Wednesday, April 02, 2008

In the long run . . .

At Andrew Sullivan's blog, an interesting take on the recent New York magazine article on Larry Salander, which made the case that his fall was caused by his (overly) ambitious project to create a new market for old master work:

"I don't have a lot of sympathy for those who bemoan contemporary art and seek a return to the old-masters. Appreciating formalism is one thing; crusading against contemporary art in order to correct an alleged cultural imbalance is something else entirely. When you buy a piece of art from a living artist you are funding her next project; you are allowing her to continue with her work. What does it matter to Rembrandt how much his painting sells for?"