To collect memorabilia that once belonged to the most famous people in the world can be a very costly business. But is it really worth it? Some people are prepared to pay silly money to collect the holy relics of political stars, pop stars, film stars and porn stars, but what is their true value?. Four years ago the record price of $959,500 was paid for "Blackie", a hand-made guitar that Eric Clapton cannibalized from two old Fender Stratocasters. The raw materials originally cost next to nothing, and the buyer could never play it like Clapton, so it was only the magic of celebrity that added the value. Eight years ago, a sweaty old bra once worn by Madonna fetched $23,850. Twenty years ago, the skin-tight, skin-colored dress Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang Happy Birthday to President Kennedy fetched $1,267500 - a world record for a single item of Twentieth Century clothing.
We now wait with baited breath and a sequinned crotch, to see if this world record for celebrity memorabilia will be broken on 6th August at the Rock and Roll Pop Art Auction, where a cheesy jumpsuit once worn by Elvis Presley goes under the hammer. The King said the zippered jumpsuit decorated with rhinestone peacocks was his favorite outfit, when he first wore it on stage at The Forum Los Angeles on 11 May 1974, and it is the only classic Elvis suit left in the wild - the rest are all in captivity at Graceland. With one week to go before bids close, CollectValue sees that the auction bid is already at $250,000.
The late Elvis Presley is obviously more collectable that the late Saddam Hussein. When Saddam’s purple Rolls Royce Corniche appeared on eBay this week it was hastily withdrawn. It is now on an English car-dealer website with 900km on the clock and an asking price of $370,000. CollectValue looked up the price of a new Rolls Royce Corniche, and found it is $360,000, which makes Saddam Hussein’s added value less than one of Madonna’s bra cups. But at least we now know the true price of fame.
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Thursday, July 31, 2008
THE PRICE OF FAME
Friday, July 11, 2008
DON'T GET FLEECED - KNIT YOUR OWN COMPUTER
Are you sick and tired of your old PC? Is your monitor boring and dull? Does your operating system drive you nuts? Don't you long for an eco-friendly computer? Then take a look at this cuddly, colorful, contemporary system made from the most natural recycled material in the world - wool!
Once upon a time there was an artist called Ben Kruisdijk, who said, "I like to make dream objects that don't have to obey the laws of physics." And once upon a time there was another artist called Conny Kuilboer, who said, "the materials I use most are blankets because they protect and give warmth, but are really oppressive, irritating and a fire hazard." Since they started collaborating twelve months ago, Ben and Conny have created the most amazing and amusing expos and exhibited them all over the world - most recently in South Korea. And now they have chosen CollectValue as a permanent home to display their work.
And before you ask, the delivery system for their knitted computer platform is a zero-emission stuffed donkey. Of course it is. You can feed it a virtual carrot at their brilliant online exhibition called When Things Get Too Big. Go on, you know you want to.
Read more ...
Once upon a time there was an artist called Ben Kruisdijk, who said, "I like to make dream objects that don't have to obey the laws of physics." And once upon a time there was another artist called Conny Kuilboer, who said, "the materials I use most are blankets because they protect and give warmth, but are really oppressive, irritating and a fire hazard." Since they started collaborating twelve months ago, Ben and Conny have created the most amazing and amusing expos and exhibited them all over the world - most recently in South Korea. And now they have chosen CollectValue as a permanent home to display their work.
And before you ask, the delivery system for their knitted computer platform is a zero-emission stuffed donkey. Of course it is. You can feed it a virtual carrot at their brilliant online exhibition called When Things Get Too Big. Go on, you know you want to.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
BANNED ROYAL PORTRAIT ON THE WEB
Censorship is alive and well and living in Belgium, where the authorities have banned an exhibition portrait of the late King and Queen because it was "too shocking" to view. But the sensational painting by a publicity-shy woman artist is now on display for all to see on the internet, along with a self-censored update she has painted in mockery of the ban.
The artist, 33 year-old Greet Van Autgaerden, posed the royal couple in an idyllic rose garden with four muzzled dogs., frothing, drooling and straining at the leash. She wanted to show the world of the royals as a caged existence, where they are not free to communicate with normal people. But on the opening night at the Blevue Museum of Art in Brussels, museum officials draped a cloth over the slavering hounds so as "not to offend royalists". This has provoked the artist to update her royal portrait by replacing the hapless dogs with giant pixels in a parody of censored identity photos. But she has left the images of the King and Queen exposed.
Etienne Verbist, the Curator of the CollectValue online museum, says "I think these paintings are poignant and sympathetic to the true nature of our royal family. If these images of a dead king and queen pruning roses are too shocking to be seen, then you may as well censor half the allegorical and religious paintings from the Renaissance onwards." He went on to say there would be no question of withdrawing the images from the internet museum and was proud to be able to display the artist's work for all to see.
The uncensored version can be seen in Greet Autgaerden's exhibition at CollectValue.com, alongside much more sensational images that she calls Naked Meat..
Read more ...
The artist, 33 year-old Greet Van Autgaerden, posed the royal couple in an idyllic rose garden with four muzzled dogs., frothing, drooling and straining at the leash. She wanted to show the world of the royals as a caged existence, where they are not free to communicate with normal people. But on the opening night at the Blevue Museum of Art in Brussels, museum officials draped a cloth over the slavering hounds so as "not to offend royalists". This has provoked the artist to update her royal portrait by replacing the hapless dogs with giant pixels in a parody of censored identity photos. But she has left the images of the King and Queen exposed.
Etienne Verbist, the Curator of the CollectValue online museum, says "I think these paintings are poignant and sympathetic to the true nature of our royal family. If these images of a dead king and queen pruning roses are too shocking to be seen, then you may as well censor half the allegorical and religious paintings from the Renaissance onwards." He went on to say there would be no question of withdrawing the images from the internet museum and was proud to be able to display the artist's work for all to see.
The uncensored version can be seen in Greet Autgaerden's exhibition at CollectValue.com, alongside much more sensational images that she calls Naked Meat..
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