Posted on 08/16/2013 5:30:32 AM PDT by dennisw
For 15 years, some of the art world’s most established dealers and experts rhapsodized about dozens of newly discovered masterworks by titans of Modernism. Elite buyers paid up to $17 million to own just one of these canvases, said to have been created by the hands of artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline and Robert Motherwell.
But federal prosecutors say that most, if not all, of the 63 ballyhooed works — which fetched more than $80 million in sales — were painted in a home and garage in Queens by one unusually talented but unknown artist who was paid only a few thousand dollars apiece for his handiworks.Authorities did not name or charge the painter and provided few identifying details except to say he had trained at a Manhattan art school in a variety of disciplines including painting, drawing and lithography. He was selling his work on the streets of New York in the early 1990s, they said, when he was spotted by a Chelsea art dealer who helped convert his work into one of the most audacious art frauds in recent memory.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
how do you duplicate this fiasco
and
who the hell would pay more than a few bucks for this mess
Google Carl Andre.
Trust me.
IOW, “modernist” paintings are pure crap, with buyers having no clue about their intrinsic worth, but buying a name made famous by other clueless reviewers.
Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art
Four and a half stars on Amazon.
No mystery. Tom Wolfe is brilliant on the subject. He wrote a small book or long article called The Painted Word in which he explained the phenomenon. Much of this art is horse-traded as an investment: that is, the purchaser doesn't really care about the work, but he buys it to impress his fellow Wall Street Masters of the Universe, with the intention of selling it at a handsome profit in a few years. It brings a lot of attention when a person like that buys a work of "art" for tens of millions. For the vulgar and socially insecure, who are afraid to say that this stuff is crap for fear of being labeled ignorant, owning something like that shows their pseudo-sophistication. They get talked into it by wives, gallery owners, investment advisers, etc.
I could go on for many pages about the the roots of the enormous moral, psychological, and political destructiveness of modern art and architecture, but will spare you for the moment. Bottom line: it's a scam.
Wow. I googled his name...seriously? How the heck does someone look at his work as art? We have the same designs all over our yard and house. Landscaping, kitchen counter, flagstone tiles in the family room. Ridiculous. Art? WTH?
I would rather have Pier 1 in my home!
If I’m so smart how come I’m not doing this and getting rich!!!!!!
You can thank me for the laugh, and the ability to name drop his name,...lmao
Years ago, husband, sister & I went to Phila. Art Museum. I’m sure there were security cameras in all the exhibition areas, but they were unobtrusive. We got the “Modern Art” room (wing?) and there were signs everywhere that the room was under video surveillance.
We came to the conclusion that, since it would be impossible to determine if a painting had been defaced, it was to deter such activity in the first place -— and to figure out how to “restore” it if such a - ahem - tragedy occured.
In one of the rooms, the “art” consisted of a circle of rocks about 10 feet in diameter. That’s all - just rocks.
I got a milion dollar back yard!!!
Most big-money purchasers perform due diligence using well-known experts in the field when spending bucks to that level. Yes, many questions.
Investments. Buy now—sell for more later. Pure and simple.
My ideal is what you would find in Frank Sinatra and Dean Martins Palm Springs houses in the 1960's.... The retro mid-century look. Danish modern, Scandinavian from that era. Screw granite! I prefer Formica
Not so impressed with the original but the ability to duplicate that is remarkable. Kudos to the forger.
Buy now...for $17 million and own a $17 investment later.
Simple? Yes. Pure? Not so much.
That's why you will never see any criticism of this modern "art" junk. Too many "important" people have invested (been scammed out of) hundreds of millions of dollars for their art works. These folks don't want to seen as gullible and stupid. And the art dealing establishment will lose too much money also. They are keeping the scam going.
Go to:
www.artrenewal.org for a full explanation of the modern art scam.
( Sorry, for some reason I've forgotten how to do links today.)
Agreed. When a can of paint spilled on the floor can be declared great art I know a scam is going on.
Very similar to the modern day Federal Reserve scam of conjuring up money out of thin air
About 45 years ago an art forger showed how he could create a Chagall in just a few hours that would fool the experts.
I believe the article was either in LOOK or LIFE magazine.
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