'The Most Expensive GIF of All Time'

'The Most Expensive GIF of All Time' Is Being Sold for $5,800

“An artist considers the value of art that is not an object—making a point, if not a sale.”

Megan Garber’s article questions and suggests what digital art is and what it is worth through studying Michael Green's digital GIF of Jeff Koon's iconic “Balloon Dog” deflating, titled (“Balloon Dog Deflated”). Assigning monetary value to an art piece has always been a tricky and controversial process within the art world. With the addition of digital art in more recent history, how is one supposed to figure out how to price art that isn’t necessarily physically tangible, and can, or should, this new art form be valued at the same prices as fine art?

Jeff Koon's sculpture was sold for $58.4 million, making it the most expensive art piece sold by a living artist. This “Ironic reworking” of the giant balloon dog statue is not only Greens creation and individual artwork but it is more importantly, a comment on creativity within the art world as well as highlighting a somewhat unique topic within digital art which is that all art pieces are reworked and reused in this medium, constantly. Green’s price of $5,800 would also be a comment on how art's value is decided and how work is actually being done by the artist, aka does the work put into the piece by the artist actually determine monetary value.

In the case of both Koon's and Green’s works the answer would be no, giving Green the right to price his piece however he wanted. While Green’s GIF didn’t sell for his original asking price, it is still a very interesting social experiment for this ever-growing community.