anniversary and Britain’s original planned exit from the EU on 29 March. At the time, Banksy wrote ‘I made this 10 years ago. Bristol museum have just put it back on display to mark Brexit day. Laugh now, but one day no one will be in charge.’

‘Devolved Parliament’ surpassed its estimated price tag of £1.5m to £2m, with the auctioneer declaring ‘history is being made’ at one point during the sale that was being streamed live. After bidding that lasted 13 minutes, the2009 artwork from a private collection sold to loud applause for a hammer price of £8.5m, giving a final price of £9,879,500 ($12.2m) with added fees.

‘Record price for a Banksy painting set at auction tonight. Shame I didn’t own it.’ Banksy wrote on his instagram feed. He added a quote by critic Robert Hugues about the value of artworks: ‘ The price of a work of art is now part of its function, its new job is to sit on a wall and get more expensive. Instead of being the common property of humankind the way a book is, art becomes the particular property of someone who can afford it.’

Before Thursday ‘s sale, the auction record for Banksy work was £1.4m for ‘Keep it spotless’ which sold at Sotheby’s in New York in 2008. It also comes a year after another Banksy canvas, ‘Girl with Balloon’, shredded itself in front of shocked onlookers at Sotheby’s auction just as it was sold.

Watch the live stream of the bidding here

London, Videos

London: Banksy – Gross Domestic Product Installation

October 1, 2019 butterfly 2 Comments

During the busy Frieze Art week 2019, elusive artist Banksy has opened a new pop up store overnight in Croydon, South London called Gross Domestic Product.
In a statement Banksy mentions it follows a legal dispute over Banksy’s trademark.
“[It is] possibly the least poetic reason to ever hold an art show,” Banksy says.

@Banksy

The homeware store – essentially a window display that will never actually open—is selling a range of items, from mugs, spray cans, prints, t-shirts to editions of the stab vest worn by the artist Stormzy at Glastonbury, welcome mats hand-stitched by women in detainment camps in Greece. The objects have all been installed in a series of window displays along with often-reproduced paintings such as Banksy’s Flower Thrower.

Prices start at £10, but the merchandise range will only be available to buy online after the shop shuts in two weeks. Until then, collectors will have to settle for window shopping. Proceeds from the merchandise will go to purchase a boat for the refugees to replace the one that was confiscated by Italian authorities.

Banksy says an unnamed greeting card company is contesting his trademark rights to his own name and imagery, “so they can legally use it to sell their fake Banksy merchandise”. He adds: “I think they’re banking on the idea I won’t show up in court to defend myself.”
Describing Banksy as “the most infringed artist alive”, DACS chairman and media lawyer Mark Stephens says: “What you have here is frankly ludicrous litigation, but the law clearly states that if the trademark holder is not using the mark then it should be handed to someone who will.” His solution? Create a merchandise range and open a shop.
Everything in the store “has been created specifically to fulfil a particular trademark category under EU law”, Banksy says. “I had the legal sheet pinned up in the studio like a muse.” He adds: “John Lennon said: ‘I’m an artist, give me a tuba and I’ll get something out of it.’ I feel the same way about a trademark dispute.”

“If Banksy wants to keep enforcing any of his trademarks in courts around the world, and avoid the risk of them being cancelled for lack of use, he will need to show judges stronger evidence of his brands being used in the market,” Enrico Bonadio, a senior lecturer in intellectual property law at City University of London, noted at the time. “This probably means he needs to start regularly producing and selling his own branded merchandise through a specialised commercial vehicle. The problem is that Banksy is a contradictory character. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started a proper business plan, while also continuing to send out his anti-consumerist message,” he says.

Banksy stresses that, despite trying to defend his rights in this particular case, he hasn’t changed his position on copyright. “I still encourage anyone to copy, borrow, steal and amend my art for amusement, academic research or activism. I just don’t want them to get sole custody of my name,” he says.

London, Shows

London: Banksy back to the Royal Academy

June 1, 2019 butterfly

Banksy created a new artwork for upcoming The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition that will open to the public on 10 June in London.

Following last year’s participation with ‘Vote to Love’ (covered here) , Banksy created another politically charged artwork about Europe and Brexit.

The artwork features a closed shutter with a ‘Customs’ sign for arrival from the EU.

Looking at the bottom of the shutter, a cheeky stencilled rat stole the T of the ‘KEEP OUT’ sign to use it as a hammer over the padlock that keeps the borders closed.