- Yves Klein’s Anthropométries
Yves Klein has been described as “radical”–to say the least–though a feminist’s nightmare may be a more accurate a term. In the 1960s, the artist used nude female models as “human brushes” to make marks on canvases. The art was created in front of live audiences, hosted by Klein (who was decked out in a tuxedo and gloves, no less), and accompanied by classical music.
Yves’ Anthropométries can sell for anywhere between one and twelve million dollars–which makes these paintings some of the creepiest works of art to ever hit the global art market.
- Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain
If you’ve ever taken an Art History class, there’s no doubt you’ve heard of Duchamp’s Fountain. Made in 1917, the work of art is just a urinal laid on its back with the artist’s pseudonym, R. Mutt, scribbled on the side–and guess what? It’s worth millions. In fact, one of the replicas of the original (that’s right, not even the original work of art) sold for a whopping $1.8 million in 1999. Bet you wish you’d been the first to think of calling a urinal on its side art, huh?
- Lucio Fontana’s Attesse
This is literally a white canvas with a single slash mark in it, and it sold for £2,281,250 (3,693,560 US dollars). Just contemplate that for a minute. If you found something like this at a garage sale or in the back of your closet, you probably would have just thrown it in the garbage. But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure–$3 million worth of treasure, to be exact.
- Anything from Miley Cyrus’s Dirty Hippie
Okay, so real talk here: I don’t know how much Miley Cyrus’s art is worth. In fact, I don’t even know if any of it has sold yet as her art show, Dirty Hippie, just opened September 10th. But let’s assume everything that this woman–who has a net worth between $120 million and $150 million –touches will sell and is worth buckets of money.
That being said, the young musician-turned-”sculptor”’s exhibition is essentially a physical collage of Anne Frank color schemes, friendship bracelets, drug paraphernalia, sex toys, excess stuff from Walmart’s $1 bin, and lots of glue.
Above is Cyrus’s 5 foot tall bong, which she described to 2 Chainz as, “my fans made all this sh*t so I just added it all together…all this sh*t lights up.
- Piero Manzoni’s Artist’s Shit
In the early 1960s, Piero Manzoni filled 90 tin cans with his feces and sold them to art collectors and museums. That’s right, you read that correctly, feces. These are literal tins of a human excrement. Now guess how much a single can sold for? Go on, guess. HINT: the answer will make you really, really mad.
In 2007, a Manzoni can sold for a whopping 124 thousand euros (around 156,443 US dollars). That’s enough money to buy a private island, but instead it was wasted on shitty art (pun intended).
I loved everything about this article. It was hilarious, interesting, and the comical and conversational tone reminded me of a Cracked article. Awesome job!
This was fantastic! You have a truly unique, well-developed voice. Also, Miley Cyrus’s “art” is about as sophisticated and complex as her music. Who knew? 😉
Haha, that’s a very good point Elle!