Millionaire Martin Mobarak torching a precious $10 million Frida Kahlo painting as part of an NFT launch proves that a garish display never goes unseen. The entrepreneur didnt bat an eyelid before flaming the work of a world-renowned artist, which shows blatant disrespect for others’ work. Moreover, he filmed himself proudly setting the small and colorful Kahlo drawing ablaze to promote his sale of digital versions of the rare 1944 artwork. The now non-existent work of Frida Kahlo was considered a national treasure in Mexico, landed Mobarak in hot water, and is being probed by officials in Mexico, according to the country’s National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature.
“I hope that everyone here can understand it; I hope everyone can see the positive side,” he said before taking the vibrant “Fantasmones Siniestros” from its frame and setting it alight in a martini glass full of fuel. Replacing this fine piece of art will be Mobarak’s 10,000 unique NFT copies of “Fantasmones Sinistros.” The sale will apparently benefit the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico, Coyoacan’s Frida Kahlo Museum, and several charities dedicated to medical care for children. “What we are going to do is change the lives of thousands of children,” Mobarak said. Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts begged to differ and launched an investigation into the destruction of the drawing.
“In Mexico, the deliberate destruction of an artistic monument constitutes a crime in terms of the federal law on archaeological, artistic, and historical monuments and zones. All the necessary information is currently being collected in order to establish with certainty that it was the destruction of an original work or a reproduction,” the institute said in a statement shared by The Sun. Amusingly, the Palace of Fine Arts had not received any donations from Mobarak or his company, Frida.NFT.
Is it ok to torch revered, physical artworks to make them a unique find on the Metaverse?
No matter where you go, remember where you came from. This adage is essential for those raring to make Metaverse their home and livelihood. A conceptual artist had blown up a $250,000 Lamborghini and turned the destroyed parts into a collection of 999 NFTs on the pretext of protesting crypto’s get-rich-quick culture. Burning something up against the idea of getting rich quickly only to sell NFTs and get rich quickly yourself is the whackiest NFT-related story in a long time. It only goes to show that people will stop at nothing, burning fine objects and artworks only to get attention from their rock-solid reputations and benefit from them, charred or not.
