Walmart entered new dimensions of irony when it briefly advertised prints of Banksy’s piece ‘Destroy Capitalism’ on its website.
The renowned British street artist’s publicist said the prints were not made by Banksy. However, since Banksy doesn’t copyright his images, Walmart is free to use them or derivatives of them without asking for permission.
In a comment to the Huffington Post, Walmart said that it had “disabled” links to the piece.
The company also offered a print by street artist Eddie Colla. The work, which in this context bears the singularly apt title of “If you want to achieve greatness stop asking for permission,” is erroneously labeled as Banksy’s on Walmart’s website.
“If Walmart had contacted me for a licensing deal, there’s not a dollar amount that exists that I would have done it for,” Colla told LA Weekly, adding that he plans on taking legal action.