Writing for The Guardian

I have several questions regarding the provided context below. I hope someone can help me.

1. Does "As Michael McNay, writing for The Guardian, noted" mean

a. As Michael McNay in an article for The Guardian noted

or

b. As Michael McNay, who also wrote for The Guardian, noted?

2. Does "this gesture" mean "the action of the person who who threw a pot of black paint over one of the posters"?

3. Does "and perhaps conferred an aura to the work by default" mean "and perhaps it added a new layer of meaning to this art project"?

4. Does "It certainly transpired that Levine, despite his earlier critiques of art and commerce, was able to price his posters at £50,000, on the basis that they were limited edition screen prints." mean "the action of throwing color over one of Levin's posters revealed the fact that Levin attempted to sell his posters for £50,000"? But how can such an act reveal such a hidden intention?

5. Does "acquired radical potential " mean "acquired radical meaning"?

Context:

The depth of feeling behind the negative responses that the campaign provoked can be gauged not only from complaints received, but also in the fact that the hoarding company, London and Provincial tried to renege on their posting contract, and from the hostile behaviour of one member of the public, who threw a pot of black paint over one of the posters near the Elephant and Castle in London. As Michael McNay, writing for The Guardian, noted, this gesture seemed to reverse Ruskin’s libellous statement about Whistler throwing a pot of paint into the public’s face and perhaps conferred an aura to the work by default. It certainly transpired that Levine, despite his earlier critiques of art and commerce, was able to price his posters at £50,000, on the basis that they were limited edition screen prints. The introduction of this sort of pricing seems to be a far cry from the philosophy that underpinned the Disposables and, although Levine’s billboard posters acquired radical potential by temporarily mimicking advertisements, this sort of price tag demonstrates that their ultimate destiny was that of a collectible work of art. This raises questions about how far Levine’s claims that his billboards functioned as advertisements were realised.