Photo: Via Banksy.
New York City has been under a full-on Banksy assault since the beginning of October. Today, the British street artist unveiled his latest creation: a fiberglass statue of the iconic McDonald's mascot, Ronald McDonald.
The larger-than-life character was unveiled in front of a McDonald's in the South Bronx and will be moving around the city all week. Oh, did we mention that Ronald also comes with a friend? There's a "real, live boy" who's an official part of the sculpture, responsible for shining the statue's ginormous shoes.
You might be asking, "Why Ronald?" Banksy's audio guide (yep, there's an audio guide available on his website) claims that Ronald McDonald is arguably the most sculpted figure in history — after Jesus Christ. The installation, entitled "Shoeshine," is "a critique of the heavy labor required to sustain the polished image of a mega-corporation."
We won't try to debate Banksy's edgy commentary on capitalist consumer culture. But, what we really want to know is: How do you get the "real, live boy" gig? Was there an interview process that involved demonstrating his shoeshine skills? Does the job ever get lonely? Does he ever talk to the sculpture and does the sculpture ever talk back? So many questions. So few answers. (Banksy)