Banksy Painting Shreds Itself After Selling for $1.4 Million
A few years ago, the artist Banksy built a shredder into the frame of one of his paintings “in case it was ever put up for auction”. On Friday, that painting came up for auction at Sotheby’s and after selling for ~$1.4 million, the shredder in the frame activated and cut the painting into little strips. The video of the sale and subsequent shredding is amazing:
Fantastic. I imagine Banksy meant this as a commentary on the ridiculous prices people pay for art, but as this is the art world, the shredding will likely increase the value of the piece as well as the artist’s other pieces. As @Limericking said:
A painting by Banksy was smart;
At auction, it shredded apart.
Now tattered, in pieces,
Its value increases,
For such is the market for art.
Update: The winning bidder for the shredded Banksy says she’s going to keep it.
Update: Here’s a longer video of the stunt from Banksy…”The Director’s Cut”.
The shredder malfunctioned at the auction…it was supposed to eat the entire print. On Instagram, Banksy says:
Some people think it didn’t really shred. It did. Some people think the auction house were in on it, they weren’t.
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