So, last night was the big show. I’d have to say it wasn’t as much fun as the big shindig over at Studio 2 (what with the projected pixels and all) but it was still pretty fun-a good time was had by all, and the crowd was a bit brisk-we had a pretty steady stream of folks throughout the entire evening.
An interesting thing about the show though, my friend Kathy helped the curator hang the work and, upon arriving last night, she noticed something unusual. There was more work in the show than had been curated. Yes, it’s true, there was an extra painting hanging in the corner. We tried to subtly ask around about it but nobody seemed to know anything. Nobody knew who had hung it, who had painted it, or where it came from. From looking at it, I can tell you this much: it was a painting of some odd looking naked people strewn about on a sofa and it was hanging in the corner of the exhibition hall.
This strikes me as really funny in a lot of ways. I mean, think about it, if you were going to “break into” the art world, what better way then to just grab a painting of some naked people sitting on a sofa and go hang it up yourself? Who would notice such a thing? When you think about it, it would be downright easy to do this-just wait for the gallery staff to go “out to lunch,” cigarette break, or the like, sneak in with said painting, a hammer, a nail, and voila, you are now an exhibiting artist. It’s genius if you stop to think about it, right? I mean, nobody’s probably going to complain even if they catch you breaking in, are they? And, I mean, just pick something like a painting of naked people on a sofa-something typical that you would find in an art show really-you wouldn’t even stand out.
My only complaint is that they should have given it some chichi French sounding name, perhaps something like “Nudes a la Settee” and doubled the price.
And, I guess it must be said, should you happen to be out in the gallery world, be on the lookout for any wild free roaming extra paintings with odd looking nudes on a settee. They might sneak up and get you when you least expect it.
Until next time…
Author
Ha ha…cool caper! Reminds me of a friend who hung four small wooden panels in a show that had abstract charcoaled surfaces. A friend of his photographed one of these, went home and created a fake that was virtually indistinguishable. He returned to the gallery, took the original and put up his fake. My friend didn't discover this until he got a letter from his friend explaining the heist. His friend blackmailed him for a night of beers at a local bar where they made the exchange. That was in Houston. A few years later, my friend is living in New Mx. His friend comes to visit. We sat around laughing about the caper. Meanwhile, the guy pulls the same gag over again. Putting the fake on my friend's wall, and taking the original. A letter arrived from him week later, telling my friend that next time he comes to Houston, he owes him a few beers.
Author
Because of your post, I felt compelled to confess some art crimes myself today. Check it out when you have time. : )
Author
An art un-theft? One for the books…
Author
Mythopolis, I'm glad I made you come "clean" about your days with "garbage." That's hilarious!
CraftyGuy, yes, can you believe it? Art crime is on the rise in the 'hood these days. What's next? Where will it end? Am I to be attacked by a pack of poker playing dogs?
word verf: chast
Author
I Love this whole idea. It made Me Chuckle ! Kind of a reverse Bur gler. It reminded Me of a local Pub to Me, they had a similar incident where someone had broken into a Huge, Caged rabbit run containing a Pond with some Coy Carp in it. The Landlady told Me that, during the night someone had broken in & deposited two more Fish into the pond.
Author
Yes, it's pretty funny, isn't it? I mean, not even like you can call the police or anything, right?
What are you going to say? "Officer! Stop! I'd like to report an un-theft, um, er, nevermind…."
I've heard that koi carp like fish can live to be very old. Might be why they were trying to get rid of it? Or maybe they just wanted it to have a happy (new) home?