Recently one of the most interesting artist working today, Banksy (interesting name connotation) played a trick at a Sotheby’s live auction, where he shredded one of the works and renamed it ‘Love is in the Bin’ commonly referred to now as the ‘Banksy Shred’. Notice that this comment by the artist on the art market was quickly absorbed by that market by selling the piece in its state of destruction - the artists’ act of defiance is itself marketed and bought, there is no escape.
It was this event that sparked a reconnection to my past. During my student days in Florence I was part of a group of student artists that, like Banksy today, created socially charged murals while maintaining a secret identity. Banksy uses stencils to facilitate his interventions in the need for speed and precision. We created our work on paper then used overhead projections at night, traced the work onto the wall and proceeded to color in the shapes as one does in a paint by numbers. Guards would stand by to alert us of any passerby so that we could switch off to maintain our anonymity. The anonymity fueled a certain fame as newspapers tried to determine who was responsible for the works even connecting us to another group of performers named ‘Indiani Metropolitani’ to whom we had no connection whatsoever. They then decided on the name ‘Gruppo Murales’ inspired by a Siqueiros and Tamayo exhibit in Orsanmichele. However, the anonymity faded during our largest endeavor. We were painting a very large mural within the courtyard of a Florence institution when a documentary crew from the Netherlands showed up to interview us as part of the overall Italian student movement. The mural was a portrayal of the student movement as seen from our perspective. We were tired of the press coverage focus on the violence and ignoring the substantial good work being done by the students in their efforts to expose corruption and inequality. They put everything in the same pot, whether it was the violent acts of the ‘Brigate Rosse’ which we had no part in and most of us did not support or of the ‘Autonomi’ who always tried to entice peaceful demonstrations into violent ones. We saw ourselves as artists working for a good cause and for the good of the people. There is an additional connection to Banksy now that he has tried to mock a Sotheby’s live auction. During our student occupation, to keep up morale, we occasionally put on skits to entertain ourselves. One of these skits was precisely a mockery of a Sotheby’s art auction. It was intended to entertain but there was also a more somber and profound discussion that interested us: what is the role of the artist? Is it to entertain, to create beauty, to investigate the subconscious, to enlighten, etc.? This skit was part of a discussion on the role of the art market, certainly many artists depend on it; it is after all where your clients will be if by chance you make it to the big leagues. However, a Sotheby’s auction is more than that it is the stomping grounds of museums and the rich collectors. It is the blessing of the money market bestowed on works that may never see the light of day again if the collector prices the money value above all else. This is a true dilemma for many artists to dedicate their lives to their works. Is art only a way we cope with the sad realities of existence as Nietzsche proclaimed? Can it ever be more than that? These questions are still relevant and probably unanswerable since art does accomplish all of the above.
These are a few photographs I took regarding that performance by the name we preferred to be called ‘Cultural Intervention Group”- the performance took place in 1977 at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze.
setting the stage
slapping on the makeup
The auctioneer starts the bidding for the superb Guttuso
The second work on the auction block is Michelangelo's Pieta wrapped in bathroom tissue paper by Christo
A Tintoretto style work for which the artist is directing the final touches.
meanwhile, a lonely inspiration is wondering about ignored by everyone
the artist finally notices it and places it on the canvas
a primal scream
then the retreat into the canvas
all the works follow suit
alas the artist contemplates the torn cloak of his life's work
however, the auctioneer persists and asks "how much am I bid for this original Fontana?"
Although the events took place decades apart and perhaps with somewhat different intent, the similarities of our play with the Banksy Sotheby's auction stint cannot be ignored. Our play ended with a torn canvas that was auctioned as is. Of course, we performed in our small place where Banksy took it to the international stage.
