Artists were hired by the rich to create portraits just to show them their wealth, or hired by the church to convey a religious message they wanted. Today art also has the role of transmitting a message, but it is a different message. This message can be different and unique to each individual, or just a different message in general. For Vik, the message from the Waste Land project, in my opinion, was different for each individual. Even though the actual works that the collectors and Vik worked on were cleaned up rather quickly after photographing them, they still communicated the message he wanted them to convey. I think this is similar for other artists like Bansky, their work may not last long, but the message lasts a long time