Stanley Donwood visited Sheppard Fairey’s Studio One last January, and I had the pleasure to very briefly meet him. He is of course Thom Yorke’s childhood friend and the artist responsible for Radiohead and Yorke’s album covers since 1994. He had then an exhibit of paintings representing nightmarish black and white visions of Los Angeles sinking under a shower of meteorites and devastating fires. ‘We are all doomed, everything is doomed’, he said at the time.
In 2005, Thom and Stanley made the painting above for the anti-poverty Trade Justice Movement, whose goal is ‘to achieve sustainable development and poverty eradication’, and ‘Business School for the Dead’ is now sold on Bonhams for $5,550-6,200 to benefit the movement. Thom tweeted about it
‘Hope someone in the financial industry buys this, what a novelty to have a painting at auction ha!’
‘the Painting,well more of a banner really.Done throughout the night of a Trade Justice Protest in London few yrs back’
It’s quite long, 122 inches by 44 inches, and with its dollar-head guy, kneeling skeletons, bloody-suitcase and radiohead cupidons, I am not certain I would see this in my living room, but it sure delivers its anti capitalism message.
Donwood may think that the world is doomed according, but he still hasn’t lost any hope to change it!