Jul 29, 2019 06:00:00

What is a 'certificate system' like the joke of a masked artist 'Bankcy', in which graffiti is awarded for 100 million yen?

by

carnagenyc

Masked artist Banksy is known for his unique behavior, such as graffiti in the Gaza Strip in Palestine, creating a dismal ' Disma Land' that dislikes Disneyland, and committing paintings after an auction bid. The 'certificate system' that proves Banksy's work is also unique as one Banksy work.

RepRage-How Banksy Authenticates His Work
https://rephrage.com/post/how-banksy-authenticates-his-work

The masked artist Banksy, whose graffiti is won for over 100 million yen, can be copied easily because of the nature of the work using stencil techniques. As a result, when works were sold online, Banksy quickly became a target for counterfeit sales.

Paintings and art are subject to forgery issues, and real proofs usually include a gallery or the like, which says 'This is a real work.' However, Banksy's proficiency is even more difficult, with the property of being a masked artist. So Banksy's action was to create a non-profit company called 'Pest Control' and sell the work under his own control.

Banksy's work can be issued for a £ 65 certificate, according to writer Will Ellsworth-Jones , and the certificate has a fake bill on which the face of late Diana was printed. That's right. The counter note is marked with an ID, which matches the ID written on the other half of the counter held by Pest Control.

This is the actual certificate.

Diana's fake tag was created by Banksy in 2004, and it is written 'Bankcy of England' where it was originally written as 'Bank of England'. This counterfeit bill is also stored at the British Museum.

Banksy fake banknote artwork joins British Museum collection | Art and design | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/feb/01/banksy-donates-fake-bank-note-artwork-to-the-british-museum

At the bottom of the embossed certificate is a signature, which can be easily forged. What is important is the end of the bill. The other half of the pieces attached to the certificate are stored in Pest Control, and only the Pest Control staff can know if the cut matches. In other words, this is the role of the secret key .

On the other hand, the piece attached to the certificate plays the role of public key encryption , can be easily delivered, and it is easy for Pest Control to confirm whether the certificate is genuine. There is no reason to know what kind of information is recorded in the private key held by Pest Control, but it should be sufficient for Pest Control to know who has the work. This system is a very good one that seems to have involved people who are familiar with encryption.

For example, suppose someone forged a certificate containing Banksy's work and Diana's 10 pound bill. If a person who wants to purchase a piece contacts Pest Control and makes a ' ownership change request ', Pest Control will contact the recorded owner. As the real owner knows nothing about the existence of the counterfeit works, they should be confused as to whether their own works have been sold by themselves. The certificate system is a Banksy piece, with its own irony and jokes that are common to Banksy's whole work.