It’s always been thus. Take Nero’s Golden House & giant statue built at colossal cost while Rome’s underclass & slave population lived in the gutter. I don’t have a problem with the object itself, but I do with the obscene money paid for it which could otherwise have been used to do some good. Unless the “artist” or receiver of the proceeds has a conscience - I believe Banksy may be such an exception.
I worked for Sotheby’s in London thru the 80’s, it was fun & fascinating for a while particularly seeing hard-up & financially desperate owners bring in real “finds” which sold off the scale, like winning the lottery. Delivering the news was priceless, pun intended. But the nausea rose to an unsustainable level (for me) seeing super-rich buyers drop millions on a whim for stuff with zero artistic merit - just another commodity. My impression of those I met was that way too few were also philanthropists, they tended to be highly unpleasant people. And I was being paid fairly well from the proceeds of that game. So I bailed out and spent the majority of my career working for a non-profit organisation.
One of the funniest things I’ve read was about an idiot that bought a NFT for $250,000 (If my memory is correct) but when he tried to sell it the most thet was offered was $12.50. The emperor has no clothes
Respect.
A friend of mine was making a killing selling financial packages (and insurance) on commission, grew a conscience and went into teaching, in a state school. It cost him a nice big house and his wife, but the last time I saw him (a while back, he relocated) he appeared a much happier man…
Lego do a Banana (used in their “Minions” sets), if I did a scale model of the “Comedian” display do you think it would sell? At least it would have a longer shelf-life…
There is a woman who does marvellous dioramas, scratch built from scrap, of post-apocalyptic buildings being reclaimed by nature which she then photographs before recycling the model, the photograph being the actual artwork.
Art is like perfume. It’s often fairly expensive but you know what stinks, and the more you like something the greater the chances it’ll lead on to a great deal of sensory stimulation.
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