Drinks flow. Mariachi band is playing. The crowd cheered. A $10 million painting by Frida Kahlo caught fire.
It was at a special event on July 30 at Miami Palace hosted by Martin Mubarak, a Mexican art collector and cryptocurrency trader who has lived in South Florida for 20 years. Mubarak, who is seen in the video wearing a jacket with a photo of Kahlo lying on his back, claims he burned the original parts to launch Frida.NFT, an NFT collection for children's medical charities and other groups. Now Mexico's top cultural authorities are claiming he committed the crime.
"What we are doing today will change the lives of thousands of children," Mubarak said in the video produced by Frida.NFT. "I hope everyone here understands that."
But art lovers and connoisseurs in Mexico and abroad do not understand this. The Mexico Daily Post reported that in the months following the party, photos of the burned artwork circulated online, sparking outrage.
The video arrived at Mexico's National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL), which announced on September 26 that it was investigating whether Mubarak had committed a federal crime by destroying Kahlo's original artwork, or whether he actually burned the fake. The work of Kahlo, the famous Mexican artist who died in 1954, is considered a national treasure.
In 1984, Inbal officially designated Kahlo's work an "artistic monument".
"In Mexico, the intentional destruction of artifacts is a crime under federal antiquities, archeology, art and historic land laws," Inbal said in a statement.
The Frida Kahlo Museum in Cayucana also issued a statement condemning Mubarak's actions and raising potential legal challenges. In a statement, the museum noted that Kahlo's husband, artist Diego Rivera, had established an irrevocable trust to run the museum and own all of her and Kahlo's work. The statement stated that the fund did not authorize or license the reproduction of Kahlo's work as an NFT.
"[The Museum] disapproves of any intention to support the Museum due to the alleged destruction of our country's cultural heritage, as well as with any connection to the complex and its activities," read a statement. .
Mubarak said he owned and burned "Fantasmones Siniestros", a surreal 9" x 6" ink and watercolor sketch that he drew in his diary in 1944. The piece is an odd blend of monstrous creatures with fish, brooms, birds, and phrases. "evil spirit is here".
Mary Ann Martin, a leading Latin American art dealer, told VICE World News that she had sold the painting twice: once to a foundation in 2004 and another to a private collector in 2013. sold it to Mubarak or having done so had heard of it to date. . "Everything was terrible," Martin told VICE.
Mubarak told the Herald that he bought the painting from a private collector in 2015.
During a boisterous party, complete with a DJ, fashion show and an artist dancing on a pole, Mubarak unveiled a framed photo of the crowd from a protective box. Then he removed the frame, took the design out of colored paper and placed it in a large martini glass.
As the picture lit up, the mariachi band played the Mexican classic " Cilito Lindo ".
Video viewers cheered, although online viewers were less than impressed. One person commented on the YouTube video: "Art is private and this? It's of no value, hopefully some hacker has stolen it."
Creating an NFT does not require destroying the original physical artwork. However, Mubarak told the Herald that he had his reasons.
Mubarak grew up near the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico and has always been admired by renowned artists. He said he believed the film Fantasmones Siniestros reflected Kahlo's physical and spiritual pain. Burning it, he said, symbolically "releases the pain."
According to Frida.NFT, proceeds from the sale of NFT will be donated to several charities and arts, including the Children's Craniofacial Society, the Frida Kahlo Museum, and the Mexican Palace of Fine Arts, all managed by INBAL. (In a statement, Inbal said he would not accept donations from Mubarak. The Frida Kahlo Museum also said it would not accept donations from him.)
Mubarak said he was very interested in supporting children's health charities. When she gave birth to one of her twins with a congenital condition, she recalled that she was experiencing financial difficulties. Now he wants to help poor families.
Mubarak sold 10,000 NFT designs on the Ethereum blockchain for 3 ETH, about $4,000 each. Total sales will be $40 million.
"I am a fan of Frida. She has suffered a lot of physical, mental and spiritual suffering." "I used this thumbnail to do something really nice that makes you happy."
Mubarak said he expected a reaction and criticism. Eventually, he believes, organizations like INBAL and the general public will understand "the essence of what I do". After converting the burned image to NFT, Mubarak said he "saved it in every sense of the word".
When asked about critics who suspected he had burned the original image, he answered the question.
- How do they know I don't know?
This story was produced in collaboration with Journalism Funding Partners, a scholarship program for independent journalists funded by the Perez Family Foundation. The Miami Herald maintains complete editorial control over this work.
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