Banksy: the success of the politically correct social protest | Culture

If art is measured in figures, 150 monkeys are worth more than one. In the same lot in which the auction house Sotheby´s included Returned parliament, Banksy oil with the House of Commons of the United Kingdom full of chimpanzee deputies, submitted to the bid the Figure with Monkeyby Francis Bacon. The work of the British painter, raw, torn, semi-abstract, easily identifiable, is already part of the contemporary canon. Its final price reached more than 3 million euros. An important figure, but that pales before the 11 million that came to pay for the well executed thug of the most famous graffiti artist of all time.

It is not a neutral opinion, clearly. The auction house has given a great economic and advertising pitch, at a time when The world's attention is focused on Brexit and the decline of the British political system. Banksy kicks the system with his hooligans and the public applauds. One last survey of YouGov places him as the favorite contemporary artist of the English public.

It may be asked, however, if his politically correct protest - nothing more trendy that a t-shirt with some of his illustrations - does not increasingly contain an economic calculation and even a certain reactionary tufo. Bohemia is the prelude to the Academy, suggests Philip Hook, who for decades was at the forefront of Sotheby's contemporary art auctions. "Part of your obligation as an artist is to scandalize the bourgeoisie, and take an unscrupulous position against any conventionalism. Up to a point, that is when you discover that those bourgeois are in fact those who buy your work," he wrote.

In Croydon, a neighborhood on the outskirts of London, an old carpet shop on the chamfer of a commercial avenue has been renamed. For two weeks it is called Gross Domestic Product (Gross Domestic Product). Its huge showcase attracts a river of curious people. They fight as they can with the reflection of the glass to take a picture with their mobiles of the exhibits. There is no direct sale to the public. Banksy has chosen that bland site to show some of his minor works. Three thugs with beige raincoat and tie watch the surroundings. They carry in their hands a device to count the number of visitors. "I am not authorized to give the figure, but I guarantee that it is being a success," says one of them. The different pieces can be purchased online. The artist has said that he will allocate the proceeds to buy a new rescue boat for refugees that he replaces in the Mediterranean at Open Arms

Philanthropy to camouflage a somewhat more prosaic mission. A greeting card company has marketed merchandise with the work of Banksy. According to English law, the author can only combat this unfair competition through the direct sale of his products. Until now, the Bristol graffiti artist avoided that commercial aspect, although a company has long since Pest Control, is responsible for ensuring the authenticity of everything that goes on the market. Now he has taken another step, and together with the authority over his work, he also wants to retain the intellectual property right.

In the tragic history of Brexit, the last wall of resistance against the fanaticism and populism of the Eurosceptics and their hero, Boris Johnson, has been precisely Parliament. In the popular imaginary it has now been portrayed and blessed as an assembly of primates. In times of detachment from politicians, Banksy's art is the paradoxical expression of a politically correct anti-system protest, a delicious hooliganism to which there is nothing to object as long as he does not miss the shot and points to the pockets of those who today compete for have one of his works in the living room at home.