Posted September 3, 200618 yr Banksy targets Paris Hilton 'Guerrilla artist' replaces heiress's CDs in shops with doctored versions By Claire Truscott and Martin Hodgson Published: 03 September 2006 He has smuggled fake artwork into Tate Britain, and sprayed a vision of paradise on the Palestinian side of Israel's "security wall". Now, the "guerrilla graffiti" artist Banksy has taken aim at the cult of empty celebrity and its current poster child, Paris Hilton. The secretive artist has smuggled 500 doctored copies of Paris Hilton's debut album into music stores throughout the UK, where they have sold without the shops' knowledge. In place of Ms Hilton's bubble-gum pop songs, the CDs feature Banksy's own rudimentary compositions. On the cover of the doctored CD, Ms Hilton's dress has been digitally repositioned to reveal her bare breasts; on an inside photo, her head has been replaced with that of her dog. On the back cover, the original song titles have been replaced with a list of questions: "Why am I famous?", "What have I done?" and "What am I for?" Inside the accompanying booklet, a picture of the heiress emerging from a luxury car has been retouched to include a group of homeless people. In another shot, Ms Hilton's head has been superimposed on a shop window mannequin beneath a banner reading: "Thou Shalt Not Worship False Icons." Instead of Ms Hilton's own compositions, the replacement CD features 40 minutes of a basic rhythm track over which Banksy has dubbed Ms Hilton's catchphrase "That's hot!" and other extracts from her reality TV programme The Simple Life. The record credits have been re-edited to include thanks to the artist for his "wonderful work". The bogus CD is not the first time he has branched out beyond the stencil graffiti that made his name. In 2003, Banksy glued one of his paintings on to a wall in Tate Britain, where it went unnoticed by staff for hours. The following year he smuggled a display case with a stuffed rat wearing sunglasses and a backpack into the Natural History Museum. At New York's Museum of Modern Art, he placed an Andy Warhol-style print depicting a tin of Tesco Value soup. Last year, he sprayed paintings on the Israeli security wall around the West Bank. He has smuggled fake artwork into Tate Britain, and sprayed a vision of paradise on the Palestinian side of Israel's "security wall". Now, the "guerrilla graffiti" artist Banksy has taken aim at the cult of empty celebrity and its current poster child, Paris Hilton. The secretive artist has smuggled 500 doctored copies of Paris Hilton's debut album into music stores throughout the UK, where they have sold without the shops' knowledge. In place of Ms Hilton's bubble-gum pop songs, the CDs feature Banksy's own rudimentary compositions. On the cover of the doctored CD, Ms Hilton's dress has been digitally repositioned to reveal her bare breasts; on an inside photo, her head has been replaced with that of her dog. On the back cover, the original song titles have been replaced with a list of questions: "Why am I famous?", "What have I done?" and "What am I for?" Inside the accompanying booklet, a picture of the heiress emerging from a luxury car has been retouched to include a group of homeless people. In another shot, Ms Hilton's head has been superimposed on a shop window mannequin beneath a banner reading: "Thou Shalt Not Worship False Icons." Instead of Ms Hilton's own compositions, the replacement CD features 40 minutes of a basic rhythm track over which Banksy has dubbed Ms Hilton's catchphrase "That's hot!" and other extracts from her reality TV programme The Simple Life. The record credits have been re-edited to include thanks to the artist for his "wonderful work". The bogus CD is not the first time he has branched out beyond the stencil graffiti that made his name. In 2003, Banksy glued one of his paintings on to a wall in Tate Britain, where it went unnoticed by staff for hours. The following year he smuggled a display case with a stuffed rat wearing sunglasses and a backpack into the Natural History Museum. At New York's Museum of Modern Art, he placed an Andy Warhol-style print depicting a tin of Tesco Value soup. Last year, he sprayed paintings on the Israeli security wall around the West Bank.
September 5, 200618 yr I saw this on the news and thought it looked hilarious - it showed pictures of the CD and the artwork - very funny. They said that this would probably cause sales of the CD to increase though!
September 7, 200618 yr He's just an idiot though,should be arrested. why's he an idiot? Are you familiar with ANY of his work? The guy's an absolute genius.... his work can still be seen on some walls in Bristol, where he started his career. In fact, one of his finest works was on a wall at the end of my street..... Amazing work.
September 7, 200618 yr I saw this on the news and thought it looked hilarious - it showed pictures of the CD and the artwork - very funny. They said that this would probably cause sales of the CD to increase though! It'll be worth a hell of a lot more than the actual Paris Hilton album in years to come that's for sure.... :lol: :lol:
September 9, 200618 yr Good for him! It's about time people weren't just given fame for stupid ridiculous reasons - take not all you Big Brother t**** :rolleyes: . I for one am bloody sick of picking up countless magazines, or newspapers or turning on TV and getting them rammed down our throats non stop when tbh I don't really give a **** what they do. They should be famous for their music, their acting, writing books whatever not stupid things like Hilton and the rest of the scabs out there so well down I applaud :smoke:
September 9, 200618 yr Good for him! It's about time people weren't just given fame for stupid ridiculous reasons - take not all you Big Brother t**** :rolleyes: . I for one am bloody sick of picking up countless magazines, or newspapers or turning on TV and getting them rammed down our throats non stop when tbh I don't really give a **** what they do. They should be famous for their music, their acting, writing books whatever not stupid things like Hilton and the rest of the scabs out there so well down I applaud :smoke: BRAVO! Surely the age of being famous because Daddy owns some low-grade hotels, or because you've been curling the toes of the TV audiences with covers of Westlife songs week after week or because you've sat on your arse on our TV screens saying nothing for 3 months is coming to an end.
September 9, 200618 yr BRAVO! Surely the age of being famous because Daddy owns some low-grade hotels, or because you've been curling the toes of the TV audiences with covers of Westlife songs week after week or because you've sat on your arse on our TV screens saying nothing for 3 months is coming to an end. One can only hope so.... "Celebrity" has become a misused and dirty word in the past decade; it used to mean people who were famous for an actual reason, you know, like they had a TALENT for something - like acting, singing, whatever. Now it seems to be r*t**** sitting on their backsides in some mock-up house, or tw@ts who do Karaoke on our TV screens, or some $l*t of an heiress who makes a Porn video with her boyfriend, or some slag who shags a bloody footballer.... <_<
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