[intro]A$1.2 Billion is the Artist’s Price for His Work[/intro]

An Australian artist, Van Thanh Rudd, has taken a novel approach to pricing his work and, in the process, made the price an integral part of the piece which is a scorched Afghan car part:

Rudd says he examined the pricing strategies of the elite auction houses, Christies and Sothebys, but decided his work should be priced more realistically. He says instead of pricing which is based on an artist’s profile, he decided to ask for a figure which he thought reflected the art work’s message. […]

“All art must be priced and the price paid by victims of war is astronomical. So my price tag should reflect this,” he said. “I know it’s beyond reason to put $1.2 billion on this object, but everything out there in the global market place is extremely devoid of reason. The global recession is showing us this.”

Rudd says while he has not been approached by anyone willing to fork out $1.2 billion for the work, it has generated a lot of interest.

For Sale: $1.2B Used Car Part (ABC Online)