Mexico investigates the destruction of a work by Frida Kahlo. The businessman Martin Mobarak burned the drawing Sinister Ghosts (1944), valued at 10 million dollars, on July 30 in Miami to digitize it, turn it into crypto art and revalue it. Now, the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (Inbal) has reported that it is compiling “all the necessary information, in order to establish with certainty” what happened.
The question, beyond the facts, is that there is a decree by which all the work of the Mexican artist was declared an artistic monument. In this sense, the entity recalls that in Mexico “the deliberate destruction of an artistic monument constitutes a crime in terms of the Federal Law on Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Monuments and Zones.”
According to the businessman’s own estimates, the NFTs will be purchased through ETH (Ethreum), a cryptocurrency with a value of 1,361 dollars, and each NFT will be sold for 3 ETH, with which he hopes to raise more than about 40 million dollars.
Mexican media pointed out days ago that some institutions could benefit from this action, such as the Frida Kahlo House Museum, the Palace of Fine Arts and the National School of Plastic Arts. Given this, the Inbal of Mexico denied in a statement that the venues of this Institute, such as the Palace of Fine Arts and/or the Palace Museum, will receive any donation from said collector. In addition, he recalled that the Bank of Mexico is a trustee in the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, “in its capacity as owner of the patrimonial rights of the works.”
He specified that the Inbal at all times “will abide by what is established” in the terms of the Federal Law on Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Monuments and Zones (LFMZAAH), its Regulations and the Decree “by which all the work of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo Calderón”.
Including easel work, graphic work, engravings and technical documents owned by the nation or private individuals, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on July 18, 1984.
