On October 14, local time, at Sotheby's In London, a half-destroyed painting "Love in the Trash" was sold for 16 million pounds, plus commissions totaling 18.582 million pounds, about 164 million yuan.
Three years ago, when the painting was first auctioned in good condition, it sold for £1.042 million. After the artist destroyed it, the price increased 18 times in three years.
Unlike most viewers who still feel the value of art in terms of "not like" and "beautiful or not", contemporary artists have conveyed their "artistic view" in the form of colorful and renovated expressions. Not long ago, artists made 500 grams of gold into the shape of rice grains and sprinkled them into the Huangpu River and other places to waste and call on the public to pay attention to waste.
In the view of some people, contemporary art has long been separated from traditional models such as painting and sculpture, and various means focus on triggering the "reflection" of the viewer; but some people believe that in the absence of strong strength, some artists can only enhance their works and their own value by attracting attention in this way.
Paintings destroyed by the painter himself
The price of artists' self-destruct works increased 18 times
The 164 million-dollar painting "Love in the Trash" is the work of British street artist Banks, and when it first entered the auction house three years ago, it was also called "The Girl with the Balloon": a little girl painted in black and white, watching the red heart balloon fly away. The image has appeared in Banksy's street paintings and has also been made into prints and models.
In a 2017 survey, Banksy's The Girl with the Balloon was voted the British favourite artwork of the time. Entering the auction house in 2018, the painting fetched £1.042 million, the second highest price ever auctioned for Banks' work.
At the moment of the transaction, something suddenly happened that made the audience dumbfounded: the self-destruct device in the frame of the work was activated, and the lower part of the painting was destroyed as if it had entered a shredder. The damaged painting was none other than Banks himself, and after the scene of the amazing noise at the auction on October 5 of that year, Banks released a video on October 17, revealing the production process of turning the frame into a shredder and the rehearsal beforehand, Banks wanted to destroy the entire painting, but only half of it was destroyed, and he also denied the auction house's involvement in the matter.
This astonishing act is considered by art critics and collectors to be "a completely new artistic creation" - the artwork that "self-harmed" on the spot after being auctioned is an unprecedented creation, and the artistic value has been greatly enhanced. "The Girl with the Balloon" has since become "Love in the Trash", and the successful bidder gladly accepted the artwork, which was revived in destruction, and recently sold it for more than 18 times the price, which became the highest price that Banks himself auctioned.
Is the art of the hustle and bustle still art?
"The more lively contemporary art is, the more classic the artworks of the past will be." Citizen Hu Ruqi likes to see the exhibition, and she prefers the classic art exhibition to the fashionable "Net Red" exhibition: "For example, the Pudong Art Museum exhibited "Ophelia", standing in front of the painting can fully feel the feelings and emotions conveyed by the work. But in the face of many contemporary art works, my first reaction is 'what the artist wants to say', lacking the feelings and emotions that should be conveyed by art. ”
"Contemporary art is too noisy." Ms. Gu, who works in art publishing, is accustomed to observing people's reactions to art exhibitions and artworks, "In recent years, many contemporary art exhibitions have been packaged as 'internet celebrity exhibitions', and curators are also happy to introduce contemporary artists with high online popularity. The people who flock to it are taking pictures and punching cards, and few people really feel these works. ”
"From the moment Andy Warhol uttered the phrase 'everyone can be famous for 15 minutes,' art has come down the altar." Mr. Wu, who runs the gallery, told reporters that most people's understanding of art still stays on "tangible" things such as painting, sculpture or film and music, but "contemporary art can be any form of expression." "If placed in the traditional perception of art, the works of many painters are at best 'interesting', far from the classical artistic image." He cites Banksy as an example, whose work "The French Maid" paints a red brick wall white, and a maid figure lifts a white corner to reveal a red brick background. Another painting spews a rat hole in the wall, and a "red carpet" extends from the hole to the steps, with two rats standing on either side of the red carpet. "This kind of fun and vitality is precisely what the 'art' of public perception in the past lacked."
The greater the fame, the higher the price
Not long ago, artist Yang Yeqiu made 1,000 grains of pure gold rice with 500 grams of gold, and then threw them into all corners of the Huangpu River and Shanghai one by one, causing great controversy.
Some netizens believe that such "performance art" is not difficult to understand, "For many people, wasting food is not heartache, but wasting gold is incredible, in fact, for all mankind, food may be more precious than gold." However, the opposition of "fighting for traffic" and "fighting for fame" is also endless, and some people even associate Yang Yeqiu's identity as an advertising practitioner, believing that this is "self-hype" and "marketing".
And this "artwork" did bring huge traffic, once at the forefront of Weibo hot searches.
"Golden Rice" sparked controversy
"Noise is inherently characteristic of contemporary art." Sun Wei, who is engaged in the art trade, introduced that contemporary art has shifted from focusing on skills to focusing on expression, and the most important thing for artists is to convey concepts, "Artists are speaking through works of art. The literati calligraphy and paintings that used to be quietly created in the study, or the geniuses who were immersed in their own world like Van Gogh, if they did not meet a professional operation team, would only disappear into a strong flow of information. ”
"Instead of striving for creation, but changing the pattern of 'blockbuster', how long can such contemporary art last?" Mr. Wei, a citizen, found that whether it is the repeated auction of high-priced Banks, or the graffiti painter Dieth NYC, who is popular among white-collar workers, and even Takashi Murakami, etc., are copying and using popular culture symbols in large quantities: "Artists need to create, not just combine existing elements." ”
Mr. Lu, who runs art derivatives, told reporters that the income of artists today is no longer the van Gogh era that relies solely on art sales: "For example, Banks, he authorized prints, toys, and joint names with commercial brands, etc., and he can get huge benefits." The same situation also includes the cooperation with luxury brands Dior, such as Empty Sanji, Daniel Artem, etc., empty Shanji can be speculated for a high price with a keychain, and traffic means high price. ”
Column Editor-in-Chief: Shi Chenlu Text Editor: Jian Gongbo Title Image Source: Xinhua News Agency (File Photo)
Source: Author: Jian Gongbo