Well, This Is What I Think

In a sign of some excitement returning to the art market – a sure sign that the American economy is recovering, courtesy of the vast buckets of taxpayer (and Chinese taxpayer) money that has been chucked at it, this, er, blue thing, just sold for nearly $44 million US dollars.

The edges of the white stripe aren’t even perfect. “Send it back, Jeeves.”

Bloomberg gushed:

“The speculative element is returning to the market,” said Jonathan Binstock, senior adviser in postwar and contemporary art at Citi Private Bank. “There’s more money to spend on riskier opportunities, ones that would have seemed unappealing just a few years prior.”

Hours earlier, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index stock benchmark climbed to its eighth high in nine sessions.

The auction’s tally surpassed the presale low estimate of $284 million but fell short of the $383 million high estimate.

Records were set for four artists, including Gerhard Richter and Nate Lowman, while 11 of the 64 lots didn’t sell. Bidders from 35 countries registered for the sale, Sotheby’s said.

Consigned by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Newman’s 8.5-by-10-foot “Onement VI” was estimated at $30 million to $40 million. Its sale was ensured by an undisclosed third-party guarantee.

What a load of total tosh.

Yet another example that the uber-rich go soft in the head the richer they get. Who cares if they make money, or don’t, on such a transaction? It’s immoral, obscene, and ludicrous.

I have a similar work in my garage. It’s called a ping-pong table. It’s yours for $125. Or $100 and a slab of beer. Can’t say fairer than that.