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Art dealer Larry Gagosian on the cover of Art Review

DAY 8 Today is Tuesday, January 10^th, and we are taking a closer look at the contemporary art market through the

work of Don Thompson (the $12M Stuffed Shark), Robert Hughes' BBC 4 documentary, the Mona Lisa Curse,

and selected high powered art dealers, such as Larry Gagosian. As you consider the assigned readings and film,

choose a contemporary art dealer to report on with regards to their philosophy of working with artists and collectors,

but please don't all choose Larry Gagosian. At the end of the FT interview and throughout the WSJ article several

other high-powered international art dealers are mentioned for you to choose from. You might also consider the

practice of branding and its effect on artists, their work, its value and marketing, and, of course, dealers. Have fun

and remember to include links to videos, images or indices that help to explicate your post!

Readings

Read the following short chapters from Don Thompson's The $12M Stuffed Shark (Palgrave/MacMillan, 2007): Branding and Insecurity; Branded Dealers; the Art of the Dealer; and Art Fairs: the Dealer's Final Frontier. ThompsonChapters.pdf

Read the recent Wall Street Journal article about global art wheeler-dealer Larry Gagosian, "The Larry Gagosian Effect": http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703712504576232791179823226.html

Watch the acclaimed BBC Channel 4 documentary the Mona Lisa Curse, narrated by art critic Robert Hughes, 2008, 75 min. It is available below in twelve six-minute segments: 

http://art-for-a-change.com/blog/2009/11/the-mona-lisa-curse.html

Highly Recommended: Read the FT interview with Larry Gagosian and note the list of ten art world gallerists/dealers in competition with Gagosian for the head of the pack: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c5e9cf78-dd62-11df-beb7-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Om9FVW97

Individual Contributions

Consider & comment:
Please use this space to respond to your classmates' work and to engage in lively discussions on the day's topic. Keep your comments concise and conversational by responding to others, rebutting or supporting their ideas. Use the comment box below for these observations.