Artist David Sabastian turned a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art into a brazen protest against what he called the “absurdity” of the Met Gala. His prank involved a crayon drawing, a hidden Bluetooth speaker, an accomplice, and recorded “sex noises.”

On Sunday, Sabastian and the accomplice entered the Upper East Side institution with the artwork and speaker concealed as part of their plan. The speaker was hidden inside a baby carriage that they pushed through the museum.

 

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The pair eventually reached the area where Sabastian intended to display his work. According to video of the stunt, his accomplice then loudly played the recorded noises from the Bluetooth speaker to attract the attention of security.

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The distraction worked according to plan, with security rushing to investigate the raunchy sounds coming from the stroller. While museum staff focused on the carriage and its explicit recording, Sabastian moved ahead with his part of the prank.

He hung his piece, titled “The Met 2028,” on an empty spot inside the museum. The artwork was placed on the wall while security remained occupied with the deliberately disruptive audio elsewhere in the institution.

The crayon drawing takes aim at Vogue’s famed annual event and the spectacle surrounding it. Sabastian depicted celebrities ascending the familiar Met staircase, a location seen by millions through coverage of the gala.

On the other side of crowd control barriers in the drawing, citizens are shown clashing with riot police. That contrast between the celebrities and the conflict outside the gates forms the central message of Sabastian’s piece.

“A-list celebrities prancing while the world outside the museum gates is collapsing,” he said. His description directly reflected the two scenes that he placed together in the crayon artwork.

Sabastian said the point of the piece was to illustrate the “absurdity of it all,” sharpening his criticism of the gala and its celebrity display. He deliberately chose a simple artistic material to push the joke even further.

The artist said he used crayons “to make it extra ridiculous.” The intentionally crude medium added another mocking layer to a work already designed as a visual attack on the gala’s spectacle.

Despite the unconventional installation and noisy distraction that enabled it, “The Met 2028” remained on display into the following day. The piece was still hanging inside the museum as of 11 a.m. on Monday.

Sabastian also posted video showing security examining his work after he had attached it to the wall. The footage documented staff checking out the unexpected addition following the stroller distraction and the installation.

 

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“The Met Museum is a great platform to bring attention and awareness to the world,” Sabastian told Page Six. His decision to use the institution itself as the location therefore became part of the message he wanted to deliver.

The artist does not intend for the Met stunt to be his final unauthorized installation. He plans to follow it with installations in multiple cities, although no specific cities or dates were identified.

Sabastian also compared his approach to that of pseudonymous artist Banksy, but with a comic qualification about his appearance. “I’m like Banksy, but bald,” he said while discussing what comes next.

Unlike Banksy, who has never confirmed his identity, Sabastian said he has no interest in remaining hidden from public view. He wants his face and identity to be connected with his art and his stunts.

“I’m not Batman. I want you to see me,” Sabastian said. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Museum of Art did not comment on the prank, the distraction, or the crayon artwork hanging inside the museum.

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