Thursday, February 11, 2010

Polaroids for Sale

Only two months after federal court found Minnesota businessmen Tom Petters guilty of orchestrating a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme, the news came that Polaroid (one of several companies Petters owns), is forced to to sell a portion of its very unique collection in order to pay off creditors. The New York Times has thefull story that Gene Rebeck, of Twin Cities Business Magazine shared on his Twitter page today.

Apparently, Petters bought Polaroid in 2005 with proceeds he allegedly derived from a Ponzi scheme he ran. Not Cool, Mr. Petters. Not cool at all. Polaroid cannot be happy with how the events unraveled, since they clearly had no knowledge of their owner's 'financial arrangements." On the other hand, there are those who might benefit from this mess. Art collectors will surely rush to the auction (scheduled at Sotheby's in New York on June 21 and 22) to get unique prints made by artists such as Ansel Adams, Chuck Close, Andy Warhol and Robert Mapplethorpe. According to Close, “There’s really nothing like it in the history of photography. To sell it is criminal.”

For six days before the auction Sotheby’s plans to put the images on public view in an exhibition expected to take up its entire York Avenue headquarters. Here are a few images from the collection:

Hm, does this mean Gaga still has her job as Polaroid's creative director??



Submitted by @marrina.

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