Basquiat - secret UV messages in his works

Drawings made by Jean-Michel Basquiat in invisible ink have been discovered on one of his artworks, hinting at more secret messages and pieces across his iconic catalogue of art.

Art conservator Emily Macdonald-Korth found the markings when working on Basquiat’s “Untitled (1981)” for a client who wanted to be sure the painting was from 1981. As told to and reported by Artnet News, Macdonald-Korth was analysing the work using UV and infrared lights, spotting the invisible ink when examining the painting for repair.
Speaking to Artnet News she said: “I’ve never seen anything like it. He basically did a totally secret part of this painting.”

“He must have been playing with a UV flashlight and thought, ‘this is cool.’ It really relates to his use of erasure.”

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So who was in on Banksy's 'self-destruct' stunt?

The auction house says it didn't know anything about it. The artist famously doesn't like to show his face. The buyer is a mystery. So, for that matter, is the seller.

In the case of the "self-destructing Banksy," nothing adds up.

The startling stunt at Sotheby's in London on Friday has set the art world aflame. The image of a girl reaching out for a red, heart-shaped balloon had just sold for $1.4 million.

Moments later, a shredder hidden inside the picture frame began to whirr, the canvas slid down, and at least part of it ended up in strips.

Sotheby's claimed it had been "Banksy'd."

The British street artist, famous for being faceless, is certainly well known for his stunts. In 2006 he secretly erected a life-size replica of a hooded Guantanamo Bay detainee inside a ride in the California Disneyland theme park. In 2013 he set up a stall selling his original artwork for $60 in a New York market and filmed people passing by, convinced that because of the price, the works were fake.

On Saturday, Banksy published a video on Instagram that purported to show how he built a paper shredder into the frame of the 2006 painting "Girl with a Balloon."
"The urge to destroy is also a creative urge," Banksy wrote, citing Picasso.

But the video didn't answer everyone's questions -- not least about the involvement of the auction house.

"I wouldn't put it past Banksy to have staged the whole thing, and I wouldn't put it past him to have pulled this off without anyone being on it," Brooklyn based street art curator RJ Rushmore told CNN. "But whatever the 'truth' is doesn't change the performance for me."

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