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‘Kanye Loves Kanye’ But He Doesn’t Want Anyone Else To See It

By Tylie Eaves
Published on: 12:23 PST, Apr 15, 2016

Ah, Kanye West: well known for his business savvy, his relationship with Kim Kardashian, his love of high fashion, his intense passion for his art, and some may say his love for himself. But in a recent series of events, it became evident that Kanye’s passion for artistry may not extend to all mediums. Scott Marsh, an Australian artist in Sydney, could be the living proof!

Last month, Marsh created a mural on the exterior of a building in the Chippendale area of Sydney. The mural, which quickly amassed huge crowds of people to the area, was a full-color depiction of Kanye West engaged in a passionate embrace with himself. Marsh titled the work, “Kanye Loves Kanye.” Marsh painted the mural in an attempt to portray “the love Kanye West has for himself.” The work was inspired by a photo of Kanye and his Mrs., Kim Kardashian-West, as they posed for photographers at the Grammy Awards.

The work gained so much notoriety in such a short period of time, that Kanye himself took notice. Unfortunately though, Kanye did not love “Kanye Loves Kanye.” In a report from ABC, a member of Kanye’s management team contacted Mr. Marsh and offered him a “pretty decent chunk of money” to paint over the piece. Marsh responded by requesting payment to dispose of his efforts — a six figure payment — and a lifetime supply of Kanye’s Yeezy Boost sneakers.

In a twist that can only be described as ironic, Scott Marsh is not only an artist, but is also a relatively shrewd businessman, just like Kanye.

How so, you ask?

In a business move that can be described as both entertaining and strategic, Marsh also released one, and only one, buff print of the now-famous piece and priced it at $100,000. Marsh announced “if [Kanye] buys that print, then I’ll paint over the mural.” The print was then posted for sale in an online art store called 1xRUN. Kanye was given a deadline of two weeks from March 30 to make his choice.

The print sold. That’s right — someone paid the premium, six-figure price to snag the one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

As if this writing, there is no official word confirming Kanye West as the buyer. That means the mural is still going strong, drawing crowds in Chippendale “breaking the internet,” and giving the world an artistic expression of just how much Kanye loves himself, at least from the artist’s point of view. For now, it makes no difference to Scott Marsh. He announced that he planned to celebrate his big sale by spending some of his earnings at the Lord Gladstone, a bar in the Chippendale area, where he planned to “drink from the top shelf.” If the print was, in fact, purchased by Kanye himself, Marsh will likely make good on his promise to paint over his work.

The same building on which Marsh debuted “Kanye Loves Kanye” is also home to a large painted mural of Kim Kardashian-West in the nude. The work was done by a street artist named Lushsux. In fact, the nude depiction of Mrs. Kanye towers over the streets of Sydney mere meters from the “Kanye Loves Kanye” display. At this point, there are no records of anyone from the West or Kardashian camps complaining about Kim’s nude likeness, larger than life, on the side of a public building.

While we can’t promise that the world will be waiting with bated breath to find out whether or not Kanye was, in fact, the buyer of the now-famous print, we can promise that we’ll be watching the events transpire so you can read it here, first.

UPDATE:

Well, the mural is gone! All that remains of “Kanye Loves Kanye” is a small strip of paint from the lower right corner of the painting. Guess what though, there’s still no definitive confirmation that Kanye West himself bought the print. Scott Marsh stuck to his guns for weeks concerning the painting, and now it seems that only he (and his buyer) know for sure whether or not Kanye clicked the “buy” button. What do you think?

[Photo by Pacific Press/Getty Images]

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