Elfo's road sign for an underground robber

Getting back in the swing of things at school this week. Fair warning, today is the first meeting of a class I’m taking about conceptual art. I’m excited and the professor seems awesome, but just fair warning: That class could bleed over into the rest of my life and lead to an increase in bullshitting from me here on Vandalog. Unfortunately, I haven’t sorted out a proper internet connection yet since getting back to school, so I’ve been a bit lax this week. Here’s what’s been going on:

• This isn’t street art or urban art or low brow or anything really related to Vandalog, but one of my favorite artists, Hiroyuki Doi, has a show on in New York right now. Definitely check it out.
• Kid Acne has a new zine out.
• This collaboration between Malarky, Billy and Mighty Mo is great.
• At first I hated this sculpture from Jeremy Fish, but now I’m thinking I’d love to walk by it every day.
• Last week I asked about graffiti photographers in Philadelphia, and Fat Cap has found a great one.
• I think some of these pieces from Phil Jones are old, some just remind me of Asbestos’ Lost series and some are pretty meh, but damn overall Jones is kicking ass with some fun street art.
• Felice Varini makes me smile.
• Exit Through The Gift Shop was nominated for a BAFTA and won an award for documentaries. In other Banksy news, someone is trying to sell 5 Banksy works on paper, basically preparatory works, for £125,000.
• This “news” article reads like a press release for Bonhams, but there is one surprising bit of information in there: Apparently the Shepard Fairey Peace Goddess, which sold earlier this month at Bonhams for £27,600, is the highest price ever paid for a Shepard Fairey work at auction. I would have thought he’d reached a higher number by now, but I guess most of the work that goes to auction tends to be prints and HPMs, not the large collages or retired stencils that might have otherwise already reached that number. UPDATE: Of course, the article is wrong. That isn’t the highest price paid for a Shepard Fairey work at auction. Not sure if this price is the highest, but it’s much higher than the Bonhams result. So I guess that article is just a giant press release. Sorry.
• And because that last thing was all about money, here’s a relevant old piece from Twist/Barry McGee.
• Jose Parla has been busy in Toronto (Thanks to Simon for the tip).

Photo by Elfo

Banksy's "Portrait of an Artist" sold for £60,000 at Bonhams

There were two auctions of note this week.

First, Bonhams has their latest urban art auction on Tuesday evening. Most of the notable sales in that auction can be found on Arrested Motion. Additionally, an Eine went for double the high estimate and a Luc Price did very well.

But of course, it’s worth noting that there’s an element of madness with auctions. Perhaps this is best exemplified by an eBay listing where the item for sale was Banksy’s identity (listed for a Buy It Now price of $25,000). The seller claimed to have matched a person’s tax records with Banksy’s sale records. Sounds like complete BS to me. The listing was taken offline last night for unknown reasons. IFC has more info.

UPDATE: The eBay listing is back online, this time selling a piece of paper with Banksy’s name on it, which should fit within eBay’s auction rules.

Photo courtesy of Bonhams

Keith Haring, Untitled, 1989

As a student at Sotheby’s, I know how much flack I get for looking at art in terms of how it’s worth. But I’m learning through the eyes of the art market, so it’s a different perspective than RJ has or Elisa does. So of course I am going to post about auctions.

An interesting one coming up is Phillips de Pury’s 8o’s auction including original pieces, print editions, photographs and designs.

The auction begins in New York on on December 17 at 2 pm.

There are a lot of big names, especially from the street art genre, such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Here are some of the highlights and their estimates that I found interesting from the catalog.

• Basquiat’s: Untitled (Standing Figure), 1981 estimated at $150,000 – $250,000 is a figurative drawing on paper
• Kenny Scharf: Untitled (Head), 1987 is estimated at $50,000 to $70,000 and is a sculptural cartoon-like head
• Keith Haring: Untitled, 1989 is estimated at $10,000 – $15,000 and is a typical Haring drawing that is featured on the cover of the catalouge
• Annie Leibovitz’s iconic portrait of Keith Haring painted in the vein of his work blending into the wall is estimated between $8,000- 12,000

Eelus' print for the auction

Temwa, a charity working on community-based projects in Malawi, is holding an art auction in Shoreditch next month. Art for Africa will take place on December 4th at Jaguar Shoes in Shoreditch. There’s a long list of artists involved, but some of the highlights for me are probably going to be Mr. Jago, Toasters, SPQR, Will Barras, Eelus and Xenz. Go here for more info.

Photo courtesy of Temwa

The nice thing about street art is that, for 99% of the people who look at it (the people who see it on the street and not on blogs like this one), there’s not market consideration about “how much is that worth?” or anything like that. But then there’s the 1% of us (the people who follow blogs and write and forums and so on) who do see the art market side of street art. Sometimes the art market provides opportunities for Boxi, Steve Powers and other artists can show up in London and paint walls with permission and free paint. Other times, the art market makes me want to cry.

This week, Philips de Pury had a few pieces in their London day auction by low-brow and street artists. Street Art Is Dead notes that two Mr. Brainwash pieces sold for £42,000 and £75,000 even though the estimates were already a seemingly insane £7-9,000 and £15-20,000 respectively. What makes those results even more disgusting is when you compare them to other results in that same sale:

• A massive and beautiful Ryan McGinness which has been shown in The Saatchi Gallery sold for just under £19,000. A collector could have 4 of those paintings, or one crappy Mr. Brainwash.
• The Kaws piece pictured above sold for £13,750. Not my favorite, but you would think that Star Wars fans would be all over that one.
• And then the two most surprising results were that both a Margaret Kilgallen cluster and an old Barry McGee piece failed to sell at all! While this particular Kilgallen cluster has been floating around for quite a while, it’s not a bad piece and Kilgallen’s art is almost impossible to find for sale.

Similarly, while it doesn’t outrage me quite as much, I don’t exactly understand why this Banksy sold for $75,000. It’s just not a strong image.

The art market makes no sense and sometimes I wish it would just go away.

Photo courtesy of Phillips de Pury

As mentioned last month, Rowdy has recently lost nearly everything in a house fire and artists from around the world have come together to help him out. That help is coming in the form of The Rooftop Burner Fund, organized by Steal From Work. The Rooftop Burner Fund is an Ebay auction of work donated by dozens of artists to help out Rowdy. The auctions can be found here. Some of the artwork is already for sale, with the rest of the auctions starting between now and July 5th. For more about Rowdy, check out this recent interview he did with Arrested Motion.

Here’s some of the work that you can already bid on (and at this point it looks like there are some real deals to be had, in addition to helping Rowdy):

Sickboy

Steve Powers / ESPO

Gold Peg

Looks like this piece by Swoon is finally going to hit the auction block at Phillips de Pury next week. Last March, the exact same artwork was pulled from an auction there less than 24 hours before it was due to be sold. For that first auction, PdP had estimated the artwork at just £2,000-3,000, a shockingly low number. This time though, the piece is being estimated at £10,000-15,000, which is pretty much what you would expect.

Photo courtesy of Phillips de Pury

As you may have heard, Rowdy’s home burned down recently. Luckily, he was not hurt (I don’t think anyone else was either), but everything inside the house has been destroyed. Rowdy is a member of Burning Candy, a hard working artist, a friend that I’ve worked with on multiple projects in the last year and an awesome person. Rowdy’s reputation is known throughout Europe, so when his friends heard that his home and possessions had been completely destroyed, people came together to do something. That something is Steal From Work’s Rooftop Burner Fund. Steal From Work have brought artwork together from an international array of artists for a benefit auction to help out Rowdy. Here’s the press release:

So, there are plenty of charity events, plenty of causes worth fighting for, whole countries at war…. But sometimes it’s just about helping your friends, helping those you love. And here we’re taking the opportunity to help one of our best friends.

If you don’t know, here’s the introduction. Rowdy is one of the longest standing players in UK graffiti, supporting the scene and playing his part in what has now turned into a global phenomenon. He has painted with the best of them, in fact is one of the best of them, always sticking true to his vision, rocking his own style, never selling out his ideas. Recently he walked out of his house, which also served as his studio and when he returned a half hour later, everything had been burned to the ground. EVERYTHING! ID, money, clothes, personal possessions, art, the ability to make art, everything gone!

So, we’re taking this as an opportunity to support someone who has so readily supported us as a scene by auctioning some art to help him get back to a position where he can do what he does best, making art.

It’s a testament to his popularity and reputation that so many artists have donated work to this auction. All work has been personally donated by the artists and the galleries that represent them: Banksy, Paul Insect, Swoon, Sickboy, Hush, Espo, the whole Burning Candy crew and a whole bunch more… So, it’s your chance to buy something beautiful and at the same time help out someone who has helped in his way to make graffiti and street art what it is today.

THE ART

A massive thanks to the following artists who have donated work:
Banksy
Case
Cept
Cyclops
Dscreet
Gold Peg
Guy Denning
Herakut
Hush
LL Brainwashed
Mighty Monkey
Motorboy
Mr Jago
Mudwig
Paris
Paul Insect
Rene Gagnon
Sickboy
Static
Sweet Toof
Swoon
Tek33
Tom Hine
45rpm
Plus more still to be announced

And also huge thanks to the following galleries for donating:
Black Rat Projects
Campbarbossa
Pictures On Walls

THE AUCTION
The Auction will be via e-bay at: http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/stealfromwork

It will commence Thursday 17th June, and we will stagger the items over the next few days so they don’t all end together. The first items will end Sunday 27th June.

Other than Paypal fees & postage costs EVERY singe penny raised will go to Rowdy.

We will only be accepting bids via e-bay.

Phillips de Pury’s May 13th and May 14th Contemporary Art auctions have a number of interesting paintings up for grabs, but here’s a few of the pieces that are more relevant to Vandalog.

• Lot 116. Rubber by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Estimated at $1,500,000-2,500,000.

• Lot 145. Untitled by Banksy. Estimated $150,00-250,000.
  I’d love to hear what somebody who can see this in person things of this lot. Seems like an expensive estimate, but it’s a big painting (188 x 180 cm). And it’s from 2003, which for me is one of Banksy’s best years. Can Banksy have a best year? That sounds really weird doesn’t it? But it’s something I seem to have noticed.
• Lot 433. Pyramid (yellow on blue) by Keith Haring. Estimated $30,000-40,000.

• Lot 434. Pyramid (blue on yellow) by Keith Haring. Estimated $30,000-40,000.
  I love this piece. Not so much the yellow on blue pyramid with a similar design (lot 433). But this one, I love.

• Lot 436. Untitled by Barry McGee. Estimated $8,000-12,000.
  Not really for me, but perfect for the true McGee fans out there.
• Lot 437. Charlie Chaplin Pink by Mr. Brainwash. Estimated $50,000-70,000.
  Imagine a Nick Walker mood board, but made by Mr. Brainwash (no offense intended Nick). Ugliness overload. And not only that. It looks so boring. Doesn’t challenge or interest me in the least. But I hate almost everything that MBW signs, so I’m obviously not the best person to comment on this painting.

Some of the most interesting work in these auction for me actually isn’t the work by street artists. There’s a lot great art by artists like Chris Johanson, so it’s worth flipping through the full catalog if you’re curious.

This Wednesday, Dreweatts hosts their latest urban art auction in London. This time around it’s called “Urban Contemporary.” Honestly, I’ve avoided posting about this auction until now because while there are some highlights, the lowlights are awkward and disappointing to write about.

Lets start with the positives. Some of works that I’m really liking (in no particular order):

Lot 89: Point Blank by Martin Lea Brown. 67cm x 167cm. Estimated £3,000-5,000. This painting looks okay online, but is just so nice in person.

Lot 72: Musas by Sam3. 91.5cm x 61cm. Estimated £700-900. An interesting painting for the price. It amazes me how cheap a Sam3 original can be. Though I suppose his work is best experienced outside.

Lot 64: African Fence by Rowdy. 91.5cm x 61cm. Estimated £900-1,100.

Lot 47: Studio Critics by Sweet Toof. 91.5cm x 61cm. Estimated £2,000-4,000. Sweet Toof is a painter. He’s a graffiti writer. He’s a street artist. He’s a print-maker. What is he? He’s talented.

Lot 49: Cruncy – Pity of London by Ronzo. 40cm x 40cm Plinth. 106cm x 40cm. Estimated £1,000-1,5000. Apparently this is the only Pity of London sculpture that didn’t go on the streets. So it’s something kind of special.

And now the things about this auction that epically disappoint me. The things that made me not want to write about this auction at all. In no particular order. And there are others lots in this sale that were very disappointing to see at auction, but I’m not going to list them all. Hopefully this gives you a taste.

Lot 13: Self Portrait by Adam Neate. 167cm x 123cm. Estimated £15,000-20,000. Almost everyone I know believes that Adam Neate’s pieces like these should be kept out of auction at all costs. Even if this reaches the high estimate for the piece, it will only serve to further damage the market for his paintings. And in my opinion, Adam is one of the most talented British painters working today, so I’d like to see the market for his paintings recover.

Lot 9: Morons by Banksy. 76.5cm x 56cm. Estimated £3,000-5,000. Every “urban art” auction seems to have at least one Morons print.

Lot 17: Untitled by Seen. 60cm x 70cm. Estimated £600-800. I don’t take issue with this painting. I definitely take issue with how Dreweatts has handled the artwork in their sale. In the catalog, this painting is upside down. Luckily, that’s been fixed online. But when I went to see this piece in the flesh at the auction house last Thursday, it was hung sideways. That, or it’s now sideways online (but given that the central icon of the piece is a Seen tag, I’m guessing that the tag is meant to be read left to right, so the online image is correct and it was hung sideways). Either way, that’s more than a little bit upsetting.

Lot 63: Number 5 by Herakut. 80cm x 100cm. Estimated £2,000-3,000. Another great painting that Dreweatts has just handled poorly. Again, it’s online and in the catalog sideways (and possibly hung that way in the auction-house as well, I can’t remember)! Now, given the content of the painting, I can see how somebody might not be sure which way is up. In fact, you’d have to look at the painting for more than half a second to realize that it might be sideways. How did I figure out that the piece is sideways? There’s an image of the piece online. And it was originally part of a tetraptych, so you know that the image I found online has the painting hanging the right way. Could Dreweatts have missed this? Sure. Except that lot 62 is a painting from the same tetraptych. It amazes me that nobody at Dreweatts took the 30 seconds of research that it took me to figure out which way this painting is meant to hang. Epic fail.

So that’s the Dreweatts “Urban Contemporary” auction. It takes place on Wednesday April 21st in London, and you can bid online.