Sold! A R24 000 painting by . . . PIGCASSO
HER genre is abstract expressionism. Her works have been sold to art collectors in the US, Germany and Wales.
Not bad for a girl who could have ended up on somebody’s plate as breakfast.
Pigcasso, a 10-month-old rescue pig, has saved her bacon by earning her owner, Joanne Lefson, more than R40 000 with a porcine talent for painting.
Lefson and the 200kg porker are celebrating this week after the pig’s latest work, an abstract acrylic on canvas, sold for R24 000 to a couple from Wales.
Last month a German art collector paid R12 700 for a work called T’Bone, and Gerry, a mini-pig that lives in New Jersey, picked out a R4 000 ink on canvas — Pigcasso Black — with the help of his owner, Peter Gargiulo.
Lefson, who runs the Franschhoek Farm Sanctuary — an organisation that rescues farm animals and draws attention to animals raised on factory farms — bought the piglet and her less-talented sister, Rosie, in May last year.
“By rights she was destined to be the filling on a sandwich. But Pigcasso showed talent from the outset when she picked up a paintbrush instead of a ball,” said Lefson.
“She is an abstract expressionist and like most artists very temperamental. She will paint in the early morning and the evenings but prefers to sleep in between.”
After a draining creative session, the pig naps for up to eight hours.
“Pigcasso loves to eat, in fact she eats everything she sees,” said Lefson. “But as a treat after she’s done a painting, she is rewarded with caramel popcorn and glucose to replace her energy.”
Demand for the pink prodigy’s work is growing. Her works are signed swine style, by placing her snout in beetroot juice and pressing it against the completed work.
“She has developed a taste for it,” said Lefson. “We go through a lot of beetroot juice at the moment of signing.”
One thing she hasn’t eaten is her paint brushes. “She cherishes her brushes as prized possessions.”
On the website pigcasso.myshopify.com, art lovers are invited to invest in an original ranging from $850 (about (R11 140) to $1 750. A print fetches $70.
Louise Macnab, an attorney in New York, became aware of Pigcasso’s work through media reports and fell in love with her brush strokes and colours. She has hung her piece, a small early work, in her bedroom.
“I find [it] aesthetically very pleasing; it’s a beautiful piece of modern art in its own right. If I didn’t genuinely like the painting I wouldn’t have bought it.”
Gargiulo said he saw the work that Gerry chose via the internet as an investment.
“Gerry will pass it down to any of his piggy friends and future generations. Pigcasso is not only a very lucky pig, but a very talented one. It is sad to think of how many other pigs are slaughtered, who may have hidden talents like Pigcasso.”
Lefson hopes Pigcasso will make consumers think about the plight of pigs on factory farms and inspire them “to make kinder, more compassionate choices”.
It is sad to think of how many other pigs are slaughtered who may have hidden talents