© Scheltens & Abbenes
06
jackass
butt x-ray
2002
Unique Piece
35 x 42 x 16 cm (X-Ray lightbox)
70 x 71 x 36 cm (Pedestal)
X-ray film with lightbox
Certificate
Framed
Estimate
€ 50.000,00 - € 70.000,00
Provenance
From the Aernoud Bourdrez collection
the story
A notorious work of art. When the definition of photography is the art, application and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a lightsensitive material, why not regard an X-ray made after a performative concept as photograph. Ryan Dunn (R.I.P.) will always be remembered for his climatic sequence from 2002’s Jackass: The Movie in which he shocks and appalls an unsuspecting doctor and his staff when they take an X-ray of his abdomen to discover that there’s a matchbox car stuck in his rectum. Bourdrez: In my life I have seen things that made me think, “What the hell is this?” Jackass is one of those things. When I watched Jackass: The Movie, I thought: “I got to have this X-ray. Not only is it a capture of briljant television, as a lawyer, I specialise in copyright law and Dunn’s X-ray is an unique piece in that context. X-ray scans aren’t normally protected by copyright law, either elevated to art, but this one is.” Back in 2007, Bourdrez exchanged the X-ray showing a toy car inside Dunn’s rectum for an oldtimer Mercedes car. This creative way of acquiring a work, was not that easy... The customs held the car back and a second car needed to be sent. A website accompanies the work of art to share the story of the making of and how the acquisition took place. www.buttxray.com
The X-Ray will be auctioned including the museum showcase.
Condition report