An amazing life lesson from the world of modern art and multi-millionaires ...

From the esteemed art auction house Christie’s where Barnett Newman’s stark “Black Fire 1”  sold for $84.2 million, comes an important life lesson …   

And then there is this from another fine auction house, Sotheby’s, where Newman’s “Onement VI” sold for $43.8 million …

Can it be something we cannot see or appreciate, something that art connoisseurs and the sophisticated people see? 

Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905 – July 4, 1970) was an American artist. He is seen as one of the major figures in abstract expressionism and one of the foremost of the color field painters. His paintings are existential in tone and content, explicitly composed with the intention of communicating a sense of locality, presence, and contingency.  <Source>

Or is it the case of the Emperor’s New Clothes where the cognoscenti explain it to the unwashed? What the hell does this sentence “His paintings are existential in tone and content, explicitly composed with the intention of communicating a sense of locality, presence, and contingency.” actually mean? The triumph of style over substance – or the triumph of bullshit over everything else.

Why?

Why would anyone pay $84.2 million dollars for a work that could be done by the average person in a very short amount of time? The answer is relatively simple to understand. The work itself is appears irrelevant to the its perceived value as a totemic symbol. A symbol that that says more about the purchaser than it does about the work.

Conveying the message, I am rich enough to spend $84.2 million on a triviality? I am sophisticated and hip because this work has been validated by the arbiters of sophistication and hipness? Or, I believe in the greater fool theory and this is an investment -- because some rich doofus will come along and purchase this work at a premium? Or is it simply a conversation starter among the like-minded wealthy that want entre into the lives of other wealthy individuals? Then again, it does make a great tax-deductible gift to perpetuate your name.

Whether or not you believe this painting is art or the highest expression of the art of bullshit, you now know that the true value of anything is simply the price someone is willing to pay for it. Made more so by the scarcity of uniqueness or the fact that others believe that a totemic symbol says more about the owner than it does the actual symbol.

Bottom line --  a limited-time special offer from steve ...

steve-self–1

So if anyone wants to offer me ten million dollars for my original modern art self-portrait, just drop me a line. Cash, checks, gold, silver, platinum, jewels, bitcoins, or almost any other thing of value will be cheerfully and carefully considered. Personally, I think is is a remarkable modern art piece that is comparable to the original …

-- steve