Gosh. I get it. I have pulled off a number of pranks that I viewed as "performance art." Some were well received, others pissed off everyone around me and were not seen as my "art." My family would be happy to complain in your ear just for a small modicum of retribution. It's been worth it though, I love blurring the line between what is regarded as precious, legit, having cred and what is something trumped up, pulled out of the *ss or simply bad taste. Trust me, if you knew me you'd know I get you.
But know this a-hole: as a close friend of the artist it was painful observing him attempt to put the very real events into perspective and not be angry or bitter, two things that don't come naturally for him. The timing was total shit personally and professionally. For those of us around him we were at a loss to know what to say and when to say it. If you "make art," if you own art, instruments, books, things that you like a lot, that one or a few of which you hold dear in your world, you might have a small sense of how it felt to lose those paintings.
Calling bullshit on your actual bullshit shit.