RED Auction for AIDS Raises $40 Million Contemporary art has showed that it has a heart by raising more than $40 million to help fight AIDS in Africa. Bono, Damien Hirst, Sotheby’s, and Gagosian Gallery organized the (RED) auction on Valentine's day, where leading contemporary artists from around the world donated major works to auction for the cause.

Bono of U2 got the bidders in the mood with an a capella version of "All You Need is Love" to open the auction. The auction room was filled with a bunch of celebrities that included John McEnroe, Takashi Murakami, Martha Stewart, Queen Noor, Dennis Hopper, Michael Stipe, Helena Christensen, Liya Kebede, Russell Simmons, Brian Williams, Ziyi Zhang, and Christy Turlington.

Damien Hirst can now add the title of "philanthropist" to his resume as he gave seven works that made almost $20 million for the auction. He was also influential in getting so many notable artists to contribute major works to the show. The experience seems to have touched the artist as he says he won't be cynical for a while..

"It’s an amazing result, it’s not sunk in yet but it just shows you what you can do if you put your mind to it. I'm never going to be cynical ever again for a while. A big thank you and a million out of ten for all the artists who gave something. We've helped to change the world a little bit." Damien Hirst

The image in this post is a defaced Damien Hirst spot painting by Banksy called "Keep it Spotless". It's probably one of the better artist collaborations that I have seen. Big egos usually get in the way when two established artists lock horns to collaborate on a painting. The work sold for $1,870,000 USD which would make it an auction record for Banksy, but having the Hirst signature stamped on it would have been a BIG influence on the final price.

Here's a list of contemporary artists that gave work for the (RED) auction..

Albert Oehlen (1)
Andreas Gursky (1)
Angus Fairhurst (1)
Anish Kapoor (1)
Anselm Kiefer (1)
Antony Gormley (1)
Ashley Bickerton (1)
Banksy (2)
Banksy (defaced Hirst) (1)
Bernar Venet (1)
Bill Viola (1)
Carsten Höller (1)
Cecily Brown (2)
Chéri Samba (1)
Christo (1)
Chuck Close (2)
Damien Hirst (7)
David Bailey (1)
Douglas Gordon (1)
Ed Ruscha (1)
Elizabeth Peyton (1)
Francesco Clemente (1)
Fred Tomaselli (1)
Gabriel Orozco (1)
Gary Hume (1)
Gelitin (1)
Georg Baselitz (1)
Georges Lilanga di Nayama (1)
Ghada Amer (1)
Gregory Crewdson (1)
Guillermo Kuitca (1)
Haim Steinbach (1)
Hiroshi Sugimoto (1)
Howard Hodgkin (1)
Jake & Dinos Chapman (1)
Jasper Johns (1)
Jeff Koons (1)
Jenny Holzer (1)
Jim Lambie (1)
John Currin (1)
Julian Schnabel (1)
Keith Tyson (1)
Malick Sidibe (1)
Marc Newson (1)
Marc Quinn (2)
Matthew Barney (1)
Michael Craig-Martin (1)
Michael Joo (2)
Nigel Cooke (1)
Paul & Damon McCarthy (1)
Rachel Howard (1)
Rachel Whiteread (1)
Raymond Pettibon (1)
Richard Prince (1)
Robert Rauschenberg (3)
Sam Taylor-Wood (1)
Sarah Lucas (1)
Sean Scully (1)
Seydou Keîta (1)
Sir Peter Blake, R.A. (1)
Subodh Gupta (1)
Tadao Ando (1)
Takashi Murakami (1)
Thomas Demand (1)
Tim Noble & Sue Webster (1)
Tom Friedman (1)
Tracey Emin (1)
Willem de Kooning (2)
Yinka Shonibare MBE (1)

See The Global Fund, Join (RED), Sotheby's, and Gagosian websites for more on the RED conteomporary art auction.
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