Did this guy destroy a Frida Kahlo painting to make an NFT? | | Smart News

Said to have been painted by Frida Kahlo Phantasmornes Siniestros Her diary from 1944.
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In July, Martin Mobarak wore a sequined blazer emblazoned with Frida Kahlo’s face at an extravagant Miami mansion party. “What we are doing here today will change the lives of thousands of children. I hope everyone here understands that.”

Mobarak, a wealthy Mexican businessman living in Miami, presented what he claimed was a drawing from one of Kahlo’s diaries. He took it off the frame, put a martini in his glass filled with bright blue rubbing alcohol, and lit it.

As the painting burned, it emerged from the digital flames onto the screen behind Mobarak. His company, his Frida.NFT, is currently selling his 10,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of the image. According to the company’s website, the painting has been “permanently migrated to the Metaverse.” His organization claimed that a portion of the proceeds will help “unhappy children, abused women and other disadvantaged people around the world.”

Four months later, it looks like Mobarak’s stunts cost him a lot more than he makes.

Burning of drawings Mobarak claims to be original Phantasmornes Siniestros, a 9-by-6-inch ink-and-watercolor work Kahlo painted in her diary in 1944, mostly flew under the radar until it reached Mexico’s National Institute of Arts and Letters in September. On September 26, the institute announced that it was investigating whether the painting Mobarak had burned was genuine.

If the painting was indeed the real Kahlo, Mobarak would have committed a federal crime in the eyes of the Mexican government, which protects Kahlo’s work as a whole. “In Mexico, the deliberate destruction of artistic monuments constitutes a crime in terms of federal law on archaeological, artistic and historical monuments and zones,” the institute said in a statement via Google Translate. .

If the painting turns out to be a counterfeit, Mobarak could face fraud charges, lawyer Leila Aminedre said. new york timesZachary Small.

“If he actually burns it, he’s breaking one law,” says Amineddoleh, who specializes in arts and cultural heritage law. “If he didn’t, if it was a reproduction, he might have been violating copyright law. I have.”

The Frida Kahlo Museum also released a statement condemning Mobarak’s actions and raising potential legal concerns.

Mobarak says Times He thinks Kahlo herself would approve of his stunt. Then she’ll say, and I’ll do it.

A prominent dealer in Latin American art, Mary-Anne Martin Phantasmornes Siniestros Once to the foundation in 2004 and twice to the private collector in 2013.talk to Viseof Emily Greene, Martin says she didn’t sell the painting to Mobarak and didn’t hear of him until September.

Mobarak claims the painting is authentic.he says Times Purchased from a private collector in 2015, he declined to say how much he paid. He claims the painting is worth $10 million.

As of Tuesday, only four of the 10,000 NFTs available in Kahlo’s lottery have sold, according to EtherScan, which analyzes Ethereum’s blockchain transactions. Timestotaling less than $11,200.

When Times When I asked Mobarak if he wished he hadn’t burned the painting, he “sighed for a long time.” He then replied: “I would like to say that I do not regret it.”

Physical art writing is nothing new in the NFT market. quartz‘s Scott Nover said: Last year, a collective called BurntBanksy set fire to the famous street artist’s original work and sold his NFT of the work. Earlier this year, British artist Damien Hirst sold thousands of his self-made paintings, offering buyers the option to keep his NFTs or physical copies of each work. For those who chose the NFT version, the corresponding physical work was destroyed.

art art crime artist digital art drawing frida kahlo internet law mexico technology visual arts

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