Art News Blog
Sunday, October 22, 2006
  Banksy does Kate Moss
kate moss by banksyThe British graffiti artist Banksy has been getting a lot of media attention in recent months by painting elephants and tampering with Paris Hilton CDs. He pokes fun at fame and uses it to his advantage, which has been good for sales of his work.

A series of Kate Moss paintings in the style of Andy Warhol were sold at a Sotheby's art auction for a record £50,400. Another work that uses Leonardo's Mona Lisa sold for £57,600. They went for five times the auction estimates and more than doubled the previous high of Banksy.

Sotheby's said "It's quite sensational to go over five times the low estimate. I believe Kate Moss was happy about Banksy using her image in an iconic way" and "It's not often we sell works with spray paints but we'll be seeing a lot more of Banksy as he seems to be building up a global presence". BBC

Other notable artists to work with the model Kate Moss include Marc Quinn and Lucian Freud (Freud's Kate Moss painting went on to sell for more than $7 million at Christies).
>> Art Auctions, Lucian Freud, Famous Artists
 
Art News Blog Comments:
This actually tells more about society itself and not much about the art.

Clever is the word that should describe this work and not much else. This guy has got some balls to be sure... too bad the "ARTist" makers fall for it. Its nothing new; it's pretty dry stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if this piece get's tossed, at some point in the future, to the wayside. In other words, somebody overpaid by about 50K.
 
I love banksy, but this seems like a lazy way to make a buck, a bit of a rip off. Not that I don't mind a rip off, but it really isn't a play on warhol and modern culture, just a copy of his style.
You know maybe I should quit trying to paint original stuff and just rip off another artists work or do marmite paintings on toast. Naw, will just plod on as usual.
 
Just checked with Google images and, sure enough, this is the face that, attached to a nude body, was the subject of a Lucien Freud painting. In fact, as Google showed, appeared on this very website.
Assuming, accurately, that I know nothing about the lady and have never seen her as she appears in a simple snapshot, I pose this question, would one rather be seen by the world in a work that, by present reckoning of many, is the leading realist portraitist (or one of them), or by a ?? who, according to the original story on which this is a comment, specializes in graffiti, lets call it, reflections upon this and that.
To be fair, it is quite calming to be presented with an issue of absolutely no significance either to the art world or to the world at large.
 
I have to agree with all - this seems like a guy who has made a big splash and is now trying to keep the waves going. The only thing cool about it was the Banksy moniker attached. It offers no surprises or wit - it's a wannabe work, it devalues his other work. Kate Moss is getting boring and so are Warhol knock-offs. It kind of pisses me off since I was so strongly advocating his work - and now I see this crap. I hope he makes up for it.
 
A lot of people didnt like Lucian Freud's version of Kate Moss either. Perhaps it's just an issue with the model Kate Moss? ;-)

Seriously though, Warhol look-a-like paintings are just boring now.
 
Quite right, many did not like the Freud Kate Moss, many do not like most of Freud. For myself, much of his work is interesting, but to be put on museum or gallery walls, not in an ordinary home.
I think my point was, assuming that there was a point,if you are going to be made to look lousy, who would you rather have make you look lousy, a banksy or a Freud.
I should note, that after writing, accurately, that I knew nothing about the lady nor had I ever seen her in a photograph, it occurred to me that, at least, I could rectify the latter. The thought gave immediate birth to the deed and I clicked my way into Google Images. After fending off a number of sites which promised exotic, erotic, visual images with Ms. Moss and many other "stimulating" naked people doing supposedly stimulating naked- people things, I did hit upon some reasonably natural looking photographs (if a "personality" can ever be said to be photographed naturally). Whatever may be one's standard for saying another is good looking, much less, interesting and good looking, I did conclude that she is at the least an OK looking young woman. However, compared to Freud or Banksy's interpretations. her most simple photographs make her look sensational. Of course, compared to what many of the men Freud has depicted looked like in his paintings, even I would look sensational...but not as interesting as would be his portrayal.

Speaking of sensational, two Renoir painted nudes in the Met's Vollard exhibition are as much so as anyone will ever see. One is typical of his style and is a most luscious dish, the other is painted as if an unfinished sketch and immediately became one of my favorites, so I can say nothing not tainted by my prejudice in her favor. Incidentally, the first was purchased in 1919 or 1920, by Picasso, no mean judge of women and painting,my favorite was purchased by Rodin in 1910, who later donated it to the museum named for him.
 
banksy+warhol+kate moss=yawn!
 
Banksy makes fantastic art for stupid people.
 
Sotheby's said "...I believe Kate Moss was happy about Banksy using her image in an iconic way"...

I think the word Sotheby's was looking for was "ironic", not "iconic"...or at least it would be if they saw more of Banksy's works.

http://www.banksy.co.uk/menu.html
 
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