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Individual Contributions
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Vincent Anthony Falkiewicz Throughout the years the auction house has changed dramatically. Yet the more things change, the more they stay the same. Although many formality changes have been made, the sweat of the buy is still the same. The adrenline rush one sustains from bidding on a piece, and the "public victory" one receives after they have won it still remain. These, in my opinion, will never change. However, the auction room as Thornton points out has become a much more formal setting, with levels of seniority and stature varying amongst the different seats. As one buyer points out in the article, "you've got standing room, the terrible seats, the good seats, the very good seats, and the aisle seats," which nowadays allude to your level of income, what type of buyer you are, and how respected you are amongst the art community. As we see from the top picture of this page, everyone is standing around the auctioneer, jumping to gain attention, with no true form or rightful place for people to be. This is a major difference from the auction room nowadays. A specific piece sold which diplays some interesting qualities about the auction room is the one sold in "lot 6" of the discussed auction; a sculpture by Italian artist Maurizo Cattelan. While the previous piece had been bought for 410,000, Cattelan's piece started at 400,000. This shows an interesting quality in the sense that bids nowadays start at highly varied prices. The auction room has become a place of expectations. Those expectations, as Thornton points out, can cause "even the coolest bidders to break out in a sweat (Thornton 10)." Additionally displayed by the Cattelan piece is the implication that certain people will buy certain works, simply because it is from a specific artist. "Some heavyweight collectors buy Cattelan's work in such serious bulk that it leads others to complain that his market is manipulated (Thornton 25)." Thornton alludes to this causing two things. One is that others will refuse to bid because they think they will overpay for the piece. The other is that bidders will overpay in order to avoid being bought out by certain collectors. This creates a tense atmosphere in the auction room. One that can only be experienced, not discussed. |
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Erica Gilbert-Levin The details and process of the sale of a Marlene Dumas painting to a "mysterious bidder" named Amy Cappellazzo at a New York art auction sheds light on several important elements of the culture and practices involved in the contemporary art auction. For example, the interactions among Cappellazzo, the other auction attendees, and auctioneer Burge are symptomatic of the psychological dynamics that ensue during an auction sale. The sale reflects the extent to which art auctioneering has become a "spectator sport" (Thornton, 5), its crass, "crude" commercialism thinly disguised by the "urbanity" and "gentility" proffered by the European auctioneers. Likewise, Cappellazzo appears aloof and "mysterious," seemingly nonchalant and cavalier about the reality that she just spent an untold fortune on a single painting, suggesting a certain sophistication, disinterest in economics, and concern with the pure aesthetic value of art. But she readily admits that she, like all involved in the auction process, follow "basic commercial benchmarks that have nothing to do with artistic merit" (Thornton, 24). Indeed, the "primary concern" for those involved in the auction process is "not the meaning of the artwork but its unique selling points" (Thornton, 8). And Cappellazzo recognizes such "selling points" in Dumas's piece. Despite her "posturing" as someone bidding "with style," commanding a "hushed respect from the audience by holding back and separating herself from the crowd, raising the dramatic effect of her "win," she cites features of the painting that are, as she notes, succinctly in line with what any other collector looks for: a certain color (red), a certain size (medium), an image of "a buxom female, and the capacity of the piece to "make people feel happy" (Thornton, 24). She draws respect from the crowd not because she can recognize distinct or unique art work when she sees it and pay what it is worth, but because she can acquire the same thing everyone else looks for but at a crowd-awingly high price and with an attitude that suggests that that price means nothing to her. Her act as a collector is part and parcel of the larger spectacle of today's art auction: A lot of "posturing," a lot of theater, a drive to win, a drive for status, and an ability to engage in a psychological test of wills. |
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Kimberly Ann Phoenix At the latest Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale 61 lots sold for a total of $301,663,000. Among the lots were 43 painting, 13 sculptures, 3 photographs and 2 drawings & watercolors representing Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, and Sam Francis to name only a few. After scanning the list, Sam Francis's reef a predominantly blue painting jumped out of the list. Like the suggestion in the reading the litmus test is alive and well, bright colors attacked interest. (Thornton 24) Each of the lots is accompanied by an audio description along with a written narrative as well. Other information provided is lot description which gives the artist name, name of the painting, medium used, size, and when the painting was done. The list of who has owned the work of art is also displayed. This particular painting was first owned by the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York. This gallery was started in 1952 and closed in 1969, 1969 was the first time this painting changed hands. The Martha Jackson Gallery was run by Jackson who was credited with being a shrewd business woman and committed to her artist; working to promote and educate people about the art and artist. Reef was then purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Miller form there it was acquired by Galerie Beyeler. At some point the painting was acquired by a private collector from Japan, the interesting thing is that Reef was purchased again by the Galerie Beyeler. This is similar to David Nahmad buying back something the family owner before (Thorton 22), there is no way for find out why the gallery did this but it could have been to protect the value of their other holdings. In the end this painting sold for 3,666,500 including buyer premium. |
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Consider & comment:
What did you think of today's readings and wiki features? What issues if any did they raise for you? How did the audio visual material provided support your understanding of this topic? Comment on your classmates' posts. Leave your comments in the box below.