Paris Hilton, Remix’d
[CAUTION: The links in this post are not necessarily 'safe' for all readers. Exercise caution, and don't complain to me if you're offended.]
I recently learned about British “graffiti artist” Banksy, and have spent the last half-hour perusing his website. Of special interest are his manifesto (a wrenching account of how lipstick brought a little humanity to the survivors of a concentration camp); a list of newspaper cuttings that mention his work; and a series of subversive graffiti he has stenciled and painted on walls all over the world.
The artist’s most recent campaign poked fun at the Queen of Superfluity herself, Paris Hilton, and her superfluous new album, ‘Paris.’ Banksy created 500 bogus copies of the CD, complete with annotated, redesigned liner notes (which feature, variously, Hilton’s head attached to a Barbie-doll body, Hilton’s body attached to her pet Chihuahua’s head, new, bare Photoshopped boobs, etc.) and new tracks featuring Hilton’s actual voice (mostly inane snippets from her inane reality show “The Simple Life”) played over a pumping electronic backbeat. He then smuggled the ringer CDs onto the shelves of 42 different music stores across Great Britain and waited for the fun to begin. (You can watch his video record of the deed on YouTube.com.)
Towleroad.com has an in-depth article on the spoof, complete with photos of the improved liner notes. [Thanks to towleroad.com for the scoop, and the introduction to Banksy!]
You may also be interested in one of my previous entries, on the New-York-based performance art group Improv Everywhere.
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