Artist Notices That Something Is Not Right In Banksy Shredding And Reveals The Truth Behind It

Bansky is famous worldwide over for his acts of rebellion, sticking 2 fingers up to the establishment with a series of humorous, provocative, and poignant, works in unexpected locations. Recently he delivered perhaps his most significant work, protesting against the commodification of art by very publicly having his work shredded at auction while horrified sales associates and investors looked on.

But was it all truly as it seemed? Was that the wanton act of self-destruction the absolute expression of anarchy and a troll of excellent proportions, or a calculated, cynical way of gaining publicity and raising the value of his art?

An artist and blacksmith from Chicago, Josh Gilbert, has some major doubts. Presenting his theory with notable attention to detail, his argument about something being fishy with the accepted version of events certainly carries some weight. “What piqued my interest was really the appearance of the device in his video,” Josh explained. “I’m a maker, so the way it was presented as being constructed struck a sour note with me. I re-watched it several times and looked at stills, and it just didn’t make sense as a machine designed to shred a painting.”

Being an artist himself and specializing in metal sculpture and modernized ‘art nouveau’ style wrought iron, Gilbert appreciates the brilliance of Banksy, even if this particular stunt does not convince him. “I still think Banksy is a great artist, and I would definitely not call my theory “facts” at this point,” he said. “It just seemed like a very fitting conclusion. I think Banksy is ultimately a performance artist and he’s doing a lot to stretch and expand what that means in popular culture.”

No matter what you believe about the stunt, there is more to this story, that’s for sure. Scroll down to check out Gilbert’s findings below:

Here’s what people had to say about Josh’s astute observations