Will the Real Banksy Please Pop Up
By Dev Mistry on Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Banksy is one of the best know “street artists” in the world, his art is known for it’s dark humour, political and social commentary and for its signature looks. Banksy is known to some as just a mere graffiti artist, yet his art work is more iconic thank just a graffitied wall or bus stop.
One of the reasons Banksy’s art is so sought after is because on the air of mystery that surrounds Banksy as an artist. This is part of the reason why some of his paintings have sold for millions of pounds, which is why this stunt was so good.
Banksy set up, as many have done before, a pop up shop in New York, selling canvases for around $60 (£40). These original works were created and signed by Banksy, and were on show for all to see as passers by walked past the pop up shop. Over the course of the day just 3 people picked up pieces, with one woman haggling a 50% discount on her purchase and a gentleman purchasing peice ” just to hang on his wall”. Banksy made just $420 from that day, a little under what he usually makes for his art work. Passers by had no idea as to whether these were originals or what was going on for that matter. They gentleman who was hired to sell the paintings looked like a normal man – nothing out of the ordinary. Which makes it even better.
Now this wasn’t a failure in anyway, the coverage Banksy’s pop up stall received was huge, with global media reporting on stunt, and passers by tweeting their misfortune in not purchasing a valued piece of artwork for just a fraction of the price. To own a Banksy piece is something – and everyone knows that.
The hype around Banksy is huge as it is, but this PR stunt was a nice way of keeping people interested in the British artist and also may hint to bigger projects in future. Check out the video below for more details.
