What Happened to Banksy's Buyers? Some of His Famous Works Flopped at L.A. Auction Last Night

By Jeff Maysh Tue., Oct. 30 2012 at 2:36 PM

It should be mentioned that 13 of Banksy's other works did sell at auction, meeting their reserve prices, but few of them exceeding their estimates like the artist's work historically has done. There were bargains for Banksy aficionados, but is his popularity waning? Was this just a bad night for the mystery artist or does the disposable nature of Banksy's art mean that ultimately, it has a sell by date?

Jeff Maysh/ Coleman-Rayner

Bonham's Gareth Williams stands in front of art by D*Face

The parody twitter feed, @BanskyIdeas, suggests ideas for the artist to try next, like: "Stencil of a group of New York hipsters attempting to Instagram photos of the hurricane as they're sucked into a vortex of wind." They're delightfully feasible, but they underline the simplicity of Banksy's statements: These throwaway protests are designed for the short attention span of the new bourgeoisie. Banksy is to the art world what Lady Gaga is to fashion.

Still, argues Williams, who has been with Bonham's 15 years, this aspect of Banksy's work is what makes him great. "Banksy is very accessible, very immediate," says Williams. "He deals with issues people deal with on a day to day basis, and he is definitely still relevant."

During a rare interview with LA Weeklyin 2010, when asked about what the director Werner Herzog referred to as the "magic" of L.A., Banksy chuckled: "In Los Angeles, you can rise without a trace." It's also a town where even the most waterproof of stars can sink without trace.

Follow Jeff Maysh on Twitter at @JeffMaysh. For more arts news follow us at @LAWeeklyArts and like us on Facebook.

Tags:

Banksy, Bonham's, urban art

We Recommend

Michel Bialkowski

Graffiti must stay in the streets, vandal and free.

Marlena Bond

might help to publicize next time

Luis Castellon

Wanksy is a joke and his work is the punch line.

Alex Starski

Word up^^

TakeNoPrisoners

The funniest films are the ones that are unintentionally funny.

To the degree that this is true, I think "Exit Through The Gift Shop" is one of the funniest films since "The Secret Life of Plants."

Both films stretched credulity (to such an extent I almost lost bladder control watching these films.)

Banksy appeals to older men who still skateboard and other overgrown adolescents.

Banksy was never the sort of artist who would appeal to the highbrow artworld mafias (the New York October/ISP and Los Angeles CalArts-UCLA axis).

He might have had some credibility among dissident, outsider, radical artists had he stuck to guerrilla art, but the moment the guy started commodifying the work on paper and canvas, the jig was up.

TakeNoPrisoners

Banksy has no credibility in the artworld. Only a handful of idiots like Jeffrey Deitch take the guy seriously. When I saw the documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop, I thought it was the most hilarious thing I'd seen since Spinal Tap. I thought it was a satire of the artworld...couldn't believe the outmoded rhetoric.