As commenter kbeef2 noted on this week’s TV Club review of Nathan For You’s “Dumb Starbucks” episode, Comedy Central is auctioning off some of the “art pieces” that the show’s star, Nathan Fielder, created as a prelude to the big coffee-shop stunt. All proceeds from the auction, which runs until August 5, will be given to School On Wheels, a non-profit organization that runs a tutoring program for homeless children.
In the episode, a lawyer advises Nathan that if he can establish a reputation as a parody artist, then U.S. parody law might be better able to protect him when he unleashes Dumb Starbucks, a fully operational parody of a Starbucks store. So Nathan spends a week putting together an art show, Nathan Fielder: Think Twice, filled with intentionally toothless parodies of corporate logos. The reaction from gallery visitors is mixed:
Alas, none of the items up for sale are Dumb Starbucks-branded merchandise—network flacks probably decided they had provoked the litigious coffee chain enough already—but there are some gems up for grabs. A “69”-emblazoned sendup of the Union 76 ball will provide a focal point for any parlor room, and the Continental Breakfast Airlines placard has an inane charm, too. These bits of TV comedy history won’t come cheap, though. With about half a week remaining in the auction, prices on the artworks range from a couple hundred dollars up into four-digit territory for the highly coveted “T.G.I. Fart” logo.