Last week iconic street artist Banksy made headlines for what is quite possibly his best work yet: a $1.3 million “Girl with a Balloon” print that shredded itself immediately after being sold. Experts claim it doubled the print’s value.
So naturally, other people who own the Banksy print are thinking they should shred theirs and make a whole lot of money.
After receiving queries from other Banksy-print-owners, MyArtBroker warned people that NO, DO NOT SHRED THEM.
On their site they explained that the stunt was valuable because it was the artist who destroyed his own art. They said,
“The unique theatre and spectacle of his stunt did indeed create a piece of Art history.”
We've had a number of #Banksy print owners contact us today asking if they shred their artwork will it be worth more. Please, Please DON'T. The events of the last 24hrs are a very unique piece of art history. #GirlWithBalloon
— MyArtBroker (@myartbroker) October 6, 2018
But one too-keen sucker did not get the message or did not listen, and decided to shred their Banksy print for extra cash. Apparently they contacted the broker to enquire about selling their authentic numbered ‘Girl with a Balloon’ print that they had personally cut up.
The sass from MyArtBroker is giving me life.
“We have refused to list this item for a number of reasons.” They said. “One of them being we just can’t believe the stupidity involved and the opportunistic vandalism.”
To recap, the print is workth around $75k according to MyArtBroker, and if you try to recreate the shredding stunt it could be worth as little as $1.80. So really, really don’t.