The popular British street artist, known as Banksy, was quickly becoming the most famous graffiti artist in the world and after his latest stunt, he has gained worldwide notoriety.

One of Banksy's more famous works, "Girl with Balloon", went up for auction recently, but Banksy had built a bit of a surprise into the frame if the piece was ever auctioned.  Banksy didn't want his art to be put up for auction so he built a contraption that would shred the painting the instant it was auctioned.

On Friday, Sotheby's put the painting up for auction and it sold for $1.4 Million.  Seconds after the gavel was struck, the painting started to slide through the frame, across a series of blades and was completely shredded.  Banksy posted a video on his Instagram yesterday with an explanation on why he did it.

The funny thing about this stunt is that after the crowd was horrified at the shredding, it is now being said that the painting may have just doubled in worth to almost $3 Million.  So, whoever made that purchase was probably angry at first, but then very very happy.

Banksy has street art all across the world, from London to New York and even in Detroit.  Next time you are in the Motor City, be sure to go on the hunt for some of his pieces on the sides of dilapidated buildings.

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