Up to 23 million, apparently: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071115/ap_on_en_ot/art_auction
I normally leave this issue alone. Having my own artistic sensitivity, limited artmaking skill, and having made small profits from some of my past work, I am naturally hesitant to debate whether "art" should be bought and sold as commodity. I mean, who wouldn't want their big steel heart to sell for $23M? Your Clever Vision, Larger Than Life. Sounds fabulous.
But could you live with yourself (that is, once the laughter dies out)?
When I see things like this - especially because it's this particular artist -a part of me dies inside. He's made a career out of kitch, and it's not even all that creative. It was novel once, and he's the first one to be truly recognized for it, and whatever the statement was worth. But now that he's famous, his work must be "culturally significant" - worth every penny, right? Riiiight. That cold hollow heart really resonates inside my soul...how about you?
Despite whether you consider this work art, or merely the aftermath of an untrustworthy fart, there are other ripples in this puddle. For instance, maybe it's the sinister socialist in me - or just humanitarian leaning - but when I think about the fact that some fool decided to spend $23M for a hideously overdone "expression," rather than using that enormous wealth to, say, fund a disease research lab, or raise the standard of living in poor communities, or rebuild a crumbling city school, you can't help but want to scream. Well, I guess if you're me.
So why is this particular object worth so much? Some might be tempted to beat me over the head with the oft-repeated "because it's what the market will bear." Indeed, Adam Smith, you're obviously able to supress your shame. But if for a brief moment you can take a step outside market forces, I think you might also consider what that behavior tells you about the market. I know it's a slippery slope to try to moralize Capitalism, but should we not pause to consider our collective madness, from time to time?
That said, I have to end abruptly here, my publicity agent is calling. A 50-foot pumpkin pie sculpture made of 3 tons of felted wool - part of my "Home Cooked" series - has to be installed before Thanksgiving. I expect that's the auction announcement now...
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2 comments:
you'll be glad to know his last 'big' piece up for sale (blue diamond at Christie's) didn't sell as high as expected -- but it was a Koons record at the time. In the end his dealer bought it, which sounds like cheating to me. Hugh Grant sold an ugly Warhol for a lot of money too.
Anyhow the heart is a piece of crap. A dealer coming out of the sale said "one million is the new 10 grand."
Indeed, artificially maintaining the inflated value in the market. Dealer's got a vested interest, after all. The whole thing's a clever game...and the game's making a very small segment of society even richer. Koons should have stuck with the pornographic crap, it was at least more interesting to consider. But here we are talking about it, generating buzz, so I guess in the end, the joke's on us.
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