“It’s part parody, part experiment, part commentary, part visual gag,” describes Geoff Hargadon of his work Cash for Your Warhol. The signs, seen previously on Groundswell, have generated many calls to the 24-hour hotline they advertise. Groundswell’s Rob Hughes managed to catch a few minutes with Geoff before the work hits other major cities.
Groundswell Collective: The Cash for Your Warhol campaign, for lack of a better word, is a really witty, ironic take on the pervasive “sell your house for cash” signs that seem to be popping up lately. What was the inspiration or the idea the sparked this?
Geoff Hargadon: The inspiration came from a number of places: yes, the signs you see are a part of it. I called a couple of them and was amazed that there were actually people on the other end of the line. Apparently they do receive calls from others who are willing to sell their to a stranger with a phone number on a pole. It was also part visual gag: I thought it would be a funny parody and that people would get it. Well, not everyone gets it: I actually get calls from people who are looking to sell their Warhols. It was also a reference to how deep the recession has become – now even touching wealthy art collectors – so in that sense it said “we’re all in this together”.
GC: What did you hope to call attention to, or accomplish, if anything, with Cash for Warhol?
GH: I’m not sure, but I liked the idea of seeing the signs up on phone poles, and that was good enough for me to make them. I didn’t set out to accomplish anything with the Somerville Gates project, but am glad I followed my intuition. The timing seemed right for that then, and I think the timing of this idea is right for the Warhol project. Soon I’ll be taking it to new cities, and in the process maybe I’ll even get to buy some Warhols!
Cash for Your Banksy, the latest in signage by Geoff Hargadon
GC: A lot of your work calls attention to the relationship between art and economy/consumerism. Is there a particular reason you find this subject so appealing, so particularly important?
GH: I am indeed interested in consumerism, money, status, property, fame… they seem to have a disproportionately high place in our minds, and I like to take a jab at it now and then. It’s surprising to me how narrow the discussion is of these things in art – even though they are quite prominent in the art world. That provides a lot of opportunity to explore new ideas that haven’t been done before.
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[...] More info on Geoff can be found here. [...]