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Weird coincidence. Just today I was reading about South Korean artist Lee Ufan who in another very rare case concerning authentication of his work decided that

Weird coincidence. Just today I was reading about South Korean artist Lee Ufan who in another very rare case concerning authentication of his work decided that 13 paintings in an investigation are indeed his—even after a forger was arrested and confessed to having painted them himself. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-a-forger-confessed-to-faking-millions-in-lee-ufan-works-now-the-artist-says-they-re-real https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-a-forger-confe...

TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
That's hilarious. I suppose the next step is for an artist to "authenticate" works s/he couldn't possibly have created and which aren't even in question.
- sitkack 10y ago
  I routinely claim authorship of natural objects, like a cool summer breeze, "I made that." Related, lots of artists make forgeries of their own work.
- B1FF_PSUVM 10y ago
  I take it you're not up on the 1917 news, about that Duchamp character who bought a hardware store urinal, laid it horizontal and exhibited it as 'Fountain'? The more I look at it, the more I find the whole modern art ecosystem similar to bitcoin: abstrusely useless work arbitrarily attributed value by consensus, used for portable and state-independent storage of money.
  - simonh 10y ago
    > ...abstrusely useless work arbitrarily attributed value by consensus I can't recommend 'Modern Art' highly enough. It's a card game by Reiner Knizia in which the players bid up the value of art works by various fictional artists. It's a classic and a firm family favourite of ours.
fsloth 10y ago
Not really that strange. Famous painters (at least rembrandt) were walt disneys of their time. they had workshops with lots of assistants who did the gruntwork and they assisted, oversaw and signed the works. So, one could argue this is in the same tradition - the artist recognizes that the works follow his methods and are so well executed that he will gladly sign them. There really is no difference in cartoons and traditional art in the sense that both are essentially works of formulaic conception. Cartoons make the formula simple and explicit, whereas in traditional painting the formulas are a bit more complex. http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/research/online-editions/17th-century-dutch-paintings/essay-issues-attribution-rembrandt.html http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/research/online-editions/1...

TheOtherHobbes 10y ago

That's hilarious. I suppose the next step is for an artist to "authenticate" works s/he couldn't possibly have created and which aren't even in question.

sitkack 10y ago
I routinely claim authorship of natural objects, like a cool summer breeze, "I made that." Related, lots of artists make forgeries of their own work.
B1FF_PSUVM 10y ago
I take it you're not up on the 1917 news, about that Duchamp character who bought a hardware store urinal, laid it horizontal and exhibited it as 'Fountain'? The more I look at it, the more I find the whole modern art ecosystem similar to bitcoin: abstrusely useless work arbitrarily attributed value by consensus, used for portable and state-independent storage of money.
- simonh 10y ago
  > ...abstrusely useless work arbitrarily attributed value by consensus I can't recommend 'Modern Art' highly enough. It's a card game by Reiner Knizia in which the players bid up the value of art works by various fictional artists. It's a classic and a firm family favourite of ours.

fsloth 10y ago

Not really that strange. Famous painters (at least rembrandt) were walt disneys of their time. they had workshops with lots of assistants who did the gruntwork and they assisted, oversaw and signed the works. So, one could argue this is in the same tradition - the artist recognizes that the works follow his methods and are so well executed that he will gladly sign them. There really is no difference in cartoons and traditional art in the sense that both are essentially works of formulaic conception. Cartoons make the formula simple and explicit, whereas in traditional painting the formulas are a bit more complex. http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/research/online-editions/17th-century-dutch-paintings/essay-issues-attribution-rembrandt.html http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/research/online-editions/1...