If you are incredibly rich, and want to own some supremely weird and controversial pieces of music history, then we’ve got good news for you. You know those uncanny silicone sculptures of naked celebrities from Kanye West’s “Famous” video? Of course you do. They were essentially impossible to miss even if you didn’t watch the video. Well, those sculptures are looking for a home, and they can be yours if you have $4 million to spare.
The sculptures, which depict the likes of Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Caitlyn Jenner, Bill Cosby, Donald Trump, and Taylor Swift nude, have been on display at the Blum & Poe gallery in Los Angeles. Now, gallery co-founder Tim Blum and music kingpin Scooter Braun are looking to sell the statues, as well as the bedding from the video and the batteries used to make them appear to breathe. This isn’t an a la carte situation, though. You’ve got to take them all.
As strange as it was when the video for “Famous” with all the nude figures debuted, the idea of somebody paying $4 million to own them feels straight up unsettling. Sure, perhaps a serious art fan or a huge Kanye West fan will buy them. That’s the ideal scenario. Otherwise, there is something disconcerting about the idea of somebody shilling out millions of dollars to own a bunch of sculptures of naked celebrities. Maybe this will be the beginning of the world’s first X-Rated wax museum. Or silicon museum. Whatever the true substance is.
Update: Kanye’s glad people place such a high value on his art, but it’s not for sale. At least that’s the word a rep for the rapper gave Rolling Stone. “We are incredibly flattered that a number is being reported but at no point have we ever disclosed a sale price for the piece,” the rep wrote in a statement.
Who would turn down that kind of money? Well, an artist like Kanye, that’s who. The statement noted that “As far as Mr. West is concerned – it’s all about the art. We are looking forward to announcing when Famous will be available again for viewing.”
(Via The New York Times, h/t Consequence of Sound)
