Cards Against Humanity, the card game made famous for its irreverence, reportedly threatened to slice up an original work by Pablo Picasso by using a laser to slice the 1962 linocut into 150,000 1.5-mm. squares.
The Chicago Tribune reported that the company will take a vote from its 150,000 subscribers on whether the “Tete de Faune” should be donated to the Art Institute of Chicago or cut up. The company declined to comment in the article, but pointed out that a similar piece of art sold for $22,000.
CNET.com reported that the vote will take place between Dec. 28 and Dec. 31. If enough fans vote "thumbs down," the linocut gets blasted.
The company, a 2010 Kickstarter, has a history of high-profile purchases. It bought an island off Maine called “Hawaii 2” and once raised money to give Chinese factory workers who produce the card game a week off from work, the report said.
Mark Winter, the director of Art Experts, an art appraisal company in New York, said he has dealt with thousands of clients who have different reasons for purchasing an work of art.
Some love the art while others treat artwork like a second home they never visit and simply find comfort knowing it's their property. There are even some rare cases where the buyer has signs of showing a "certain lunacy" for a painting that they purchase the work because they decided the "artwork should go."
"I don't know what the motive is here, perhaps it is a publicity stunt," he said.
Slate, however, downplayed the company's "stunt," saying it is not worth our energy to get upset about.
"Tête de Faune is “an original 1962 Picasso” print—one of a run of 50 signed lino-cuts. The Art Institute of Chicago would stick it in the basement and barely send you a thank-you note," the article said.
Edmund DeMarche contributed to this report
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