Auction Chronicles » Art for art’s sake

Tampon Mona Lisa

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:29:54 +0000

The most famous half smile in history. Is she keeping a secret or being coy? To seller “ylyly,” that enigmatic expression conceals a need for Motrin concealed inside of it. Leonardo’s Mona Lisa is, in fact, the Aunt Flo-na Lisa. In 2005, he festooned an image of the infamous daughter of a Florentine silk merchant with the finery of modern menstrual technology – about 200 Tampax tampons.

Actually, “ylyly”(better known on YouTube as parody artist and poet Dave Morice), doesn’t really explain why he felt the need to “tampoon” one of the Louvre’s best-known treasures, but he does chronicle the process of creating his homage and the variety of responses he’s received about her, including words of shame from a Midwestern librarian and support and encouragement from Tampax corporate:

Morice is selling Tampon Mona Lisa for a minimum bid of $2,600, along with a collection of comments that he’s received about her during earlier attempts to sell her on eBay.

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The Devil on the Can

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:56:45 +0000

Apparently, there are some black velvet paintings that even Tijuana black velvet painters consider “tasteless.” While “Professional Mexican Velvet Elvis Artist from Tijuana” L. Zamora usually creates high-class renditions of Bob Marley, tigers and Elvis, he also has a stash of “less religiously-themed works” featuring nas-tay sexual acts and an apparently controversial (due to its non-piety) image of Lucifer on the pot, currently for sale on eBay.

The listing describes it as “the tackiest Tijuana Black Velvet of them all, an original hand-painted black velvet painting of Satan, The Father of Lies, using the facilities, aka ‘The Devil on the Can On Black Velvet.’” It also takes care to make sure no one mixes up this black velvet painting artist with those who sold black velvet portraits of various Republican politicians at the 1996 Republican National Convention.

Visit the Velvet Devil on the Toilet Auction.

Barbie torture 101

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:02:45 +0000

Remember the diorama you made in fourth grade? Combine that with skills gleaned from a high school wood shop class and an introductory women’s studies course-level disdain for the unrealistic proportions of Barbie Dolls, and you have wordsmith321′s “Barbie Doll in Hell” creation. There are some flames and a lot of evil pizza tormenting her, with her blacked-out eyes and distorted, toga-fied body.

It’s the perfect gift for anyone who likes to discuss feminist pedagogy with college football players.

Visit Barbie Doll in Hell auction.

The luminescent supper

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:34:03 +0000

Pennsylvania artist Mark Beekman spent the last year constructing a five foot by ten foot, 124,418-peg Lite-Brite reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” It’s not the first time that Judas’ betrayal has been recreated in unusual materials. One is carved in salt in Poland’s Wieliczka salt mine. And contemporary Brazilian artist Vik Muniz redrew the entire thing in Bosco chocolate syrup.

Beekman’s provides extensive information about the technology and muscle he employed to create a glowing version of the famous fresco that stands at about one-third the size of the original. But he doesn’t have a lot to say about why he decided to make it, outside of the fact that he thought museums were boring when he was a kid, and he intends to make art more fun.

The piece is being auctioned for a second time because its original bidders weren’t able to come up with the funds. It will be featured in the newest “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” book, and it holds the certified, Guinness record for world’s largest Lite-Brite.

Visit the World’s Largest Lite Brite auction.

Play with an online Lite Brite.