Duchamp. V Banksy.

In 1919, Marcel Duchamp, one the the greatest artists of modern times, produced a piece of work titled L.H.O.O.Q. He combined the idea of a "ready made" (take a mass produced image or object and display it as a work of art)with the idea of transformation (take a ready made image or object make changes to it, thus transforming it into a work of art). These ideas are more complex than the basic description given here and have had a major influence on 20th century art, Picasso's goat, Licthenstien's comics, Warhol's soup cans and Tracey's bed, to name a few.
L.H.O.O.Q is a postcard from the Louvre, it shows the Mona Lisa by Leonardo daVinci, the most famous work of art in the world. The title should be sounded out in French, Elle a chaud au cul, when translated it becomes, She's got a hot arse,(Dada word play) this can imply that Mona is in a state of sexual excitement and availability. By drawing on a moustache and beard Duchamp becomes an iconoclast by vandalising a great work of art, he also jokingly questions daVinci's alleged homosexuality and references his own habit of cross dressing. Duchamp had a female alter ego,Rrose Salavy (more word play)
For Mooner Lisa, Banksy chooses the same subject, the iconic Mona Lisa. The reuse of an image is something we see repeated through out the history of visual language. This time we see Mona from behind giving us the obvious pun from the title (yet more word play) A woman showing her backside can have a double meaning, sexual awareness and possible flirtatious sexuality but also doing a mooner is generally regarded as an insult and a rejection, perhaps Banksy is showing us her "enigmatic smile".
Like all of his work the immediate impact is one of humour, but there maybe more to it. Does Banksy show an awareness of Duchamp's picture, she knows she has a hot arse and wants us to see it!
We could describe Banksy as an iconoclast, a merry prankster who's work is filled with provocation and social comment, a description that fits neatly if applied to Duchamp.