80 Transcript and key auction at the well-known auction house Sotheby’s a painting by the famous artist Banksy was put up for sale, an event that was highly unusual because the enigmatic graffiti artist usually paints on the walls of houses in places all over the world. Throughout his career he has remained anonymous and still people get the impression that he can appear everywhere and at any time to leave his paintings in public places. Usually he uses stencils, cut-out forms on cardboard, to put his message on the walls of buildings. The fact that he uses these cut-outs also means that the same motif might be found in various locations. In addition, it is a characteristic feature of his pieces that they often convey a political message that goes beyond the picture itself. But what happened on this memorable night at Sotheby’s? An anonymous bidder had just acquired the Banksy painting Girl with Balloon for 1.4 million dollars, when the work of art started to lower itself through a shredder built into the bottom of the frame. The audience stood there in silent shock, nobody could believe their eyes. When the picture was halfway through the shredder, the process suddenly stopped. Was it a faulty shredder that caused it or was it a feature of the shredder that it would stop as soon as about half of the painting had been shredded? The bidder still bought the painting and renamed it Love is in the Bin. The key question remains, though: What was the reason for Banksy (or the auction house) to create a picture that would destroy itself at a certain point of time? One of the answers could be that Banksy wanted to embarrass the art market which he seems to have despised throughout his career. The graffiti had been sprayed onto various house walls throughout London, most of which have been removed and some of them were even sold at auctions. But this particular version had been prepared for this practical joke. At least that was the general impression after the first shock that a painting would destroy itself. For the bidder, this event meant that the picture was suddenly way more expensive than if it had stayed intact. Sotheby’s noted that Girl with Balloon was “the first work in history ever created during a live auction”. When it was sold three years later, it fetched around 26 million dollars. The main question remains, however, is it a piece of art or was it just a practical joke which backfired as the price of the painting went up enormously, something the artist Banksy might have regretted in the end. 0: On the 5th of October 2018 a painting by Banksy was to be sold by Sotheby’s. 1: Banksy is a famous graffiti artist, whose identity is still unknown. 2: His paintings can easily be identified because he usually uses stencils/a certain technique. 3: It is his intention to send out a political message/statement. 4: During the auction, a built-in shredding device started destroying/damaging/cutting up the picture. 5: It is not known why Banksy designed the picture in this way. 6: It seems that Banksy does not think very highly of the art market. 7: The bidder was lucky because through this event the price of the picture went up considerably/suddenly increased enormously/ got quite high. 8: Banksy might not have wanted such a result/an increase. Post-listening task: Auction hype – Banksy picture shredded (Key) 1. auction 2. enigmatic 3. anonymous 4. to appear 5. to convey 6. bidder 7. shredder, 8. to embarrass 9. to despise 10. practical joke 11. intact 12. to backfire 13. to regret 12 Media Finding the most important words (Transcript and key) 1. I heard them talk about the upcoming elections. – I heard them talk about the upcoming elections. 2. Remember to listen to the news podcast before you leave for New Jersey. – Remember to listen to the news podcast before you leave for New Jersey. 3. It is a fact that political opinions among our friends are very diverse. – It is a fact that political opinions among our friends are very diverse. 4. The media campaign before the referendum was based on manipulated facts. – The media campaign before the referendum was based on manipulated facts. 6 + 38 1 39 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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