Written by: Natalie Kim and Maya Koehn-Wu Banksy’s Girl with Balloon… Shredded? The art world was stunned after one of Banksy’s Girl with Balloon prints was shredded on October 5, 2018 at Sotheby’s live auction with a hidden paper shredder in the frame, installed by the anonymous Banksy. The woman who bought the piece for $1.4 million decided to keep it, now renamed Love is in the Bin, realizing that the piece is now worth substantially more due to its large impact on performance art and it being “the first work in history ever created during a live auction”. Because of how much more it was worth after being shredded, many people who own a Banksy print are wondering if their prints will be worth more if they too are shredded. An owner of one of the 600 unmarked Banksy prints actually did shred theirs and tried to sell it for £80,000, (about $105,882 US) double the amount it was worth. However, the art broker company, MyArtBroker, rejected the piece, saying the owner reduced the value from £40,000 ( $52,941) to £1, the equivalent of $1.32. The reason for this is clearly explained by Ian Syer, co-founder of MyArtBroker: “when Banksy does something crazy like shredding his own artwork, it will naturally have a dramatic affect on values. What this person today seems to have done is needlessly ruin a print worth around £40k and reduce its value to almost nothing. We strongly recommend nobody else takes valuable art and tries to cash in on what history will judge a simply brilliant stunt. There are limited numbers of ‘Girl with Balloon’ prints in the world, today, we lost one and it’s a crying shame”. Watch Banksy create the shredder and the moment it was put into action: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/video/2018/oct/07/banksy-publishes-video-detailing-auction-prank-plan-video Pieces Stolen by Nazis found in Dutch Museums As of October 11, 2018, 170 works of art from 163 institutions have been discovered through the Museale Verwervingen Project to have been stolen from Jews by the Nazis. This project began in 2009 and consists of art experts that analyze where pieces of art came from and determine from whom pieces were stolen. Chris Janssen, a spokesman for Museale Verwervingen, stated that “This research is important to do justice to history,” “A museum can only show a piece of art properly if the story and history behind the object is clear. In other words: a museum must know which road a piece of art has traveled before it came to the museum. That’s the way possible to inform visitors in a good way”. Stolen pieces are currently being returned to owners or heirs however many have unclear stories as to how they made it to a museum, making the process very arduous and slow. Sagrada Familia Built Illegally (Tsk Tsk, Gaudí) After city officials discovered that Antoni Guadí’s momentous church, Sagrada Familia, began construction in 1882, 136 years ago, without a building permit. The trustees overseeing the church are now in charge of paying a $41 million dollar fee in payments over the course of 10 years. The money will be going to improve public transportation in the city, as Gaudí was killed by a tram car, as well as other areas in the city that will benefit the public. Because Gaudí was killed before the completion of the renowned structure, modern day architects are trying to reconstruct the remainder of the church using blueprints drawn up by the artist. However, most of these were lost during the Spanish Civil War, making the completion much more difficult as there is still about 30% of the church that needs to be finished. The completion of the UNESCO World Heritage Site is planned for the centenary of Gaudí’s death in 2026. The wndr - Chicago’s Newest Pop-Up Museum With recent, bolder, bigger, and more 3D art installations, public attention has been drawn to the Instagram-centric interactive art installations and experiences. This industry has become a fun, immersive, and illuminating way in which to engage the viewer in an artists’ piece. In recent years, the opening of several interactive art museums has resulted in perhaps the next booming bona-fide art industry. Chicago’s wndr museum’s art and science interactive pop-up experience, highlights Prominent Artist, Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms, as well as the influence from famed artist, Richard Prince. The museum has profited from the novel experiential and awe-inspiring photo ops. The Museum of Ice Cream Want to learn about the original, trend-setting, experiential pop-up art museum? With the Museum of Ice Cream’s opening in 2016, the public art museum trend of pop-up art installations has been on the rise. With the museum’s debut, many other inspired attractions have come to life from the literal eye-candy photos such as 29 Rooms by Refinery29 (New York and Los Angeles), Color Factory (San Francisco), Happy Place (Los Angeles), Candytopia (Santa Monica), Museum of Illusion (Los Angeles), Dream Machine (New York), The Museum of Selfies (Los Angeles), and The Egg House (New York). The museum, featuring a Sprinkle Pool, a photogenic color palette, and an all in all a confectionery art experience, has captured public eye and perhaps is paving the way for the new modern-day contemporary art museum. The Interaction of Politics and Art: Olu Oguibe’s 54 Foot Obelisk Relocated Olu Oguibe, a Nigerian-born US artist’s massive art installation located in the city of Kassel, Germany, was moved on October 3. After months of debating, right-wing politicians made the call to relocate the piece out of the city’s main square. The piece has the Bible’s Matthew 25:35, “I was a stranger and you took me in.” inscribed in a different language on each side of the structure; in German, Arabic, English and Turkish. As a symbol of acceptance, the sudden manner of removal has resounded in sadness and loss among the citizens of Kassel. Criticisms have been made, calling out the fault in removing a historic, globally-relevant and powerful piece. Alexander Koch of Berlin’s KOW Gallery, however, commented that while the work’s inherent foundation, composition, color, size, etc. was meant for the city square; it will however keep its cultural significance and carry its profound message in the new location. Citations: https://news.artnet.com/market/banksy-re-authenticates-shredded-1-4-million-european-buyer-will-keep-1369852 https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2018/10/10/17961788/banksy-shredding-print-prank-sothebys https://news.artnet.com/art-world/dutch-museums-nazi-loot-1369363 https://news.artnet.com/art-world/gaudi-sagrada-familia-building-permit-1380763 https://news.artnet.com/art-world/olu-oguibe-kassel-obelisk-1369624
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AuthorsNATALIE KIM is a junior at MLWGS and is committed to informing others of history being made in the art world. Archives
April 2019
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