Collectible art is work bought partly for love and partly for the knowledge that few others can own it, and a handmade singing-bird automaton qualifies completely. Kolb’s pieces are scarce, labor-intensive and priced accordingly, which reframes the feud’s central prop: not a toy with a shocking tag, but a sculpture with a waiting audience. That context does not settle who behaved badly in Brooklyn, but it explains the stakes both sides felt.
(Stephen Schester / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain))
Mentioned in: A Singing Bird, a $15,000 Price Tag and a Very Public Spat: What Kelly Clarkson’s Shop Feud Says About Fame