Posted on 10/06/2018 10:08:10 AM PDT by simpson96
London (AFP) - British street artist Banksy has stunned the art world with arguably his most audacious prank yet, self-destructing one of his best-known works moments after it fetched more than a million pounds at auction in London.
"Girl with Balloon" had just sold at Sotheby's Friday for £1,042,000 ($1.4 million, 1.2 million euros) -- a joint record for the maverick artist -- when it unexpectedly passed through a shredder hidden in the frame, according to the auction house.
"It appears we just got Banksy-ed," said Alex Branczik, Sotheby's head of contemporary art for Europe, in a press release accompanied by a photo of the bizarre episode.
"The unexpected incident became instant art world folklore and certainly marks the first time in auction history that a work of art automatically shredded itself after coming under the hammer," the auctioneers added in the statement.
Banksy posted his own photo from midway through the shredding on his Instagram page early Saturday, showing onlookers aghast at the stunt.
The caption written below, imitating an auctioneer, read: "going, going, gone".
The post, and reports of a man dressed in black sunglasses and a hat scuffling with security guards near the entrance to Sotheby's shortly after the incident, led to speculation the artist was present to trigger it.
Sotheby's, which could not be immediately reached for further comment on Saturday, did not disclose if it had prior knowledge of the stunt.
Branczik said he was "not in on the ruse", according to The Art Newspaper.
"We are busy figuring out what this means in an auction context," he reportedly added.
"The shredding is now part of the integral art work."
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
something something money brains
So is Banksy identified now?
Now it should be worth more
I don’t see how that piece was worth a million pounds. I know artists who draw much better and who do not get millions of dollars for their art.
I wonder... was this a staged event, designed to bring fame/notoriety to the artist?
Probably just doubled the value of the artwork.
It’s worth $29 at IKEA.
FINEly shredded ART
performance art
Or the stupidity of art collectors and what they now consider as art?
I think I saw that girl on my salt container.
I’ll give him credit.
He knows that most of the high end art market is a scam.
Well it is definitely a kind of publicity stunt by “Banksy” — the question is whether Sotheby’s was in on it. I’d think they would do a thorough examination of any pieces presented for auction, but since it was not an “old master” maybe they did not think to examine the frame with an x-ray device.
He destroyed someone else's property. He ought to be sued.
Yes ,it’s Done.
Well, if the sale ends up being voided, I'm sure the people missing out on the commission certainly will.
The auction house was in a this from start. Had to have been.
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