An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s • Hacker News Board

Re: An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s

#151

Post by acomjean » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 1:25 PM UTC

paulie_a wrote: post #103

I've never understood the art community's love for banksy. It's mind numbing drivel. South Park has far more depth and creativity.

Banksy is an artist that mocks the art world. He or she kinda makes fun of it. The art is decent, and its fun (sometimes undervalued in art circles). Banksy said in the forward of one of his book collections : art is controlled by just one group, the museum curators and rails against that.

Who else would set up a pop up shop outside the MET museum in NYC and sell original pieces and then report that they've sold only 6?

http://gothamist.com/2013/10/13/video_banksy_set_up_a_pop_up...

"The street prank gave Gothamist graffiti guru Jake Dobkin lots to mull over: Who's the joke about here, though? Is it that Banksy's work kind of sucks, from an empirical point, in that no one would buy it unless they knew who it was by? Or is the joke on everyone for not being smart enough to be there and recognize how valuable the stuff on sale was? As with all Banksy, there's kind of an edge to it that makes you feel a little annoyed—like he's having a joke at your expense.

"

Re: An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s

#152

Post by nevster » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 1:25 PM UTC

nayuki wrote: post #8

Some photos of the shredded art: https://hyperallergic.com/464419/1-3m-banksy-artwork-self-de... ; https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/sotheby-s-banksy-ed-as-... ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Std3LfVx41c

Has anyone been able to find video of the shredding happen? Finding videos on youtube is such a crapshoot nowadays with people uploading/copying the same videos or some lame commentary over static images.

Re: An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s

#153

Post by avoutthere » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 1:28 PM UTC

spuz wrote: post #137

nns wrote: post #119

This is a well orchestrated publicity stunt. A reputed auction house like Sotheby's would never put an item up before thoroughly checking and documenting it. Post this stunt, the artwork will now be valued much higher than what it sold for at this auction. Banksy has been known for such ingenious and clever marketing stunts.

Please tell me which other ingenious and clever marketing stunts Banksy, the anti-capitalist artist who refuses to allow his work or even prints (with rare exceptions) to be sold is known for?

For an "anti-capitalist", he sure has a lot of books for sale on Amazon.

Re: An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s

#154

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 1:31 PM UTC

spuz wrote: post #136

zaroth wrote: post #124

This is just so impressive to me. That this was set in motion in 2006 with the engineering and frame design and executed perfectly 12 years later is just so magnificent I’m almost tearing up. The way the it was shredded and stopping halfway allows the piece to still be hung, and in my mind, this massively increases the notoriety and value of the piece. To prank Sotheby’s like this at the moment that the auctioneers g…

It's unlikely this was planned in 2006. That's a pretty big assumption to make.

[deleted]

Re: An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s

#155

Post by SolaceQuantum » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 1:36 PM UTC

logicchains wrote: post #145

konschubert wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think two orders of magnitude is a reasonable level of wealth inequality.

What gives you the right to decide what other people do with their stuff? How would you feel if someone came along and said "I don't think two orders of magnitude is a reasonable level of wealth inequality, so I'm taking everything you own to give it to poor Africans"? Imagine two people both making $100k/year. One saves/invests half their income, the other saves 0%. In 20 years, one has a million dollars of savings,…

The rhetoric here implies that the poster believes there is no middle ground and also poverty is caused by individual, personal flaws (a reasonably close approximation to argue that a rich man is more moral than a poor man inherently because being wealthy is morally good).

Re: An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s

#156

Post by vanderZwan » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 1:37 PM UTC

zaroth wrote: post #124

This is just so impressive to me. That this was set in motion in 2006 with the engineering and frame design and executed perfectly 12 years later is just so magnificent I’m almost tearing up. The way the it was shredded and stopping halfway allows the piece to still be hung, and in my mind, this massively increases the notoriety and value of the piece. To prank Sotheby’s like this at the moment that the auctioneers g…

> Balloon Girl is a 2002 mural by graffiti artist Banksy depicting a young girl letting go of a red heart-shaped balloon.

It's a 2006 copy of a 2002 mural[0]. There is no mention of where the copy originated from though, nor any indication that the frame was part of the 2006 piece.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_Girl

Re: An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s

#157

Post by majewsky » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 1:38 PM UTC

rmason wrote: post #69

Sadly what happened to a Banksy in Detroit maybe gave him the idea. An artist group 'extricated' the work from the ruins of the Packard auto plant. The new owner of the building who was planning to use the Banksy as a centerpiece for a retail center was not pleased. They promised to not sell it, then they did. http://beltmag.com/the-fight-over-graffiti-banksy-in-detroit...

In Germany, there is a second part of copyright law. The actual copyright can be sold as usual, but the Urheberpersönlichkeitsrecht (creator's personal right) cannot. It gives the creator the right to forbid public presentations of his work that misrepresent his artistic vision.

The architect of Berlin Main Station (Norman Foster, if I'm not mistaken) used this law to (successfully) sue Deutsche Bahn (the German national railway company) for reparations when they changed the plans and used a cheaper ceiling construction than he designed.

Re: An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s

#158

Post by acomjean » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 1:38 PM UTC

spuz wrote: post #137

nns wrote: post #119

This is a well orchestrated publicity stunt. A reputed auction house like Sotheby's would never put an item up before thoroughly checking and documenting it. Post this stunt, the artwork will now be valued much higher than what it sold for at this auction. Banksy has been known for such ingenious and clever marketing stunts.

Please tell me which other ingenious and clever marketing stunts Banksy, the anti-capitalist artist who refuses to allow his work or even prints (with rare exceptions) to be sold is known for?

I like the art booth set up outside the MET museum in NYC

http://gothamist.com/2013/10/13/video_banksy_set_up_a_pop_up...

For someone who will create some some street art and literally have the owners remove the wall to sell it..

http://gothamist.com/2013/12/04/banksy_red_hook_wall_now_beh...

Re: An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s

#159

Post by int0x80 » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 1:39 PM UTC

4rt wrote: post #117

int0x80 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find the history behind it certanly interesting (and the art is amazing!). There was a documentary and a conspiracy theory too about the whole thing, just a movie, but good to watch IMO. "Art through the gift shop".

"exit through the gift shop" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587707/

ah right, sorry!

Re: An artwork by Banksy shredded itself after selling for $1.3M at Sotheby’s

#160

Post by weavejester » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 1:45 PM UTC

spuz wrote: post #136

zaroth wrote: post #124

This is just so impressive to me. That this was set in motion in 2006 with the engineering and frame design and executed perfectly 12 years later is just so magnificent I’m almost tearing up. The way the it was shredded and stopping halfway allows the piece to still be hung, and in my mind, this massively increases the notoriety and value of the piece. To prank Sotheby’s like this at the moment that the auctioneers g…

It's unlikely this was planned in 2006. That's a pretty big assumption to make.

The Sotheby's auction page says the piece was "Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner in 2006", so either the owner or Soethby's collaborated with Banksy, or Banksy built the shredder into the frame in 2006.

Or, I guess, Banksy could have offered the owner the frame prior to the auction, without the owner being aware of what it did.