Banksy is the pseudonym for a British street artist known for painting traditionally satirical and black humor paintings on the walls of buildings across the world. The artwork relies on a stencil-like style and has become a bit of a cult phenomenon, even spurring the creators of the Simpsons to commission an opening couch gag from the eccentric artist.Banksy's not a fan of auctioneers of his art, but one particularly clever eBay user, Jaybuysthings, claims he learned Banksy’s identity by matching the prices of his artwork with tax records. He's selling the knowledge to the highest bidder.
The legend surrounding Banksy is so great, and the desire to unmask him so strong, that the auction's already generated 38 bids for a current going rate of $999,999.00.
This kind of reminds me of the self-described "virgins" on eBay whose prices would skyrocket until the company eventually pulled their auctions. But I'm not sure how likely it is to pull the plug on this one, given that it's information, not sex, for sale.
And hey, how about that Buyer Protection? Can you demand a refund if data is counterfeit, or does that rule only apply to LV bags...?
UPDATE: The auction's been pulled and the whole thing written off as a publicity stunt orchestrated for reminding The World at Large about Banksy's documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, prior to the Oscars and BAFTA. Le sigh. Thanks to the ever watchful Shannon Stephaniuk of Glossy Inc for the LA Times article.
Image credit: Sole Hip Hop.
See more modern myths-in-the-make on my Social Storytelling page. (Recos welcome!)
1 comment:
I wonder if the person investigating checked to see if Banksy filing status was 'married' since he obviously is from Exit Through the Giftshop since he was sporting a ring. I also bet a lot of his auctioned stuff possibly is through intermediaries.
Question is would it reduce his cache and value? It hasn't hurt Shepard Fairy right?
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