allude, beguile, destitute, doctor, ersatz, folly, germane, guerrilla, imagery, picayune, profligacy, render, replete, satirical, supplant, underscore, unwarranted
Guerrilla artist Banksy doctored 500 Paris Hilton CDs and smuggled the ersatz copies into record stores throughout the United Kingdom, beguiling store owners and consumers to make an artistic statement on the folly of celebrity. The substitutes are replete with satirical imagery:
- one picture has been rendered pornographic through the repositioning of her dress to reveal her breasts
- in one image, her head has been supplanted by that of her dog
- one picture underscores her profligacy by depicting a digitally inserted group of destitute people next to her and her luxury car
- another picture alludes to her picayune worth by featuring her head superimposed on a mannequin standing below a banner that proclaims, “Thou Shalt Not Worship False Icons”
Furthermore, the original song titles have been altered to present a series of questions germane to the issue of unwarranted fame: "Why am I Famous?"; "What Have I Done?"; "What Am I For?"
guerrilla - (adjective) aggressively radical, usually with intent to harass, destroy, or sabotage [The noun form means "a member of a group of independent, radical fighters who harass, destroy, or sabotage."]
doctor - (verb) to change; to repair [Another meaning of this word, "to provide medical services," is informal and has derived from the more common noun form of this word ("one who provides medical services").]
ersatz - (adjective) artificial; counterfeit
beguile - (verb) to deceive; to mislead
folly - (noun) foolishness
replete - (adjective) filled, often excessively
satirical - (adjective) related to the use of irony, ridicule, or wit (usually to expose and/or mock negative qualities)
imagery - (noun) pictures; mental pictures; the use of descriptive language to create mental pictures or represent ideas
render - (verb) to make; to provide
supplant - (verb) to replace (something or someone) with something or someone else
profligacy - (noun) extreme extravagance
underscore - (verb) to stress; to underline
destitute - (adjective) extremely poor; lacking resources (e.g., food, shelter)
allude - (verb) to make a reference to someone or something
picayune - (adjective) of little value
germane - (adjective) pertinent; relevant
unwarranted - (adjective) unable to be justified