ART – Banksy or not Banksy? Elon Musk’s outstretched arm at Donald Trump’s inauguration sparks debate and gives rise to numerous diversions. On social networks, the photo of a work of street art has been viewed several million times. As you can see in our video at the top of the article, many Internet users point to the artist Banksy as its author. Wrongly.
Kamala Harris on the front page of the “New Yorker”: who is Malika Favre, the French artist who signed this cover
The fresco depicts a little boy holding the Earth in his arms, urinating on the billionaire with his arm outstretched. An image similar to that of Elon Musk on the occasion of Donald Trump’s inauguration. The gesture was compared by many to a Nazi salute, which the person concerned denied, arguing that he was “sending hearts” to the public.
But in reality, this work of street art that has gone viral is a montage. On the original version which is located in Lyon and which dates from 2020, it is not the boss of Tesla who appears there but the President of the United States, Donald Trump. Last November, after his victory in the American presidential elections, the work was widely shared and there too, a majority already imagined that it had been painted by Banksy.
Even if the British artist is famous for his political paintings, this one is not his. It was made by a committed French street artist who signs under the pseudonym My Stencil. A few months after this first fresco, he targeted Donald Trump once again by disguising him as a clown through a collage.
“Fight their ideas by exposing them in an ironic way”
This Friday, January 24, he answered questions from HuffPost on this montage created from his work. “I had worked on this project in physics and on a wall. Once the painting is out there, fortunately we can’t stop the public from getting hold of it.”he indicates.
-He also explained the motivation behind his works: “When I make a stencil, I try to have an approach that sticks to current events. I have nothing against the people themselves but I try to combat their ideas by presenting them in an ironic way.. And regarding its commitment and its works dedicated to Donald Trump, My Stencil says it has “it’s hard to imagine that a person in office for four or five years can make decisions that impact the planet for generations”.
The 47th American president is not the street artist’s only target. It also targets Benyamin Netanyahu and French political figures like Emmanuel Macron, Élisabeth Borne and Éric Zemmour. The release of My Stencil’s next project is scheduled for next week and perhaps this time, it’s Elon Musk who will pay the price.
Also see on HuffPost :
Notre-Dame de Paris: Claire Tabouret chosen to create the new stained glass windows for the cathedral
A René Magritte painting, “The Empire of Lights,” sold for $121 million at auction
