Worth $2 million dollars? Pharrell Williams and Takashi Murakami's art collaboration sells within 20 minutes at Art Basel. Photo courtesy of LaForce + Stevens
The duo's collaboration, titled "The Simple Things," features a Murakami cartoon-like "monster" sculpture whose mouth contains seven of Pharrell's favorite things.
These simple pleasures of life include a Pepsi can, bottle of ketchup, bag of Doritos and Magnolia Bakery -- yes, from "Sex and the City" -- cupcake, all cast by jeweler to the stars Jacob & Co. in 18K gold and bejeweled with more than 26,000 emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and of course, diamonds.
It took Jacob & Co. two years to complete the project, which means the idea for the collaboration came about in 2007 before the economy tanked. Otherwise, the simple things may have been a whole lot simpler.
Still Pharrell's manifesto rings true, "The simplest things are the most essential to our lives and we rarely pay attention to them enough. [I'm] originally from Virginia and now lucky enough to travel the world. I always try to rediscover the tastes, smells and memories of the first time the world revealed itself to me."
Apparently, the art world agrees. The piece sold for more than $2 million within 20 minutes of its unveiling. Recession. What recession?