I'm sorry to report that she's not one of my Thorntons, alas. Smart stuff. The art market is just Wall Street derivatives in palpable (but not by the likes of filthy you) form. You could probably say the same about other manifestations of the rich lifestyle -- top-end wine, luxury travel, expensive automobiles, etc. -- but now that things like Vuitton and Chanel are associated more with ravenous Chinese tourists than with the trans-Atlantic elite, the hand-made uniqueness of the mega-dollar artwork, with every one of those mega dollars accounted for in loving brushstrokes, is the real way to separate out the hoi polloi. Nothing to do with art at all, of course.
But there has to be a way to write about it; nothing to do with art, but everything to do with the hungry money of the most vile people on the planet. There has to be a writer who can flay these people a little. That would make for interesting reading.
The Art market that is being discussed is simply a financial market. Real art news is taking place in regional settings away from the financial centers. There's always been room for more reporting about artists in their studios, new shows, galleries and the creative process. And to do this doesn't require a college degree. Matthew Kangas would be a good example of someone declaring themselves an art critic and then backing it up with actual reviews and commentary.
Courage is the key verb.
Seriously, the price of The Scream is worth more than certain African nations?
It's a fricking piece of canvas with some daubs of paint on it.
But there has to be a way to write about it; nothing to do with art, but everything to do with the hungry money of the most vile people on the planet. There has to be a writer who can flay these people a little. That would make for interesting reading.
Courage is the key verb.