World renown street artist Banksy sold spray-paint artwork on canvass outside of Central Park this weekend.  He had a video to capture the activity around his stall.  The catch, the works were signed in an space that was not immediately visible and he employed a random New Yorker to handle all sales.

Are the buyers art connoisseurs who have an eye for remarkable talent?  Were these viewed as trinkets from a random New York street vendor?  If the artwork had been marketed as signed by Banksy would it have been sold in mere minutes for hundreds (or more) of dollars?  Would buyers of the authenticated signed artwork been purchasing for the art or the prestige?  If the artwork itself does not change but the perceived value changes when we learn the name of the artist, are we investing in the art or the artists?  How many artists are showing world class work daily and cannot make a sale because their reputation is unknown?  Does the reputation make it safe to transact?  It make me wonder if people are investing in me as a person or my work?  Does my reputation carry more weight than my performance?  And who is investing on the edges in the unknown and the undiscovered?