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Art is a scam. It's all about social connections. It's about who is able to fool or coerce the richest person through social networking.

tonyedgecombe 7y ago
There certainly seems to be a lot of bullshit going on.If you mention this you will just get criticised for not being enlightened enough. As to whether it's a bad thing that the super rich are getting fooled out of their money, well I'm fairly relaxed about that.
- lancesells 7y ago
  The super rich aren't getting fooled out of money. Many are investing in art just like they invest in stocks with the hopes that they'll be able to sell it at a profit or use it as equity. Others just love art and want to buy pieces they enjoy while others want to prove they've got the biggest dick in the room. Art is worth what the market will pay and clearly the market will pay more and more every year. Is it a bubble waiting to burst? Maybe, but it will come back over time and those artworks will be worth even more.
circlefavshape 7y ago
That's a very narrow definition of art. For every Rothko here are hundreds of amateur painters who do it for its own sake
barry-cotter 7y ago
The strongest interpretation of your argument, that the entire art market is a scheme to deprive rich fools of their money, with no role for taste and real differentiation of artistic worth is obviously untrue. Van Gogh May have known some other artists and gallerists but he sold more or less nothing during his lifetime. I’m confident there are other examples in fine art and god knows Banksy and Shepard Fairey didn’t come up out of a traditional fine art background either. A weaker form, that the art world is incredibly incestuous and that who you know is incredibly important is true, but it still doesn’t make the entire art world a scam. Artists and gallerists believe in what they’re doing. I presume most of the rich buying art are doing so in part based on personal taste too.
gdubs 7y ago
This is a criticism of the contemporary art market, but surely art itself is not a scam. As for the market, the film “Exit Through The Gift Shop” is one of the most brilliant skewerings of that system.
badpun 7y ago
Making money off art may be a scam. Art in itself however is not.

tonyedgecombe 7y ago

There certainly seems to be a lot of bullshit going on.If you mention this you will just get criticised for not being enlightened enough. As to whether it's a bad thing that the super rich are getting fooled out of their money, well I'm fairly relaxed about that.

lancesells 7y ago
The super rich aren't getting fooled out of money. Many are investing in art just like they invest in stocks with the hopes that they'll be able to sell it at a profit or use it as equity. Others just love art and want to buy pieces they enjoy while others want to prove they've got the biggest dick in the room. Art is worth what the market will pay and clearly the market will pay more and more every year. Is it a bubble waiting to burst? Maybe, but it will come back over time and those artworks will be worth even more.

circlefavshape 7y ago

That's a very narrow definition of art. For every Rothko here are hundreds of amateur painters who do it for its own sake

barry-cotter 7y ago

The strongest interpretation of your argument, that the entire art market is a scheme to deprive rich fools of their money, with no role for taste and real differentiation of artistic worth is obviously untrue. Van Gogh May have known some other artists and gallerists but he sold more or less nothing during his lifetime. I’m confident there are other examples in fine art and god knows Banksy and Shepard Fairey didn’t come up out of a traditional fine art background either. A weaker form, that the art world is incredibly incestuous and that who you know is incredibly important is true, but it still doesn’t make the entire art world a scam. Artists and gallerists believe in what they’re doing. I presume most of the rich buying art are doing so in part based on personal taste too.

gdubs 7y ago

This is a criticism of the contemporary art market, but surely art itself is not a scam. As for the market, the film “Exit Through The Gift Shop” is one of the most brilliant skewerings of that system.

badpun 7y ago

Making money off art may be a scam. Art in itself however is not.