OBSERVATION 63B:
ART+MONEY
HYPOTHESIS : WHAT CAN THE TRUTH/LIES DIAGRAM TELL US ABOUT ART AND THE ART WORLD? HOW CAN INSIGHTS BE USED TO CREATE A NEW MARKET SPACE?
Our conclusion from the Holy Trinity Experiment is that truth/lies can be manipulated by the observer and visa versa. [fig:1a]
fig:1a
We wanted to take these insights a step further to see how it applied to the art market by hypothesizing:
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Truth and reality can be manipulated by the art market (no transparency).
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The art market can manipulate the observer (chandelier bidding).
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It follows therefore, that truth and reality can be used to manipulate the observer.
fig:1b
Let's evolve the concepts a step further and contemplate the various component pieces that make up the "primary", "secondary", and "auction" market. [fig: 1b]
fig:1c
Moving the idea forward, we need to introduce the concept of value and its relationship to art and the art market. [fig: 1c] Like a business rules engine in a software program, value is the rules engine for the art market. The attributes of value are quality, rarity, and consensus. Consensus is comprised of experts, market insiders, and market-makers. Curiously, market-makers are also responsible for creating the rules engine. Some speculate, that there only exists approximately 55 market-makers influencing the global art market.
"There are a lot of investment buyers out there. They have asset allocations, stocks, bonds, art, real-estate, that sort of stuff. But you know why they are buying it, not because they have a passion for de Kooning."
- Stephan Edlis
The question becomes, how can an outsider compete in this environment? How can you compete in a market space with rules that are ever evolving and people with unlimited sources of cash vying for market share - being driven by personal interests.
“It started some time ago and the world of art and commerce was not nearly so complex as it is now. They are like Siamese twins—money and art right now—and you cannot separate them. And so, the purpose of art has morphed, become perverted or mutated. And I think art itself is having a hard time finding its way of this situation.”
- Gavin Brown, Art Dealer
fig:1d
The expected observation was to notice a contraction or expansion with the entangled particles. [dia: 1d] Traditionally we see a mutual distribution of resources and energy on behalf of “art”. However, with the understanding that art and money are in a contracted position, what does this mean? What are the implications? What would this new model look like? [fig: 1e] How does this model work? [other applications for this model]
fig:1e
CONCLUSION: A curious phenomenon emerged in that the interaction between art and money created a robust art market with ever increasing valuations and record sales for artworks. How long can this expansion continue? Some speculate that the end of the art market is nigh - the proverbial bubble is going to burst.
We wanted to know from a scientific perspective, what would that look like? What are mechanics of two entangled entities colliding? [read our findings]
We then asked ourselves. What do these findings mean? What are the implications? What are the practical applications? How do we use these insights?
a NEW vertically integrated art platform.
