- Title: USA: Eight Banksy pieces up for auction
- Date: 17th June 2014
- Summary: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 17, 2014) (REUTERS) WIDE PAN OF JULIEN'S AUCTION HOUSE SHOWROOM PAN OF BANKSY PIECES UP FOR AUCTION VARIOUS OF BANKSY PIECE FROM HIS "BOMB HUGGER" SERIES, STENCIL PAINTED ON CARDBOARD DEPICTING A YOUNG GIRL HUGGING A BOMB WITH THE WORD "NO" PAINTED AT THE BOTTOM MICHAEL DOYLE, DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AT JULIEN'S AUCTIONS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL DOYLE, DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AT JULIEN'S AUCTIONS, SAYING: "The draw of this auction is really the opportunity to own a Banksy piece that he actually did in public, a truly unique piece that are not, you know, he occasionally does works on canvas, prints on camera, these are all works that he did in public all over the world, that were unique works that the consigners decided to keep and offer in this sale, so this is really a unique opportunity in that sense." VARIOUS OF BANKSY PIECE CALLED "KIDS WITH GUNS" CLOSE-UP OF BANKSY SIGNATURE WIDE OF TWO ARTWORKS, "MORTAR RATS" ON LEFT AND "MARIACHI PLAYER" ON RIGHT TILT FROM TOP TO BOTTOM OF "MORTAR RATS" VARIOUS OF "MARIACHI PLAYER" (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL DOYLE, DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AT JULIEN'S AUCTIONS, SAYING: "I think it's because his identity is secret, there's certainly an allure behind that, and it also kind of keeps the people intrigued because you never really know exactly who he is, and what he's going to do next, and he keeps that identity very purposeful and it's very hard to keep yourself anonymous when you're such a public figure, so I think that creating that 'character' and allure for himself, he keeps the public intrigued." BANKSY'S "RAPPER RAT" 13 CLOSE-UP OF "ANARCHY RAT" 14 WIDE OF TWO ARTWORKS, "GANGSTA RAT" ON LEFT AND "ANARCHY RAT" ON RIGHT (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL DOYLE, IN FRONT OF "ANARCHY RAT," SAYING: "Right immediately after Banksy created this, the consigner of this piece saw it and immediately recognized it as a Banksy and actually went to the German government and asked them if he could basically remove this portion of the wall and replace it new. They looked at it as a plus, because they thought 'we're getting this graffiti off the wall, and these guys are willing to do it for us,' and but obviously the consigner was the one who wins out in the end because he got to take home this beautiful Banksy piece that's truly an original work." VARIOUS OF "GANGSTA RAT" (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL DOYLE, IN FRONT OF "GANGSTA RAT," SAYING: "This is a British wheel-clamper or car boot that basically stops your car or vehicle from being able to move so Banksy saw this beautiful yellow car boot here and the visual artist that he is, envisioned one of his 'Gangsta Rats' on here, one of his rat series adorned with a boom box and a chain and a New York hat there, so he actually spray-painted this on somebody's car who got clamped up. So when the person came back, obviously not very happy to see that their car got car-booted, but little did they know they had got an original Banksy artwork because of it." WIDE OF BANKSY ARTWORKS
- Embargoed: 2nd July 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA80HRMT9J31O19TYLR8H9YD196
- Story Text: Eight works from the elusive British street artist Banksy will be going on the auction block next week.
The works are being exhibited as part of the Julien's Auctions 2014 Street Art auction, and although several reputable artists are up for grabs, it's Banksy who is the top draw.
"The draw of this auction is really the opportunity to own a Banksy piece that he actually did in public," says Michael Doyle, director of business development at Julien's in Beverly Hills. "These are all works that he did in public all over the world, that were unique works that the consigners decided to keep and offer in this sale, so this is really a unique opportunity in that sense."
After Banksy's art sold above expectations during last year's street art auction at Julien's, Doyle expects that this year's sale will be better than expected, due to the artist's highly publicized stint in New York City last October, which raised the specter of his fame worldwide, all the while creating a cult of allure surrounding his anonymity.
"I think it's because his identity is secret, there's certainly an allure behind that, and it also kind of keeps the people intrigued because you never really know exactly who he is, and what he's going to do next, and he keeps that identity very purposeful and it's very hard to keep yourself anonymous when you're such a public figure, so I think that creating that 'character' and allure for himself, he keeps the public intrigued," says Doyle.
Among the works up for sale are three works of spray-painted stencil art from walls which were later removed from their structures, including an early work, "Mariachi Player" from 2001, before Banksy hit it big, which is estimated to sell between $150,000 and $200,000 dollars (USD). Another, "Kids With Guns," is estimated to sell between $80,000 and $100,000. "Anarchy Rat" from his "Rat" series, estimated between $50,000 and $70,000, was plucked by a consigner from its original home - a Berlin city government building. The piece depicts a small rat spray-painting an graffiti anarchy symbol on a wall.
"Right immediately after Banksy created this, the consigner of this piece saw it and immediately recognized it as a Banksy and actually went to the German government and asked them if he could basically remove this portion of the wall and replace it new," says Doyle, of "Anarchy Rat." "They looked at it as a plus, because they thought 'we're getting this graffiti off the wall, and these guys are willing to do it for us,' and but obviously the consigner was the one who wins out in the end because he got to take home this beautiful Banksy piece that's truly an original work."
Other works up for sale include "Rapper Rat," circa 2003, stenciled on plywood and estimated to go for between $30,000 - $50,000, "Mortar Rats" painted on fiberglass, estimated at $40,000 - $60,000, and a piece from his "Bomb Hugger" series, depicting a young girl hugging a bomb, painted on cardboard. That piece is estimated to sell between $8,000 and $12,000.
Another piece, "Gangsta Rat," estimated to sell for between $20,000 - $40,000 has a unique story behind it, in which an unlucky driver was turned into a very lucky high art collector simply by parking their car.
"This is a British wheel-clamper or car boot that basically stops your car or vehicle from being able to move," says Doyle. "So when the person came back, obviously not very happy to see that their car got car-booted, but little did they know they had got an original Banksy artwork because of it."
Which, to the art layman, is essentially the same thing as winning the lottery.
The Julien's Street Art Auction 2014 will be held next Thursday evening (June 26). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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