Mediterranean Sea View 2017

Last updated

Mediterranean Sea View 2017 is a set of three reworked oil paintings designed by Banksy. [1] Each portion of the piece depicts the Mediterranean seascape filled with life vests and flotation devices beached on the shores. [2] Originally displayed in the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem, it was then donated to ABCD Bethlehem, a nonprofit medical organization. [2] [3] The set of three paintings was then sold in a Sotheby auction in 2020 for £2.2 million ($2.9 million), with the proceeds donated to providing medical equipment for the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation (BASR) hospital. [4] Two anonymous buyers bought the art, and the piece is currently in a private location. [5]

Contents

Palestine - 20190204-DSC 0031.jpg
Left-hand side of Mediterranean Sea View 2017
Palestine - 20190204-DSC 0028.jpg
Middle of Mediterranean Sea View 2017
Palestine - 20190204-DSC 0025.jpg
Right-hand side of Mediterranean Sea View 2017

Description

Mediterranean Sea View 2017 is a triptych of reworked oil paintings. The centerpiece is the largest, with two smaller paintings at its side. Each section depicts a 19th-century seascape with crashing waves filled with empty lifejackets and buoys floating in the water or shored on land. [6] The painting alludes to the lives lost at sea during the European migrant crisis of the 2010s. [1] Many refugees struggled to cross the Mediterranean Sea in makeshift boats and rafts toward Italy and Greece, with thousands of migrants dying each year in the process. In 2015, more than 3,770 migrants were reported to have died crossing the Mediterranean. [7] Although the European Union reported that the migration crisis was over in 2019, [8] Banksy has continued projects to help with migration issues within the Mediterranean region. [9]

The Mediterranean Sea View 2017 is not Banksy’s first piece created to address varying crises within Europe and the Middle East. [10] Many Banksy paintings that visualize the conflicts between Israel and Palestine can be found in the Walled Off Hotel, the original location of Mediterranean Sea View 2017. [1] The Walled Off Hotel was built next to the Israeli West Bank barrier, revealing a purposeful message of coexistence in the Holy Lands, according to hotel management. [11] In addition to paintings, Banksy has created many public graffiti works in Israel and Palestine, with nine pieces being painted on the concrete barrier in 2005, including Rage, the Flower Thrower . [12] Mediterranean Sea View 2017, among many other of Banksy’s art pieces, is an example of the artist publicly critiquing varying European and Middle Eastern government handlings of prevalent institutional and cultural issues. [13] [12]

Style of Painting

Mediterranean Sea View 2017 is an oil-paint triptych. A triptych has three connected panels of artwork and is a type of polyptych, the term for art pieces with multi-panel sections. [14] The creation of Mediterranean Sea View 2017 consists of three reworked oil paintings of an original triptych. [2] The original paintings consist of a 19th-century seascape that bears similarities to Romantic-era paintings. [13] [1] Although Banksy did not create the original oil paintings, [1] the ‘found’ art pieces served as a platform to continue the artist’s contemporary messaging and public expression through existing spaces. Banksy is a self-professed “art vandal,” with the artist’s public graffiti art being painted on walls and spaces that do not belong to him. [15]

Banksy’s other vandalistic art projects have symbolized issues similarly to how Mediterranean Sea View 2017 addressed the migration crisis. [16] Near the French coastal town of Calais, Banksy painted the mural The Son of a Migrant from Syria , depicting Steve Jobs, Apple's creator. [16] Commenting on the meaning behind the graffiti, Banksy explained that Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian immigrant and that annual seven billion dollars in tax revenue “only exists because they allowed in a young man from Homs.” [16] [2] [17] Although Banksy’s use of public spaces for art is illegal vandalism, the artist creates works that act as a tool for political and social messaging, ironically rebelling against institutional and political systems through the rebellious act of graffiti. [18] As seen with both The Son of a Migrant from Syria and Mediterranean Sea View 2017, Banksy reuses existing land and art pieces to reveal prevalent issues of the migration crisis throughout the Mediterranean Basin. [13]

Sale and donation

The triptych was donated to a nonprofit organization named ABCD Bethlehem, a group that provides medical support to Palestinian children with disabilities. [2] [3] The paintings were then auctioned off by Sotheby on July 28, 2020, [19] for more than £2.2 million ($2.9 million) [4] to two anonymous buyers. [5] The final sale nearly doubled the original pre-sale auction estimate of £1.2 million ($1.5 million), accumulating more revenue than expected. [5] The proceeds from the auction were allocated towards building an acute stroke unit and buying children’s rehabilitation equipment for the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation (BASR) hospital in Bethlehem. [2]

Interpretations

Mediterranean Sea View 2017 is one of many examples of how Banksy confronts political and cultural problems through the outlet of art. [13] Mediterranean Sea View 2017 revealed the issues with the European migrant crisis by drawing the viewer's attention towards the deaths of the migrants. [1] Although the European Union declared that the migrant crisis was over in March 2019, [2] Banksy has continued to allocate resources toward solving migration issues. Although Mediterranean Sea View 2017 has been sold and its money has been donated to projects in the Middle East, [2] [4] Banksy continues to aid migrants traveling through the Mediterranean. [20] An example of the artist’s modern-day efforts is seen through the artist-funded relief ship, the M.V. Louise Michel . [21] [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banksy</span> Pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, and painter

Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. His works of political and social commentary have appeared on streets, walls, and bridges throughout the world. His work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy says that he was inspired by 3D, a graffiti artist and founding member of the musical group Massive Attack.

<i>Slave Labour</i> (mural) Painting by Banksy (street artist)

Slave Labour is a mural that was painted by a British graffiti artist, Banksy, on the side wall of a Poundland store in Wood Green, London in May 2012. The artwork is 48 inches (122 cm) high by 60 inches (152 cm) wide, and depicts an urchin child at a sewing machine assembling a bunting of Union Jack patches. The work was a protest against the use of sweatshops to manufacture Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics memorabilia in 2012.

<i>The Son of a Migrant from Syria</i> 2015 mural by graffiti artist Banksy

The Son of a Migrant from Syria is a 2015 mural by graffiti artist Banksy. The mural was located in the Calais jungle, a nickname for the encampment near Calais, France, where migrants lived as they attempted to enter the United Kingdom. The artwork depicts the late Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs—the son of a Syrian migrant to the United States—as a traveling migrant.

Gorilla in a Pink Mask is an early graffiti work by Banksy. In 2011, it was painted over by Saeed Ahmed's new Muslim cultural centre in Bristol. It originated from 2002.

<i>Girl with Balloon</i> Series of murals in London by Banksy

Girl with Balloon is a series of stencil murals around London by the graffiti artist Banksy, started in 2002. They depict a young girl with her hand extended toward a red heart-shaped balloon carried away by the wind. The locations for this work include street murals in Shoreditch and the South bank in London on the Waterloo Bridge and other murals were around London, though none remain there.

Bomb Hugger is a 2003 painting by graffiti artist Banksy. In 2007, it sold for £31,200 at Sotheby's.

The Drinker is a statue by graffiti artist Banksy, not to be confused with the stencil of the same name, a graffiti artwork of a rat drinking a cocktail, on a wall at North Beach, Lowestoft, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2015 European migrant crisis</span>

This is a timeline of the European migrant crisis of 2015 and 2016.

<i>Love is in the Bin</i> 2018 art intervention from a 2006 Banksy painting

Love is in the Bin is a 2018 art intervention by Banksy at Sotheby's London. According to Sotheby's, it is "the first artwork in history to have been created live during an auction." His 2006 painting of Girl with Balloon unexpectedly self-destructed immediately after it was sold at auction. The damaged painting was later renamed Love is in the Bin. It has been on permanent loan to the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart since March 2019. In October 2021, it sold at auction for £18,582,000, a record for the artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert G. L. Leonori</span> American landscape painter

Robert G. L. Leonori was an American artist. Born in New York, he was a member of the American Art-Union and associated with the Hudson River School of landscape painters.

Devolved Parliament is a 2009 oil-on-canvas painting by Banksy, replacing British politicians debating in the House of Commons with chimpanzees. In 2019, the artwork became Banksy's most costly to date, selling for £9.9 million at Sotheby's in London on October 3, 2019.

The migration and asylum policy of the European Union is within the area of freedom, security and justice, established to develop and harmonise principles and measures used by member countries of the European Union to regulate migration processes and to manage issues concerning asylum and refugee status in the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barca Nostra</span> Art project by Christoph Büchel at the 2019 Venice Biennale

Barca Nostra was a project by Swiss–Icelandic artist Christoph Büchel that displayed at the 2019 Venice Biennale the wreckage of a fishing boat that had sunk with hundreds of migrants aboard. It was among the art world's top stories of the year.

Show Me the Monet is a 2005 oil on canvas painting by graffiti artist Banksy. The work is an appropriation of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies series. Banksy has appropriated Monet’s paintings to now depict a traffic cone and two shopping carts polluting and submerging into Monet's pond at Giverny. The work is believed to be a commentary on the negative impacts of capitalism and consumerism within society. Show Me the Monet exists within Banksy’s Crude Oil series. The work was sold in October 2020 by Sotheby’s. The work was sold for £7.5 million.

<i>Untitled (One Eyed Man or Xerox Face)</i> 1982 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Untitled (One Eyed Man or Xerox Face) is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982. In May 2021, it sold for $30.2 million at Christie's in Hong Kong.

Robyn Ward is an Irish contemporary artist. He uses mixed media on canvas and combines abstract and realist approaches. He is based in Mexico City.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "BANKSY | MEDITERRANEAN SEA VIEW 2017 | Rembrandt to Richter | 2020". Sotheby's. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Muaddi, Nadeem (2020-07-29). "Three Banksy paintings raise $2.9 million at auction for Palestinian hospital". CNN. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  3. 1 2 "Banksy has donated a collection of paintings to raise money for Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation | Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation" . Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  4. 1 2 3 BBC (July 28, 2020). "Banksy auctions refugee paintings for £2.2m to aid Bethlehem hospital". BBC. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 "Banksy's 'Mediterranean Sea View' Triptych Fetches Over $2 Million USD at Auction". Hypebeast. 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  6. ↑ Harper, Daria Simone (July 27, 2020). "Banksy donated a triptych to a Sotheby's auction to raise funds for a Bethlehem hospital". artsy.net. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Migrant crisis: Migration to Europe explained in seven charts". BBC News. 2015-09-02. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  8. ↑ Rankin, Jennifer (2019-03-06). "EU declares migration crisis over as it hits out at 'fake news'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  9. ↑ Rueters (March 26, 2023). "Banksy's migrant rescue ship seized by Italy's coast guard in Lampedusa". Reuters.com. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  10. ↑ Andrews, Farah (2020-06-10). "Banksy in Palestine: A look at the street artist's work in Gaza and the West Bank". The National. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  11. ↑ Berger, Robert (2017-03-20). "Banksy opens Walled Off Hotel in West Bank town of Bethlehem to highlight Palestinian-Israel divide - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  12. 1 2 "From Piece-Making to Peacemaking: The Influence of West Bank Barrier Graffiti Art". Harvard International Review. 2022-08-19. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Cascone, Sarah (2020-07-27). "Banksy Is Selling Three Paintings About the Refugee Crisis to Raise More Than $1 Million for a Bethlehem Hospital". Artnet News. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  14. ↑ "What is a triptych? Find the answer on composition.gallery". www.composition.gallery. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  15. ↑ Lennon, John (March 17, 2022). Conflict Graffiti: From Revolution to Gentrification. University of Chicago Press. p. 103. ISBN   978-0226815695.
  16. 1 2 3 Neuendorf, Henri (2015-12-14). "Banksy Paints Steve Jobs in Latest Work". Artnet News. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  17. ↑ Ahuja, Masuma (2015-12-11). "Banksy's Steve Jobs mural spotlights refugee crisis". CNN. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  18. ↑ Türe, Ahmet (November 11–14, 2021). "The Relationship between Street Art and Contemporary Culture" (PDF). icses.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 8, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  19. ↑ Banksy's 'Mediterranean Sea View' Triptych Sells at Auction for $2.3 Million . Retrieved 2024-04-07– via www.youtube.com.
  20. ↑ Whiddington, Richard (2023-03-27). "Italian Authorities Just Seized the Rescue Ship Banksy Funded to Help Migrants Crossing the Mediterranean". Artnet News. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  21. ↑ Tondo, Lorenzo; Stierl, Maurice (2020-08-27). "Banksy funds refugee rescue boat operating in Mediterranean". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  22. ↑ "Banksy-funded boat brings migrants to safety in Lampedusa". euronews. 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.