The artworks mentioned in this list may or may not be pretty to look at. However, the way in which they were made, the circumstances of the release, the utility or their purpose add value to the artwork. It is for these reasons that such famous art and design work made headlines in the last decade.
Borodyanka, Ukraine by Banksy
The real identity of Banksy may always be a mystery. And yet, his/ her works like “Balloon Girl” have a value of millions of dollars. This sense of mystery coupled with themes of social importance and satire make Banksy’s work so sought after. Perhaps this is why the sudden appearance of Borodyanka in Ukraine in the middle of the recent conflict was covered quite extensively in the news.
Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan (Banana on a wall)
Conceptual Artwork that consisted of a 30 cents banana stuck to a wall with a piece of ordinary duct tape is priced at an estimated $120,000. The price is outrageous, the art is doable and people uninterested (and even some interested) in art are finding it ridiculous. Furthermore, one of the editions of this artwork had an audience member from the exhibit take the banana, peel it and eat it. These ridiculous events made for fascinating headlines the world over.
David Hockney Piccadilly Circus
Awful artwork made in MS Paint with no layers and looks like a child could have done it better. Moreover, the artwork was commissioned by the Mayor of London. A city representative could have commissioned graphic designers who are proficient enough to do breathtaking work. And yet, somehow, this terrible underground railway sign took commuters’ breath away. Maybe that was the point. After all, if art is eye-catching, even silly artwork can catch the eye.
Unofficial Tokyo 2020 Olympics Logo by Daren Newman
A logo that was as clean as the Nike logo and as meaningful as the embedded arrow FedEx logo and somehow even better. The Japanese flag motif, neatly represented in the Olympics logo and embedded in the number 2020 only to be messed up by a pandemic that caused a delay in the Olympics to 2021. Nevertheless, this amazing design work became one of the most recognisable logos of all time. Ironic that this perfect logo was unofficial and arguably, more famous than the official logos.
Flyer L885 Electric Bike by Radio Flyer
Imagine you have to travel a short distance to pick up your kid from school and buy bread and milk on your way back. Do you really have to take out your family wagon and needlessly burn all that petrol for a distance of half a mile? With the Flyer L885 electric bike, you can do all that without a carbon footprint. This bike has a “kid and cargo hauling” feature that lets you seat a passenger and a little luggage as well on the bicycle’s back seat. In these times of climate trouble, a product like this is nothing less than an engineering and design miracle.
Discussing these artworks helps us realise that there is more to art and design than mere visuals. A Design obviously has to have a purpose and art mostly conveys emotions. From the list of artwork in this post, we see that art and design become more valuable or are certainly talked about more when there is a heavy rationale behind it. Hopefully, famous art and design work like this would inspire young creatives to create work that makes the headlines.
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