Photo by Dominic’s pics
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei made a splash last year with his public art installation at the Tate Modern of millions of ceramic sunflower seeds. Now, anyone can own a piece of art history – for a mere £120,000.
According to the Guardian:
Anyone who missed the chance to romp among the handpainted ceramic seeds created by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei at Tate Modern will soon get another opportunity – but the close encounter will cost up to £120,000.
For the first time a sackful of the seeds is to be sold officially at a Sotheby’s auction of contemporary art next month.
A single seed claimed to be from the set appeared last autumn on eBay – presumed pilfered from an earlier showing of the work – and eventually sold for £28. That would make the 100 kilograms of seeds being offered at Sotheby’s a bargain. They have yet to arrive at the auction house, but staff intend to weigh a few, fire up their pocket calculators and work out how many are included in the lot. Even at the £120,000 top estimate, however, it’s probably only around £1 a seed.
Honestly, I don’t quite think it’s worth it. You can have the same affect by going down to the shops and buying a bag of sunflower seeds.
But that’s not ‘art.’
Don’t get me wrong, I love the Tate Modern – but I’m usually pretty dubious when it comes to modern art.