It just sold for 5 billion. Of course it did. It's brilliant. Oh, it's performance art! These rich snobs don't know
more about art than you. They're mostly just here
to make money. Oh! We're told that art like this
is so expensive because it's the best
in the world. But the fact is, you're looking
at a massive price-fixing scheme that benefits wealthy collectors
and excludes artists like you. Adam, shush it! The prices here are high
because the art
is objectively good. Nope. The prices are
high because a small group of galleries and
collectors decided it was good, and once they do that, the price goes up, whether or
not anyone else agrees. You. Paint something. (gasps) I declare this valuable art. Go find more cubed meat. We're gonna be rich. (chuckles) Well, outsider art
is a rich tradition. How much is this worth? There's no way to tell. Big galleries actually keep
their prices a secret so they can change them
depending on who the buyer is. For you, my friend,
ten grand, and for you, my enemy,
200 grand. And they do their best
to keep out buyers who are considered elites. Daniel Radcliffe once tried to
buy a fancy painting, but he was denied when the dealer told him he was waiting for a more prestigious collector. For you?
Not for sale. Please, sir. I just want one painting that
doesn't talk to me. Why are you doing this to me? Because if the gallery only
sells to art world elites, they'll be seen as a better
brand, which means all of their other
paintings will be worth more. Ah. (cash registers dinging) Hmm. That is shady behavior. Well, luckily, we outsiders
could just go to art auctions. They're democratic open markets
where anyone can buy. Sorry, but the major
auction houses are just as rigged
as the galleries. (pounds gavel) Auctions play all sorts of dirty
tricks to drive their prices up, like straight up
paying people to bid. Let's start the bidding
at $4 million. Do I see 4 million? (snoring) 4 million. And if the bidding
is too slow, auctioneers even use a practice
called chandelier bidding. They just point to a random spot
above everyone's heads and pretend to see a bid. And I see 5 million from
the bidder in the back, she's my girlfriend
who you don't know
'cause she lives in Canada. Whoop, she's back across the
border, so don't turn around. Oh, whatever.
Six million. Why are you okay with this? Oh, simple, darling. I own other paintings
by this artist, so when this one sells high, it increases the value
of my entire collection. Sometimes we even bid
anonymously to drive up the price. Up next, we have a fine
comdiment-based work from an emerging artist. Ooh! I want to bid on this one. We should all bid on this one. Let's start the bidding
at $7 million. This shady market can also be
manipulated by crooks who use it to defraud the government
and launder dirty money. Hello. I would like to buy a painting
from your fine gallery using legitimate cash moneys. The red is... paint. But not all collectors
are crooks. I mean, there's good people
out there who donate their collections
to museums. Sure, and that seems
very charitable, until you remember that
that donation is also
a tax write-off. And here's where it can
get really shady. The collectors hire
their own appraisers to determine the value of
the art they donate, so they can use it as
one big tax dodge. You owe 40 million
in taxes this year. Ugh! What if I donate this painting
worth 40 million? At the end of the day, this is
what the fine art market is. A few rich people
passing money around. No! No! Then I want
no part of this! Screw this gallery
and screw this opening! I will make it in
the fine art world on my own. Sorry, that's not really
how it works. Persephone,
this is Allison Schrager. She's an economist and
journalist at Quartz who has reported on
the fine art market. Not only is the fine art world
manipulated financially, it's also extremely exclusive. Only a small share of artists
are allowed to succeed and only their work is
considered valuable. And those aren't necessarily
the best artists. Often, they're just the ones
who are best at marketing themselves and at
playing the gallery game. One art dealer I spoke
with even admitted that the art you buy
in the street is cheaper and often
just as good, it's just not as prestigious, so big collectors in museums
just aren't interested in it. And that means this small group
of ultra wealthy investors ends up defining
what fine art is. So the fine art world
is all a lie, and it's all about money and who gets into this
stupid snobby club? More or less.
This is why you buy art because you actually like it, and it speaks to you. Art should never be an investment.
Ok ... the tax write off part is really fucked.
isn't this common knowledge?
Yeah no shit. All you have to do is look at this fine art and realize is just a bunch of bullshit.
Reminds me of this askreddit thread about laundering money where my most upvoted comment comes from:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/23d211/if_you_had_5000000_in_cash_how_would_you_launder/cgvucnw/?context=1
The expert he has on at the end is painfully reading queue cards or something lol
I recommend this great article as well, why modern art became ugly
Gives you a better insight into the art itself.