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SCHOOLYARD PRANKS FOR ART STARS

Some might say that a plain box of pencils valued at £400,000 ($630,000) deserves to be stolen. Others might conclude that a 16-year-old graffiti rat swiping just such a set from a Damien Hirst exhibition in London reeks of a publicity stunt. But to many, it's pure entertainment.

In case you’ve missed the details, over the summer a young collagist and street artist known as Cartrain was arrested for stealing a set of FaberCastell 1990 Mongol 482 pencils from Hirst’s elaborate "Pharmacy" installation at the Tate Britain in London.

The July heist happened was the latest development in a feud that began last year, when Hirst reported Cartrain to the Design and Artists Copyright Society. Cartrain had incorporated an image of Hirst’s famous bejewelled skull, a work titled "For the Love of God", into some of his collages. Under threat of legal action, he was forced to surrender the artwork and pay about £200 to Hirst for any profit that came from the infringement. (Ironically, Hirst himself has been accused of lifting the idea from a fellow artist and former friend, John LeKay, who had produced a similar crystal-covered skull in 1993.)

After poaching his wood-and-graphite prize, Cartrain created “Wanted” posters with a cheeky ultimatum: Hirst must return the confiscated collages or his pencils would face the blade of a sharpener. A bold provocation, but Cartrain had nothing to lose and plenty to gain—in terms of publicity, at least. But now the young thief and his father (who helped him pull off the heist) may feel differently, as they may face jail time and hefty fines.

"Pharmacy" began as a themed restaurant that many mistook for an actual pharmacy when it opened in 1998. It was the perfect marriage of art and commerce: the concept took something banal and a little silly—theme restaurants—and transformed it into an expensive work of art. Like many of Hirst's works, "Pharmacy" was at once a wry commentary and a lucrative con. The restaurant closed in 2003, but Hirst ended up selling most of its contents at a Sotheby’s auction in 2004 for £11m. As a legal matter, "Pharmacy" could cost Hirst, Cartrain, the boy’s father and British taxpayers heaps of sterling.

Perhaps the grand finale to this childish back-and-forth will see Cartrain and Hirst duking it out on stilts made of whale bones in an emerald-encrusted boxing ring, for which they will sell tickets at outrageous sums. That, at least, might be worth the price of admission.

~ ROCCO CASTORO

Image credit: Cartrain (100Artworks), bixentro (via Flickr)