IKE Andrews: $10 IKEA Art Mistaken For Masterpiece [Video]
To make a point, a Dutch group called Lifehunters convinced a bunch of art experts that a cheap piece of IKEA art, costing $10 retail, was an artistic masterpiece. They caught the rather hilarious reactions on video.
Giving the artist the tongue-in-cheek handle of “IKE Andrews,” while the print is actually quite attractive and interesting, the comments from the snooty art experts were hilarious. They thought the “painting” was something “rare and wonderful” and the technique was “shocking,” as they collectively raved over the picture. When the artist’s name was mentioned, one person says, “The name does sound familiar.” Familiar indeed seeing this was a piece of IKEA Art.
However, it turns out IKE Andrews is actually a couple of Swiss street artists known as Christian Rebecchi and Pablo Togni, who work together as NEVERCREW and the video was first posted on the Lifehunters website.
Ha! IKEA painting placed in a museum and art experts are told it was done by the famous IKE Andrews #artissubjective http://t.co/KEhd94UA9R
— The Cusp Association (@CuspAssociation) March 26, 2015
Speaking collectively as the “artist” IKE Andrews, and comparing the picture with other work, Rebecchi and Togni said that the theme is “living structures,” and that they want their art to generate interest and curiosity. It certainly worked in this case. In fact, one avid fan said that if you could buy the resplendent piece of IKEA art for 2.5 million euros, he’d do it. Wow.
Have you heard about this new artist called Ike Andrews? @StephMcDowall Showing IKEA print to Art experts: https://t.co/yIhEhIXMYx
— Graeme Bradley (@Vicebradley) March 25, 2015
According to Open Culture, the theme of the “masterpiece” was a “Message in a Bottle.” What it appears to be is, indeed, a bottle, halved lengthwise at the top and bottom and revealing some strange robot spider legs over an ancient whale, making it look like its trapped in a cage. There is a cloud at the top, raining some kind of yellow liquid or light and it seems the whole image contained within the painting was painted on a brown paper bag.
As a piece of IKEA art sold at $10, its a bargain, but to these art experts, it appears to be worth an absolute fortune. Once they all find out they’ve been fooled, they laugh out loud, but the embarrassment is still there for everyone to see. You’ve been royally punked, people.
The result of this experiment appears to show that it doesn’t matter who painted the picture, it is merely its effect on people that matters, whether you pay 2.5 million euros or $10.
Of course, some skeptics are already thinking this may have been staged to promote IKEA and they could be right.
Hopefully not sponsored by IKE Andrews: Every frame has a context #eyesopener http://t.co/sPQ9nR1595
— WAYRA SCHÜBEL (@furiouspony) March 29, 2015
On that note, the Inquisitr recently reported that a Picasso painting, definitely nothing like a piece of IKEA art and worth around $16 million, was seized from a pensioner in Rome, who claimed it had been given to him as a thank you gift for a kind deed. Now that’s a gift worth receiving.
