Morons, 2006
MISSING ORIGINAL
Medium: Unknown
Dimensions: Unknown
Exhibited
Barely Legal, Los Angeles, 2006
Showing an auctioneer conducting a sale to a room packed with bidders, Morons is based on the historical moment when Van Gogh’s Sunflowers achieved a hammer price of £22.5 million at Christie’s on 30 March 1987, setting the record price for any work of art at auction. This moment marked the beginning of changes in the art market, with the emergence of mega lots achieving record prices. In the present work, the large canvas being auctioned humorously bears the words, in block capitals
“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU MORONS ACTUALLY BUY THIS SHIT”.
Banksy mocks the crowd, representing art collectors in general, who are ready to bid huge sums of money in order to acquire artworks. Some even doing so just to speculate and resell at higher prices, transforming the art market almost like a commodities trading market. Ironically, Banksy is now one also the subject of intense bidding from art collectors willing to purchase his works for very high prices.
Morons is one of six prints belonging to the Barely Legal Print Set, which also includes Grannies, Trolleys, Applause, Sale Ends and Festival. Morons was originally released at Barely Legal as an edition of 100 unsigned prints, printed by Modern Multiples, that sold for $500 a piece.
Morons, 2006
Screen-print on Arches wove paper
56×76 cm (22×30 inches)
Editions: 150 signed, 500 unsigned
Screen-print on Arches wove paper
56×76 cm (22×30 inches)
Editions: 150 signed, 500 unsigned
Obviously, Banksy’s relationship with the art market is complicated and nuanced, just like his relationship with law enforcement, which is precisely why he is so successful. The artist has expressed similarly critical opinions of the art world’s commercialism through public pranks such as the famous stunt he pulled in 2008 at Sotheby’s auction of Girl with Balloon. Immediately after the hammer struck down at a record price, a shredder that Banksy built into the frame itself was triggered, causing the art to immediately begin being shredded to the shock and horror of the art world. The painting has since been renamed Love is in the Bin, and has unquestionably increased substantially in value after it got partially shredded publicly. The irony never ends with Banksy.
