What I Learnt Today #250 I Art & Culture Saturdays Getting Banksy-ed While in Bristol recently I was introduced to the legacy of Banksy and the world of Street Art. I wrote about it briefly last week. I have been sucked into the Banksy mystery and as I was looking around I found this great story. Immediately after a bunch of Banksy art was auctioned by Sotheby’s the iconic 'Girl with Balloon' self destructed. A video emerged in the instagram account of Banksy showing how he had built in a shredder into the frame of the canvas, a piece described on the Sothebys web-site as “Banksy, B. 1974 // GIRL WITH BALLOON, signed and dedicated on the reverse // spray paint and acrylic on canvas, mounted on board, in artist's frame. Executed in 2006, this work is unique”. Shortly after the painting was sold, the painting self destructed to the horror of all present. In his Instagram account Banksy released a video with captions reading "A few years ago I secretly built a shredder into a painting, In case it was ever put up for auction..." In the video, he quoted Picasso "The urge to destroy is also a creative urge" (which has been disputed as being wrongly attributed). But what I am marveling at was how did he get the timing exactly right. #alwayslearing #art #banksy
