Two pieces of graffiti originally painted on the side of a trailer fetched nearly £100,000, auctioneers said.
Border Auctions said the works had been created by graffiti artist Banksy at various music festivals in the late 1990s.
Staff said one piece called “Drums/Grenade” fetched £38,000 at a sale in Hawick, Roxburghshire. A second, called “Sid Vicious 100% PunkRock” went for £58,000.
The auction house said Banksy, whose identity is shrouded in mystery, painted the works on a wooden trailer at a festival nearly a decade ago.
A spokesman said trailer owners Nathen Wellard and Emma Neale had decided to sell and the works had been cut from the trailer and placed in Perspex boxes.
He said the couple, who live near Downham Market, Norfolk, were friends of Banksy, who is renowned for creating graffiti on city buildings.
“These early examples of his work are quite different from the more well known urban, stencil work often created at night,” said the spokesman.
“What makes them special is that they were created very much in the midst of a festival and can be viewed as examples of performance art by the artist.
“The concept of ‘performance art by Banksy’ is virtually unknown to the media and general public alike and these works are probably some of the first to come to auction.”
Border Auctions’ director Maurice Manning said both pieces had been bought by anonymous buyers in telephone bids.
Bread and Butter if you don’t know, is one of the newest and hottest ‘Sport and Street’ trade shows happening in Europe, and it is popping off this week July 2nd till the 4th of July.
Street fashion has always been an important part of our culture, being that most of it has been and has derived from American Street culture, or should we say ‘couture‘. Brands like Cross Colors, Karl Kani, Tribal and Fubu have paved way for all of what is happening today in Street fashion. Although the trends today have strayed from the typical logo branded tees and now reflect more of the ‘art’ that is coming from Street Artists, the Culture is what clearly drives the market.
Saster: Can you tell me a bit of the everyday work that you do with BREAD & BUTTER?
BBB:I’m working in the communication department of BREAD & BUTTER but also write for the BBBulletIN, B&B’s official magazine. Therefore, my daily tasks include a lot of writing – either for one of our publications, for press inquiries or for the BBBulletIN. Another large part of my job is the media planning and the organization of all media cooperation of BREAD & BUTTER. We collaborate with a lot of international trade and relevant consumer magazines.
So it’s basically a lot of organizing and communicating with people from all over the world. And even though the tradeshows takes place only twice a year, we work all year organizing them. After the show is before the show!
Saster: How do/did you make the show as HOT as it is!?
BBB: Thanks for the compliment! I think one of the reasons that make BBB outstanding is the fact that it’s not a conventional order fair. It is a marketing and communication platform, a meeting point for the whole industry that combines fun and profit, inspiration and business. The brands that exhibit at BBB represent a mix of several segments and fashion styles, ranging from brands with a more commercial success to emerging labels and designers – what counts is their authenticity with regards to their fashion knowledge and the quality of their products.
Also the individual presentation of our brands makes BBB special: the brands are encouraged to present themselves individually with all their qualities and in their complete emotional environment. Furthermore, BBB puts a lot of effort in the unique atmosphere with frameworks like music acts and artists, parties and exquisite catering – all facets which belong to fashion & lifestyle.
Rachel Koper is answering an all-too familiar question. Is graffiti really art?
This time, it’s a member of the San Antonio news media calling to ask. Seems officials in the Alamo City have formed a graffiti abatement program to stop what they see as a scourge on their urban landscape. Does graffiti have any artistic value?
What the commentators said
So it appears that the judge that handled Rodman’s case isn’t “a fan of body piercing, basketball or men who have slept with Madonna,” said Ian McShane in the blog Holy Moly. “Good.” Although I’d much rather see “Rodman attempting to slap around a 300 lb ‘woman’ called Bubba in the shower block,” at least he’ll have to endure the public humiliation of “cleaning roadside graffiti” for 45 days in L.A.
The following excerpt comes from the Queens Courier.
They come late at night, when everybody is asleep. They spray paint our buildings, our fences, our homes, our cars and trucks. They scrawl their “tags,” or street names on our business awnings, on city telephone poles and mailboxes.
It is a growing, disgusting plague on the borough. It is an omnipresent part of the landscape. Virtually every single neighborhood in the borough suffers from this blight.
Along our highways and byways, the vandals have scrawled their tags on the embankments thereby making our unattractive concrete and blacktop roads even uglier than they already are. The graffitists obscure exit signs, stop signs, billboards, overpasses and underpasses. This must end.
They spray low – they climb high. They simply spray everywhere! — Read More —>
Nothing going on in Vegas, right? Wrong. Here you go: Two nights of gallery openings and neighborhood art parties, interactive performance art by Wendy Kveck, and an introduction to contemporary art collecting and collectors at the Las Vegas Art Museum.
