I¡¯m a fan of contemporary art, especially abstract and performance art. And while I like the style and power of the British graffiti artist Banksy, I can¡¯t decide if I am delighted or dumbfounded by the fate of one of his recent paintings.
Three years ago, when bidding ended for ¡°Girl with Balloon,¡± one of his most iconic pieces, at Sotheby¡¯s in London ¡ª selling for $1.4 million ¡ª a beeping commenced and the painting lowered itself into a shredder Banksy had secretly installed in the lower part of the frame, cutting the piece into strips. The act was branded social commentary of the highest order: ¡°... an attention-grabbing spectacle (the shredding) taking place within an attention-grabbing spectacle (the auction), which highlighted through dark satire how art has become an investment commodity to be auctioned off to ultrawealthy trophy-hunters,¡± opined one critic for the BBC.
Last week, the buyer of ¡°Girl with Balloon¡± got the last laugh. Retitled ¡°Love is in the Bin¡± ¡ª described as ¡°Decommissioned, remote controlled shredding mechanism remains in the frame¡± ¡ª the still half-shredded piece was again auctioned off, this time fetching $25.4 million, more than three times Sotheby¡¯s highest estimate and more than 18 times what the 2018 purchaser paid.
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