Question

the famous british street artist banksy burst onto the graffiti scene in the 1990s with a unique combination of serious and humorous imagery. his graffiti art often has powerful political and social messages, usually anti - war and anti - establishment. but banksy also uses humor; he once climbed into the penguin enclosure in the london zoo and wrote, \were bored of fish,\ in seven - foot - high letters.
text 2
although banksy began his career as a graffiti artist, tagging buildings and street signs, he once pulled off what has been called the biggest prank in art history. one of his paintings, girl with balloon, sold for over one million british pounds in 2018. as soon as it was sold, though, it began to pass through a shredder secretly installed in its frame. the shredder destroyed half of the painting and left observers dumbfounded. banksy later said that the entire painting was supposed to be destroyed.
which sentence best combines the main, or central, ideas of both texts?
known both as a serious activist and a humorous prankster, the graffiti artist banksy once created a valuable painting that began shredding itself as soon as it was sold.
the banksy painting girl with balloon was sold for over one million british pounds in 2018, but then it passed through a shredder in its frame, completely destroying itself.
the artist banksy is widely known for producing humorous political artwork on the sides of office buildings and art galleries.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

1. First option: Text 1 says Banksy is a serious activist (political/social messages) and humorous prankster (zoo incident, art prank like shredding). It also mentions the "Girl with Balloon" shredding. This combines both texts' main ideas (his dual nature and the prank with the painting).
2. Second option: Only focuses on the "Girl with Balloon" incident from Text 2, ignoring Text 1's info about his activism and humor.
3. Third option: Only mentions his humorous political artwork, ignoring the prank with the painting from Text 2.

Answer:

Known both as a serious activist and a humorous prankster, the graffiti artist Banksy once created a valuable painting that began shredding itself as soon as it was sold.