The setting: a garage sale on a sunny afternoon. Tables are lined with an array of goods; people peruse the wares. At a glance, it seems normal, as mundane as any other garage sale. Except this one is watched over by the PriceMaster, an otherworldly being serving as the physical manifestation of a single maxim: everything is for sale and you can’t buy any of it. Make him an offer.
That is the premise of The PriceMaster, a now-viral video that was filmed in Denton by a collective of artists in 2001. Less a narrative short than a surreal documentary of the PriceMaster art installation that was held on February 10 of that year, the video has cultivated a following in the decades since its release and become a cornerstone of Denton lore.
To honor the 25th anniversary of the original performance, the PriceMaster character (iconically dressed in a red balaclava with a golden mask, a silver jacket, and puffy red pants) will return to Denton on February 7 and 10 to take bids on his belongings and evaluate others’ property.
On the 7th, he will appear at UNT CoLab from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to “sell” items. On the 10th, a gathering will take place in Denton in the parking lot of Bewitched for a makeshift auction at 5:00 p.m. The PriceMaster will price items and bear witness as guests shout their own prices for products into a microphone. Eric Michener, performing as Fishboy, helped plan the event; he will play an original song inspired by the PriceMaster to mark the occasion…