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Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

The rabbit is code for some weird perversions and the 91 mil is probably hush money.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

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Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

I saw them in person, and must admit they are kind of amazing. At $91 million probably a little overpriced, but still amazing.


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Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

[QUOTE=rlitman;8698921]Jaeger-LeCoultre invented the self wind mechanism, AND the ball bearing required to make it work.[/QUOTE
it depends how you google the question. since i'm a consumer of the product i'll stick to mine

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

Originally Posted by JD1

Well said. I've always had issues with the saying "do what you love and the money will follow". That's not real life, it's just an emotion driven nice saying for someones wall plaque. Sometimes it actually happens but it's not an absolute truth.

Thank you, and you're absolutely right --- it's a very dumb saying. People only like it because it makes them feel all warm and fuzzy for a few minutes. 99% of folks don't do what they love for a living because they know they can't make a living at it. Heck, most folks don't even have something that they love to do.

We'll likely never know how this artist guy got his break. All we do know is that it was a long line of fortuitous events combined with a modicum of talent, and none of it would have been possible without wealthy folks giving him money.

Kudos to him. If any of you know some wealthy folks looking for some ironwork, feel free to point them in my direction. I'll even give you a finder's fee!!!

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

Originally Posted by VaughnT

From my own perspective, working as a blacksmith today pretty much sucks just as much as it did back in the 1500's. The average smith gets stuck trying to make ends meet, forging one simple wall hook after another because that's what sells to the average person. What ends up happening is that you don't have the time or energy or money to buy better tools, try new techniques, go to classes to learn new things.... because you're busy trying to find yet another average customer willing to pay $35 for a bottle opener instead of $2 for a mass-produced opener from the dollar store.

When you do luck into someone that'll buy $140 worth of stuff, that's a huge windfall that makes you giddy for days! I can't imagine someone saying they needed 30 pieces a month, every month, for a year or two. That kind of contract really opens the doors to bigger and better things because it's something you can bank on. Heck even a 10-piece contract is better than having to hunt down ten individual sales.

Well said. I've always had issues with the saying "do what you love and the money will follow". That's not real life, it's just an emotion driven nice saying for someones wall plaque. Sometimes it actually happens but it's not an absolute truth.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

Originally Posted by docwelder

don't go there with rolex. they were the inventors of the self wind mechanism. my submariner chronometer looses two seconds every couple months. imo worth every penny.

Jaeger-LeCoultre invented the self wind mechanism, AND the ball bearing required to make it work.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

We can laugh at the rich person who bought this, but the truth is that we very much need those rich people. Throughout history, it has been the wealthy who made it possible for craftsmen to advance their trades, stretching the technological boundaries.

We have cast iron rather commonplace today only because the wealthy patrons of old made it possible. During the Italian Renaissance, it was the competition between wealthy families that advanced creativity overall. The BBC did a very neat show called The Blacksmith's Tale where they showed how it all happened. You can find it on youtube.

From my own perspective, working as a blacksmith today pretty much sucks just as much as it did back in the 1500's. The average smith gets stuck trying to make ends meet, forging one simple wall hook after another because that's what sells to the average person. What ends up happening is that you don't have the time or energy or money to buy better tools, try new techniques, go to classes to learn new things.... because you're busy trying to find yet another average customer willing to pay $35 for a bottle opener instead of $2 for a mass-produced opener from the dollar store.

When you do luck into someone that'll buy $140 worth of stuff, that's a huge windfall that makes you giddy for days! I can't imagine someone saying they needed 30 pieces a month, every month, for a year or two. That kind of contract really opens the doors to bigger and better things because it's something you can bank on. Heck even a 10-piece contract is better than having to hunt down ten individual sales.

So, yea, I'm really glad for those folks with tons of money and a willingness to spend it. I just wish they'd come to my shop before they start hunting dumb rabbits!

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

Originally Posted by Hobbytime

you have to think like rich people, it doesnt matter what it is they buy or what it is worth to normal people, but in their elite circle all of them will know the idiot spent $91 million, that all that matters, just like a rolex watch, the rich will know how much it cost and couldnt care less if it kept good time, just that it was expensive, they have a warped sense of value, thats why this world is so screwed up...

don't go there with rolex. they were the inventors of the self wind mechanism. my submariner chronometer looses two seconds every couple months. imo worth every penny.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

Originally Posted by docwelder

i can't help but think the perpetrators of this so called art are laughing up their sleeves at the "connoisseurs" who purchase this crap. imo the late jackson pollock was the mastermind of the flim flam school of art.

I watched a video last year on different genres of art. Jackson Pollock was mentioned. To me it was completely laughable how his "work" was described in educated arty language making you feel like you were a uneducated low end redneck if you couldn't see what they were saying. Prime example of what I posted earlier.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

you have to think like rich people, it doesnt matter what it is they buy or what it is worth to normal people, but in their elite circle all of them will know the idiot spent $91 million, that all that matters, just like a rolex watch, the rich will know how much it cost and couldnt care less if it kept good time, just that it was expensive, they have a warped sense of value, thats why this world is so screwed up...

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

i can't help but think the perpetrators of this so called art are laughing up their sleeves at the "connoisseurs" who purchase this crap. imo the late jackson pollock was the mastermind of the flim flam school of art.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

here is another one from the same guy. I've always thought of myself as someone who likes art, but these, I just don't get.

Attachment 1701625

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

I did calculations.
At 42 inches tall, 6 inches thick and 12 inches wide, and taking out 1/2 that for curves, I estimated the volume at 24.7 liters. Pure gold weighs 19.2 kg per liter giving it a weight of 475 Kg (1045 pounds). At $41,032 per Kg, if it was pure gold it would only be worth around $20 million.
But it is stainless steel and if solid would weigh 198 kg (434 pounds). At a high rate of $2.19 per Kg, it is worth $433 for the materials.


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Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

a couple years ago i was in a Manhattan gallery and saw 5 pieces of free standing square and rectangular stock arranged to resemble a group of buildings. the pieces were straight out of the saw;going price 48 hundred bucks. not 91 mil but wtf? i don't get it and i'm glad

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

LOL. You can learn it, look at the stupidness that's being sold now - they developed the skills. Social engineering and slick, arty communication.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

I had plans to weld and grind out a $92 million sculpture, but JD1 discouraged me.


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Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

They don't offer a course on it because then that would remove the exotic aura the elite like to shroud their art it. How you get there is to immerse yourself in the art society, observe what others are doing to get famous no matter how hideous their work is, and imitate their program.

But you have to publicly appear to totally buy into it whether or not privately you know it's complete nonsense and that you're doing it for purely monetary reasons. Finding and getting high level connections is also key. You start with lower level ones and work your way up.

There's a particular way of talking you have to learn, kind of an educated arty way of talking about your work that you will pick up on as you buddy and party with the arty and gallery crowd. As a sculptor, my sister learned it, she was pretty good at it although she saw right through it. But it has to sound like you're real, they'll pick up on anything else in a heartbeat and shut you out.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

The important question is, how to you get people to believe your junk is now art and worth 91 million dollars. Do they offer courses in art college to accomplish that?


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Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

Originally Posted by bradleykd

Steve Wynn has a lot of Jeff Koons' pieces. You can see some much larger ones at the Wynn and Encore hotels in Las Vegas. He does great work. He may or may not be worth his salt as a welder, but he can sure grind perfectly!

He's not a welder nor a grinder. This article talks about his works and shows a similar one that was cast in stainless by the German fabrication firm Arnold. https://qz.com/235891/the-science-be...of-jeff-koons/

https://www.arnold.de/en/art#overview

Absolutely stupid prices have been paid for years for absurd nonsense that masquerades as "art". It's all in the marketing, how you talk and your connections and using that to become famous which then makes anything you touch be worth big bucks.

Since I graduated with a degree from noted art college many, many years ago one would think I would buy into the hype. But I don't. I have no patience for it.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

Just think, it may have been sold at an auction which means there were at least 2 bidders, likely more at least for a time.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

The emperor's new clothes.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

Steve Wynn has a lot of Jeff Koons' pieces. You can see some much larger ones at the Wynn and Encore hotels in Las Vegas. He does great work. He may or may not be worth his salt as a welder, but he can sure grind perfectly!

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

Hard to believe when you could buy paintings by
some of the old masters for fraction of that.

Re: We are welding the wrong stuff- $91 million rabbit!

That piece looks like a mylar balloon