Via The Wall Street Journal,

"The contemporary art market is on fire. Christie's in New York made auction history Tuesday when it sold $745 million worth of contemporary art in less time than it takes to watch a basketball game.

The auction house's total surpassed its $691.6 million landmark sale last November and reset records for artists like Alexander Calder and Barnett Newman, whose black-and-tan abstract, "Black Fire I," sold for $84.2 million..."

I did a painting one time that was an all black canvas. It was a burned out light bulb at night!

Norman

I totally agree it is crazy but I wouldn't expect anything else.

Part of what drive art prices to inexplicable levels is that art purchases are often justified as investments with initial values set by status of artist X the price first person paid for a piece. If you buy 'Eclectic Egg Shells in the Moonlight' for a cool million from [insert name brand artist] the art is now viewed as worth a million and now that it's worth a lot it and therefore clearly a masterpiece because it sold for one million it can only be worth more in 10 years...

I did listen to an NPR piece where they went through how art is generally not great investment but also not just a money vacuum. I don't recall if that trend held true for the uber expensive pieces.

And trillionaires like me know if the head of the competing wam bank is willing to buy something for an arm and a leg you better show that you can buy it for three sculpted arms and a leg you to show that you have a bigger dick.

Also for every million one spends buying art that is a million they won't spend on fast cars and dressage.

Also also this behaviour isnt just found in the super rich generally people prefer the taste of cheaper wine but they enjoy expensive wine more because wine isn't a drink it is a really fun pageantry delivery device.

As well, many people buy diamond rings and most value natural diamonds above comparable synthetic ones. If one was buying a diamond for the look (and nobody else would know if it was fake) should the fact that one of them was made when dinosaurs were prancing around affect the value?

If one compares diamonds to modern art where the criticism is often that there is little craftsmanship and I could do that natural diamonds not fake ones would be the modern art. Anybody can find a diamond but it takes an immense amount of effort to make a high quality synthetic one.

These silly shenanigans where we don't do the logical thing are why we get to feel all superior around other animals.
Lol did not mean to get all ranty there I guess I'm just trying to avoid working.

Can't say that I disagree Redacted, as the cost of anything is usually established by what someone will (has) paid for the item, thereby establishing value.

However, there is a new force at work in acquiring solid assets such as art, property, businesses, classic cars, gold etc. which has now picked up enough speed to warrant a name: "de-dollarization". We've seen it falsely propping up property values here in Canada, specifically Vancouver and Toronto Real Estate, as well as in business acquisition although it is certainly not restricted to Canadian hard assets as the trend can be seen world wide.

As noted in the original article

"Among the usual roster of international collectors, mainland Chinese collectors bidding over the telephone stood out, taking home a gallery's worth of works..."

"All night long, auction regulars like New York dealers Larry Gagosian and Dominique Levy found themselves competing with Asian telephone bidders for the sale's art trophies..."

As most (hopefully) realize, the Chinese hold some 3 trillion in US treasuries and their value is under threat of serious decline as the US dollar is loosing it's perceived value worldwide. I say "perceived" as frankly the US's financial affairs are in a sorry state, and that's putting it mildly. There are numbers and charts everywhere (except mainstream media) which have for some time exposed this fact although I doubt one has to look far to see the fall/transition towards third world status.

Via Shadowstats.com (realistic numbers)

Unemployment: 24%
Inflation: 9-10%
Food Stamp Enrollment: 15-17% (up from 9% since Obama took office)

The Chinese Government has already "stopped" buying US treasuries stating that it's "no longer in their best interests". Unfortunately for them it's not easy to get rid of the 3 trillion dollars worth they do own, not to mention the personal US Dollar holdings of the wealthier Chinese. Should they attempt to dump them their value would immediately tank, so they are using them to acquire hard assets that will hold their value at least and perhaps appreciate.

The increased flow of Gold towards the East is another example. With the US's PPT (Plunge Protection Team) hard at work to keep Gold's perceived value against the US Dollar down in order to facilitate the appearance that all is not so bad it has in fact shot itself in the foot again by making Gold a very attractive buy for those who wish to devoid themselves of US Dollars, or for that matter any Fiat Currencies.

Of course poking at the Russian bear via the covert installation of a puppet government in the Ukraine most recently (at a cost to US tax payers of 5 billion), has exacerbated this situation. The Russians will be meeting up with the Chinese (and the Iranians) in Beijing on May 20th at what is now being called a "de-dollarization conference" to discuss and implement agreements to trade oil, build pipelines etc. using something other than the US or "Petro Dollar". Even the overtures of the Saudie's recently towards Iran (historically enemies) are perhaps based in the realization that the wind is changing direction away from the US Dollar as the basis for Oil sales and that to do business with the Russians, Chinese and their charges that they must make nice with the Iranians.

Any combined effort to do Oil business outside of the US Dollar would likely be the crushing blow that will bring the current state of US financial affairs into the mainstream and ultimately down the tube. True, Husain tried it and Gadafi tried it and Iran has/is trying and all have paid the price, but a combined effort between Russia and China, those aren't countries the US can easily invade or dictate to.

Fortunately the Russians and Chinese realize there's no benefit to another world war and therefore taking the teeth from the Shark is the best alternative to the war mongering factions within the US Government. No money - no threat. The Achilles heal of the US Government is it's financial state, and it has now become the target.
After some 80 overt and covert attempts by the US Government to overthrow legitimate Governments around the world in the last 60 years, who can blame them.

Granted these are just my interpretations of events and although shared by many I state nothing as absolute nor do I hold any political affiliations or motivations. But as someone who's been around for over six decades and makes a point to follow global political and financial events daily I believe there is another justification for an $84.2 million dollar painting that could have been drawn with a ruler, and frankly the "writing's on the wall".

Wow, how's that for ranty.