Discussion 5 – Banksy
For the discussion, please do the following:
- View the video on the website listed below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekzjYZHs27E (Links to an external site.)
- Answer the following question for 10 points.
- Banksy created a work of art, “Girl with Balloon” using spray paint and acrylic on canvas.
- At an auction, he placed the work in a frame with a shredder.
- When you watched the video, an art specialist stated that the work became a performance art and conceptual art (with a new title: “Love is in the Bin”).
Tell me why the work became a performance artwork and then a conceptual work of art. You can use your book as a resource.
Discussion 5 – Banksy
Performance art is a moniker that is attached to pieces that blend features of visual art along with a dramatic performance. In this case the moment after the art titled ‘Girl With Balloon’ got sold, the artist decided to shred it. The act of shredding was a dramatic performance as proven by the response from the viewers. Dramatic performance lives or dies on the reactions of the audience (Hutter, p.10, 2021). The reactions given by the audience present as well as later by the media personnel after the fact solidifies the dramatization of the art. It became a conceptual artwork mainly due to the failure of the artist to achieve the intended performance.
Conceptual art is a moniker provided for a creation that provides more emphasis on the concept or message it wants to denote compared to its outward appearance. The fact that the art survived after the shredding, infused the entire creation with a lot of messages. These messages include whether Banksy wanted to create or destroy art through this process. This message and the failure of the shredding also implied whether art can ever be destroyed. The whole artwork is now a symbol of the perseverance of art. Hence, the artwork transforms from Performance art to Conceptual art.
Reference
Hutter, M. (2021). Three views of a saleroom. Valorization in and valuation of visual artworks by (mostly) Watteau, Altman, and Banksy. Journal for Art Market Studies, 5(1).
