On November 7th, an art piece featuring a golden retriever smiling titled "Neko" has been sold for $1,250,000 USD. Although this may not be the most unusual art piece to be sold for a ridiculously high price. An art piece that looks like a child's scribbles being sold for 7 figures is unheard of. The artist, who wished to remain anonymous, told reporters that "Art should be simple. It should be something anyone can create. Art isn't to be gatekept, but to be enjoyed by young, old, sick, healthy, tall, short, fat..."
Multiple debates have been spawning online on various social media platforms such as Tiktok and Instagram to share their thoughts and opinions. One user stated, "So if my kid drew a stickman, we should be able to sell it for a million bucks" Others have questioned the state of Capitalism that we are in where the rich get richer off the most minimal and useless work, while blue collar workers make nearly nothing.
Over at Techwire, multiple employees have also started to question the art piece, is it truly just a simple cat painting or is this a sinister money laundering operation sliding right under everyone's noses. Because, truly, why would anyone in their right mind spend over $1M on a drawing my 6 year old could make.
Neko (ねこ or 猫) is the Japanese word for cat. Depending on the context, the term can refer to several different subjects.