Trucker Arrested for Stealing $1.5mil Basquiat
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown inexplicably poses with the painting after police recovered the untitled work allegedly stolen by 35-year-old truck driver, Anthony Porcelli Jr., of Staten Island. (Does Brown think the painting's owner appreciates the fact that they've unwrapped the painting just for a photo-op? Are there professional art handlers there? Even so, is this appropriate?)
Porcelli allegedly stole the work, which was headed for either Rome or London, depending on which account you read, from a warehouse at JFK Airport. Apparently he had no idea what he was taking:
Porcelli allegedly stole the work, which was headed for either Rome or London, depending on which account you read, from a warehouse at JFK Airport. Apparently he had no idea what he was taking:
Again, though, why is the DA bellying up to the painting for the photographers?The large wooden crate had only the word "painting" on it when it was swiped from an air cargo warehouse at Kennedy Airport.
So the Staten Island truck driver who allegedly took it earlier this month had no idea what it held: a work by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat that is worth more than $1.5 million, authorities said yesterday.
"He saw it there, he pushed it, he figured he'd take a shot with it," Det. Michael Mormino of the Queens District Attorney's office said of the safely recovered painting, allegedly stolen by Anthony Porcelli. "He didn't know he hit the lottery."
posted by Edward_ at
3:00 PM
12 Comments:
Does Brown think the painting's owner appreciates the fact that they've unwrapped the painting just for a photo-op?
You assume the owner is happy they found it. $1.5mil? I'd rather have the insurance money than that...[sacrilege deleted]
Mac...Basquiat is a God...really, every now and then you see a painter who can paint and even rarer than that you see a painter who can make that important...Basquiat is the latter.
my 2 cents, anyway
If you say so. Look like crap to me. But then I admit I don't know crap.
There's an exhibition of his work at the Brooklyn Museum right now. If you're interested.
Oh, and one other source for info...this review by Jerry Saltz of the Village Voice.
Give it a read.
Thanks for trying to help me "get" him. Some of the works linked in the Saltz review were better than the other ones so far, but of course this line did jump out at me "He was also wildly uneven. Some of his work looks like junk."
:-)
"He was also wildly uneven. Some of his work looks like junk."
As Coagula rightly noted, "Most art sucks." , so you're right to be suspect. And even Picasso reportedly noted that the very best artists have at least 100 crap paintings in them (of course I think he meant by that that artists shouldn't be worried about making a bad piece, but rather should just keep making art). So it's no surprise that a few Basquiat's are not as good as some others.
In this case, I will agree with Macallan's estimations, IMNSHO Jean-Michel Basquiat is the perfect example of an artist becoming "famous" not on any grounds of skill, technique, or creativity, but solely because other people more "famous" than he decided he should be "famous" too, and no one wanted to gainsay the judgment of the Cool Ones. That he kicked the bucket early didn't hurt, either (supply, demand & all that).
Anyway, DA Brown was probably posing with the recovered Basquiat for the same reason fisherman like to string up the "big one" for a photo-op; just to prove their story. Although AFAICT from this photo, Mr. Brown's opinion of this work is on a par with Mac's and mine.......
Uhh.."unknown" @ 5:55pm is me, Jay C - login problem?
jay c,
I respectfully disagree regarding JMB's skill, technique, and creativity. I've seen dozens of his better pieces and they're fresh even today...he was a painter's painter, there are passages other artists would give body parts to be able to do, and he had a urgency to his message and technique that is exhilerating. That's no mean feat.
OK, I get the picture......
(pun intended)
In the interest of comity and civility I'll make a point to leave JMB out of future comments - after all, for arguments and snark, we have political blogs........
after all, for arguments and snark, we have political blogs........
Arguing about art is fine by me...snark is trickier, but lord knows I do it all the time.
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