Is this the nightmare of every art gallery visitor? At a VIP art fair in Miami last weekend, a woman knocked over a glass sculpture by Jeff Koons, destroying it instantly.
The story at the link included this sentence: “The shiny blue sculpture, one of Koons’ famous ‘balloon dog’ series, was valued at $42,000″. That might be what the insurance company pays out, but that’s not quite accurate. It was priced at $42,000. Many art snobs would tell you that no matter what it sells for, nothing Koons has produced has any artistic value.
Perhaps the best comment on the state of contemporary art came from other attendees at the art fair: Many thought the entire scene was a staged bit of performance art.
“Art for Art’s Sake” was one of the singles from 10cc’s 1975 LP “How Dare You?” It reached No. 5 in the UK. Graham Gouldman, who wrote the tune with Eric Stewart, said the chorus — “Art for art’s sake, money for God’s sake” — was one of his father’s favorite phrases.
