Going...going...gone

[Gutwrench]

Banksy strikes again. Lol

The artwork titled “Girl With Balloon,” one of Banksy’s best-known works, went under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London, fetching $1.4m.

As soon as the alarm sounded, the painting ran through a shredder embedded in the frame, emerging from the bottom in strips.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/banksys-painting-self-destructs-moments-after-its-sold-for-1-4m

 

[velocityg4]

I don't know what's worse. That someone would pay $1.4M for that "art" or that the artist destroyed it. Would anyone have paid $1.4M if that piece was by some random person found at a swap meet?

 

[Lioness~]

He has no respect for himself, his own 'art', his customers, the art market etc.
He has a point in all those respects though

When people can't create, they obviously have to destroy.

 

[NoBoMac]

There's a video clip on "The Guardian" site. Picture is not completely shredded. Some in the audience are applauding. The staff of Sotheby's on the riser all have their smartphones out to capture pictures of the moment.

Saw an article where the work might now be at least valued at 50% more due to it's "history".

Personally, I like it.

ADD: here's a story with a gif of the painting getting shredded, and some details on how it might have gone down within the frame.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/06/banksy-piece-immediately-shreds-itself-after-being-sold-for-1-25m/

 

[Pakaku]

Saw an article where the work might now be at least valued at 50% more due to it's "history".

Most likely Banksy intentionally installed that shredder inside the frame, in order to make a statement about something. So if you were buying the art for that statement rather than just a picture, then yes, I'd say it is worth more as it is now.

 

[jeremysteele]

Most likely Banksy intentionally installed that shredder inside the frame, in order to make a statement about something. So if you were buying the art for that statement rather than just a picture, then yes, I'd say it is worth more as it is now.

This was obviously a publicity stunt setup between Banksy and Sotheby's. There is no way they would auction anything worth that much without checking it out thoroughly. They knew the shredder was in there.

 

[400]

Wonder if they have had a sneaky peek up a certain painting frame in the Louvre.