Picture of Potato Sells for €1 Million

[Huss]

I have a theory:

Could it be that most buyers of "record selling" photographs are just friends of the photographers (this one was sold after a few glasses of wine in the photographer's home) and they just want to help their buddies gain a higher profile and jack up the prices of there artwork? Maybe they are even investors in the photographer's business?

Kinda seems that way. Using the Peter Lik method. Anonymous buddy buying a photo for a record amount.

If this went for this amount at a reputable auction house, then that would set precedence.

I'm hoping the dood got $1 mill. How cool is that?!

 

[Out to Lunch]

To be honest, I took the Euro 1 million potato in stride, especially following the $ 4.3 million Gursky got for his Rhein II.

 

[Huss]

To be honest, I took the Euro 1 million potato in stride, especially following the $ 4.3 million Gursky got for his Rhein II.

That is an awesome pic.

Art curator talking to prospective customer:

"This piece is very hard to describe, but very easy to acquire"

 

[giganova]

Hey, Gursky earned his $4.3M: he had to drag his camera outside, walk (!) to the river and photoshop the dog walkers out of the image.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

I do not find this photo the least bit a-peel-ing.

 

[giganova]

I wonder whether the buyer is from Idaho.

 

[DominikDUK]

I like his potato (and other stil lifes) better than his celeb portraits. Or like Satchmo and Ella Fitzgerals once sang
You like potato and I like potahto
You like tomato and I like tomahto
Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto.

Apparently we are missing the second image in the series the tomato.

I also think that the image is visually less boring than Rhein II

 

[Emile de Leon]

And then he chopped it up..and ate it..

 

[Pherdinand]

And then he chopped it up..and ate it..

you mean the picture?

 

[giganova]

Hm, this potato looks like asteroid Vespa!

 

[__jc]

Say what you like about the potato, but whoever bought the picture is a spud.

 

[chikne]

Reminds me of an onion.

 

[xayraa33]

Now I am absolutely positive that NASA gets their space photos from the local farmer's markets.

 

[Larry H-L]

In a potato portrait, does one focus on the "eyes?"

 

[back alley]

i wonder if he will do a porn version?

 

[pagpow]

I believe the artist wanted to say: "Generally, the life of a harvested potato is violent and taken for grated''.

And most appropriately rendered with a pancake lens, wouldn't you say.
A clear case of elective affinity between subject and artistic tool.

 

[__jc]

"Generally, the life of a harvested potato is violent and taken for granted. I use the potato as a proxy for the ontological study of the human experience." :bang:

Oh dear. Makes it difficult to contemplate eating the poor little buggers now.

 

[Keith]

I saw the title of this thread and thought that some popcorn may be needed ... but maybe chips would be more suitable.

 

[telenous]

A mill is OK. Sometimes a man's got to throw all his chips into the pot to get what he wants.

.

 

[dogbunny]

All that's left to do is post this up on Instagram so Richard Prince can turn it into real art. A spudsploitation masterpiece.