art basel...one of the biggest art fairs on the world with some of the most serious buyers and artists alike. it's interesting to read about serious art dealing because there is definitely a certain level of etiquette involved. last year at the large picasso show at the gagosian, i saw an elderly man get out of his brand new, $400K rolls-royce and proceed into the show. when i walked into the show i saw this man with an art dealer literally walking around trying to casually buy picasso's, mid-afternoon on a friday. "is that one for sale? what about that one? i kind of like that one..." i don't know if he walked away with anything, but he was definitely serious. it didn't seem like the proper forum for buying art of that echelon...so it was nice to read about it in the way it should be done.
"the fair is significant from a prestige point of view. if a gallery is not admitted, people might think that it is not as important as another gallery that is." before reading this chapter i only knew of art basel and not how serious it is. this quote definitely put the scale of the event into perspective for me.
in the wake of chapter 6, i found it interesting to read the small dialogue with poe&blum about murakami. having actually thought about what it would be like to work for him, i got a reality check when poe said people quit due to how hard he worked. when the topic of murakami showing at the gagosian and the surprised reaction of poe, i wondered if they were speaking of the show that just came down. this is a portion of the highly acclaimed work, 727 727, from the fair in the book...
"distracted by a pair of beautiful women, landesman pauses for a moment of aesthetic appreciation." i found that to be an entertaining way to say landesman checked them out...it was "artsy" if you will. it's good to know that one of artforum's international publishers is still human regardless of his role in today's art society.
"the art world has no rules...so i attribute the longevity of the gallery to the fact that i wrote my own." this quote applies to the entire realm of the art world, not just galleries. make your own rules...don't let anybody dictate any sort of right and wrong for you and your work. this quote might be cliche but it's valid...i think cliches are often cliches because they're always true.
"i am an atheist, but i believe in art. i go to galleries like my mother went to church. it helps me understand the way i live." this statement was somewhat surprising to me because sofia ricci inevitable invests her life and beliefs in what someone else does for themselves. but then i thought about it and realized that her beliefs are comparable to organized religion. religion is also based on what someone from the past did, believed and wrote down. we only know about these things through writings and what other people said. so how can we be sure they are even true? maybe sofia is smart in investing so much of herself in something she can see and interpret for herself with no clear cut message of beliefs to follow.
"an artist entering an art fair is like a teenager barging into his parents' bedroom while they-re having sex." ohhhhhh johhhhhn [baldessari]. i have a feeling this quote of going to be selected by a lot of people in the class. its just funny. i had no idea going to an art fair as an artist would be so awkward. i wonder why that is...is it almost like being a celebrity in public? you know what you've made...is it nerve-racking to see people's reaction to your work on this scale? if that's the case...is it nerve-racking for an actor to go to their premier?
"we don't buy anything without looking at it in the flesh. what's great about a work often doesn't show up in a jpeg..." this was funny for me to hear from a legitimate art buyer/collector because i would assume it to be for the opposite reasoning. i would think that a basic photo image would hide the imperfections of the piece...not obstruct its potential greatness. obviously art is going to be more amazing in person because a jpeg hides elements like brush strokes in paintings and other small details you can't gather without being "in the flesh." i'm often astonished by the actual size of works which you can't understand until you are in front of them. but i always imagined the "greatness" of a work would shine through in most any context.
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