This overfed, over-monied art world, Saltz explained, was a self-replicating machine: people think that “the art market is so smart that it only buys the best work…[but in reality]…the art market is so dumb that it buys anything other people are buying.”
[…]Prince, he suggested, “invented a dangerous idea and packaged himself for the corporate boardroom.” He posited that the major premise of Prince’s art was appropriation, and that it was “the idea that ate the art world.”
via NYFA Current saw it on Conscientious.
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The Photo Art world is slowly falling apart (much like the economy). People are realising that this is all “Emperor’s New Clothes” and are calling this scene out for the fake that it is.
And about time too.
Until someone does show touting “Fake is the new Real”. It will be fabulous. It will get great reviews, it will be copied, and the cycle starts over again….
So, how do collector print prices enter into this fray? For instance, Joel Meyerowitz’s prints range in price from $8,000 to $24,000 according to size.
It used to be that a photo was a photo -HCB selling for $2500 before he died. (normal size-about 10×15)
Is it size? The words “limited edition collector…?”
Art World has always been such a trendy and vain thing for collectors and those who ordered works from people they thought that would be the next hype. Public taste and tendencies for instance made Tiepolos Baroc-Paintings look silly when people thought the new Classicism would be the hype; his last days were kind of lousy, his succes decreased. Only a distance of at least a few centuries will separate the wheat from the chaff. SO, nothing new for todays market, even if new media artists like photographers are struggling for their raison d’etre. Please, leave this hysterical scepticism to those who don’t believe in the self-regulating power of art world.
There was a time when artists came from a place of varied influence.
I remember the 80’s when multimedia was gaining momentum and artist were conjuring new and innovative ways to tie together past, present, future ideas.
Risky ideas. Ideas fueled by passion and music and drugs and real life. A time when music videos influenced painters and painters influenced writers who influenced movie makers who influenced photographers who influenced musicians……. etc etc.
It seems that everything got so saturated. Art became glam with money and prestige. Artist are no longer artists for the work they do, but rather who they know. A gallery owner is throwing any thing up on the walls. I am sure somewhere there is a gallery with stock photography being showcased .
I don’t think I ever heard, until the past decade, a new movie, or artist, or musician being touted as “The next so and so” as a means of promotion.
I saw an ad for a film claiming that it was “The next Breakfast Club, or Fast Times” or something.
What ever happened to being “The first”, the art world is a sham only surpassed in its mediocrity by the magazine publishing world and the music industry.
A shameful lot who no longer care about setting the pace, debuting new ideas or work, just cashing in on safe robotic drones who are eager to make some money and get famous.
@Blue, good point, the problem as much else is the money its self. If artist dont have to or dont want to think about that, just trying to make good art…..not being super self promo advertisers….
… same old, same old … money makes the world go round …
I was reading the other day that Robert Frank got bored.
It happens.
Until it doesn’t.
p.s. The second link in this story doesn’t seem to be working, maybe double check?
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