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Not Dark Yet #285: The dramatic arts

11/10/2018

7 Comments

 
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In Lost, Stolen or Shredded, published in 2013, my pal Rick Gekoski gave us fifteen stories of missing works of art and literature, ranging from a juvenile poem by James Joyce (lost) to the Mona Lisa (stolen) to Philip Larkin’s diaries (shredded).
 
I wonder if Banksy read it.
 
His Girl With Balloon, which self-destructed minutes after selling for a million quid (the Sotheby’s estimate was £200K to £300K) is now believed, in its shredded state, to be worth twice what the anonymous buyer paid. Or at least, what he or she bid because we await confirmation that the buyer has paid or will pay for the artwork.
 
I’m pretty sure that he has or will. After all, the result of this coup de théâtre is a new, unique artwork.
 
There is a parallel here. Back in the early 1950s, Robert Rauschenberg performed an equally audacious act. He ‘erased’ a drawing by Willem de Kooning and in so doing, over a period of two months, he created a new piece which he exhibited under the title “Erased De Kooning Drawing”.
 
He said that it was not destruction, nor negation, but celebration. And de Kooning colluded in this by providing “something I will miss”.
 
Rauschenberg had experimented with erasing his own work, but concluded that “If it was my own work being erased, then the erasing would only be half the process, and I wanted it to be the whole,” he said.
 
Judged by this criterion, Banksy has only achieved half the process. His next move, perhaps, will be to approach a de Kooning of today with a request for an artwork which can form the raw material for a total erasure.
 
I nominate Damian Hirst.
 
Today from the everysmith vaults: To my eternal regret, I missed Luna’s couple of gigs in the UK last month, so grateful to nyctaper for a great show from Industry City in “deep Brooklyn”. Highlight (for me) a terrific version of the Velvets’ Lonesome Cowboy Bill. What NY lacks in baseball, it makes up for with a great music scene.
7 Comments
Marcus
11/10/2018 11:33:46

It really is such a bizarre marketplace, isn't it? What the hell is art? Is it the original? Is it the new shredded version? Or is it, as I suspect, the act itself? It was fun though.

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Simon
11/10/2018 12:14:12

He’s having a laugh! All the way to the bank!

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Rich
11/10/2018 13:20:36

The de Kooning erasure is a great deal more interesting than the Banks shredding. The latter however was a great deal more fun, taking place in a matter of seconds in front of an audience rather than a solitary two months. TBH, neither contribute much to our culture. Though, these days, a laugh - even a smile .- is worth it’s weight in gold. Cheers for this.

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Allan
11/10/2018 20:31:24

I love the impertinence, the cheek of it! It's a brilliant artistic comment on the nature of the art market and I hope Sotheby's were not in it because they are one of the companies that have screwed everything.

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(Notthat) Bob
11/10/2018 20:33:18

Allan's right. Sotheby's, Christie's et al are the uber-cynics. They know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

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PaulD
11/10/2018 21:36:10

Is Banksy not trying to add value to a drawing that looks as if it’s an illustration from an unpublished Winnie-the-Pooh story? Is he not the cynic? Just asking.

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Ellie
12/10/2018 08:54:54

Apparently the buyer has stated that she will pay and take possession of the work in its shredded state. Bet it's up for sale again soon. For £2 million.

Reply



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    Max Smith

    European writer, radical, restaurateur and Red Sox fan. 70-something husband, father, step-father, grandfather and son. Resident in Warwick, England.

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