All city - McDonalds

http://www.banksy.co.uk/2013/10/16/all-city-–-mcdonalds

This week, Banksy, a British graffiti artist who is now living in New York City as part of an artist residency, unveiled his latest piece of art. It is a fiberglass sculpture of Ronald McDonald with oversized clown-shoes. The piece is completed with an actual person wearing tattered and stained clothing while shining Ronald's shoes. The artist has announced the sculpture will be visiting a different McDonalds location during lunchtime for the next week. The artist has included an audio guide and pictures on his website, although I am unsure if the audio accompanies the sculpture at each location. 

The audio suggests that the argument the artist is making with this piece, is "a critique of the heavy labor required to sustain the polished image of a mega-corporation." Art is quite subjective, so as a viewer of the art, I think Banksy argues this point well. By showing a poor, lonely man working below the feet of a giant representation of an international corporation, Banksy illustrates the heavy labor sustaining the high polish of Ronald's shoes quite literally. 

Banksy relies heavily on the kairos of the situation. In order for his audience, the public eye, especially those who frequent McDonald's in New York, to understand his message the context and history of the McDonald's name is key. As Americans, we know that McDonald's is a large corporation that cooks unhealthy food and alters cultures across the globe. We know the history of it and most of us have a love/hate relationship with it. That knowledge and relationship are essential to us relating to the piece the way in which Banksy intended. 

My one critique of his argument, as far as kairos is concerned, is that I do not understand how his piece fits with the occasion. I question whether there even is an occasion. I suppose an argument could be made that the lunch hour is the occasion - a busy time with many customers and then in turn audience members of his art. However, looking at the occasion from a current events issue, there does not seem to be a reason for revealing this piece at this time. Perhaps he started the piece at a time when McDonald's was in the news.