Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Banksy Does Paris

Photos courtesy of Sharl on Flickr

This morning I awoke to the giddy & delightful news that British grafitti artist Banksy has infiltrated the Top 10 at HMV in London UK. He managed to Photoshop several copies of Paris Hilton's new CD with new packaging and a "topless" cover, and then covertly smuggled 500 copies into 42 HMV and Virgin record stores in the UK, complete with barcodes, where they were eventually purchased and then launched into a media frenzy.

I'm so happy that art is becoming fun again. Instead of blathering on and on about how much I love this guy, you can check out his official website... OR, better yet, there is a Banksy group on Flickr that has a more comprehensive collection of this outdoor work.

the Banksy manifesto: "If you want an audience, start a fight"

6 comments:

steakbellie said...

it makes me happy when somebody uses there powers for good.

me happy....

Bill Pocock said...

Doesn't the stunt just lift her higher on the whirlwind?

katrocket said...

You're right, Art Slob - in a society where bad publicity only serves to find the artist a wider audience, I have to believe that he did this to further his own profile. In fact, last I heard, Banksy fans are scouring record stores for "limited edition" Paris fakes before they could be removed from the shelves.

Here's the whole story for anyone interested:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5310416.stm

An "official spokesperson" from HMV sums it up nicely:

"It's not the type of behaviour you'd want to see happening very often, but I guess you can give an individual such as Banksy a little bit of leeway for his own particular brand of artistic engagement.

Often people might have a view on something but feel they can't always express it, but it's down to the likes of Banksy to say often what people think about things.

And it might be that there will be some people who agree with his views on the Paris Hilton album."

"I have to take my hat off - it's a very good stunt," he added.

No customers had complained or returned a doctored version.

Bill Pocock said...

I only want the Banksy version - but not really.

Now Banksy could sell them on eBaby and make a mint.

I think it would be great for his edition to sell more than the legit issue. Paris packaging more valued than her message.

Princess vs. Trickster. Showdown.

Don't we all suffer slightly from Paris Stockholm Syndrome? Blank and deadly muse to coffin a time.

Robert Sharl said...

Well Banksy could sell them on eBay, but Warner Music seem to think that they own this and that that gives them the right to force eBay to pull the auctions (as they have mine - though I was a reluctant seller and a happier collector anyway). I've requested a clear statement from Warner's representatives as to why a satirical art piece that they didn't make, ship, or sell, and which contains none of their music, can be 'withdrawn' as an unofficial product. Particularly now those for sale are clearly marked as such and are not being distributed under any false pretenses.

katrocket said...

Thanks for your comment (and your photos) Robert! Will you keep us updated on your correspondence with Warner? I'm very interested in reading their corporate explanation for censorship.