Banksy Once Sold Original Artwork For $60 And People Just Walked Past
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Banksy once took to the streets of New York to sell original pieces of artwork for only $60, however, being the man of mystery that he is, people just walked straight past.
The artist, who is usually based in England, was featured in a video on TikTok earlier this week, which appeared to show the elusive painter having taken to the streets of the Big Apple with a series of original works.
However, despite the ridiculously low price of the work considering Banksy‘s fame, the video shows members of the public continuing to stroll past the works, with only a few actually showing any interest.
In the video, posted by user @ban1ksy, an automated voice can be heard standing in for the activist and artist, narrating the events unfolding in the video.
It begins by Banksy, or the guy pretending to Banksy, at least, decided to set up a ‘social experiment’.
‘I’m trying to sell original Banksy’s for $60. Let’s see who gets lucky,’ the voice states, even joking what ‘tiring work’ it is to sit in the street all day.
People continued to walk past the artwork, with the narrator commenting that even by lunch time there were ‘still no sales’. ‘I’m starting to think this was a bad idea,’ the voice says.
At 3.30pm, the first sale of a work occurred, courtesy of a lady who ‘buys two small canvases for her children’. However, hilariously, the lady reportedly only paid for them ‘after negotiating a 50% discount’.
‘Imagining finding out you’ve just haggled Banksy for sixty dollars’, the video states.
The video then shows a woman from New Zealand purchasing two of the artwork, with the narration stating that: ‘Arnica looked me dead in the eye and whispered, ‘Are they real?”, to which the voiceover replied, ‘Yes’. While, some time later, a man from Chicago said he needed something ‘for the walls’ in his new house. The man reportedly bought four of the artworks, and even hugged the man at the stall as he left.
Check it out:
@ban1ksyBanksy selling artwork on the streets of New York #banksy #banksyart #urbanart #grafitti♬ original sound – ᴟ Ƌ 𐌿ぐう ¥
‘No one wants these so I guess I’ll just pack them away,’ the voiceover concluded, referencing the multiple artworks left over from the day, revealing a total of $420 was made from the day. ‘Another day another dollar’, the voiceover jokes. According to The Guardian, at the time of being sold, the works were expected to estimate around £140,000.
The post has since amassed more than 1.7 million views and thousands of comments, with other users having taken to the TikTok in absolute astonishment at the lack of people who stopped to view or buy the original artwork. One said: ‘This just proves that people don’t like stuff unless someone else tells them it’s cool.’
Another wrote:
I recognise them right out the gate. But I would question the authenticity just thinking somebody is selling prints for ok prices.
A third commented: ‘That fella that bought four has just changed his life.’
An original Banksy is not only rare, but those in the video are probably now worth not just thousands, marking a hefty profit for the lucky few who stopped at the stall and bought a few.
Next time you’re out and about and you see some ‘Banksy’ for sale at a market, make sure you check it out.
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