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Avant Garde And Kitsch

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by Yves Smith and Felix Salmon
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Jul 30 2007 12:00am EDT

Avant-Garde and Kitsch

The Epicurean Dealmaker reckons that modern art is rubbish contemporary art is kitsch. "A major function of kitsch in the present century is to reassure its consumers of their status and position," he says, and reckons that precisely such motivations lie behind the $80 million purchase by Ken Griffin of a Jasper Johns painting:

Clearly, a leather-bound set of Franklin Library classics or a Thomas Kinkade print "hand-highlighted under the supervision of the artist" is not going to cut the mustard in the 10021 zip code, but what about a Jasper Johns painting, or a Damien Hirst sculpture? Just the ticket "to confirm the [cultural] literacy and wealth of its owner," no?
Even better if you and everyone you invite to your Park Avenue coop knows that you paid $80 million for the thing. For no-one can remain unaffected by such knowledge when they attempt to appreciate or understand a work of art.

I don't buy it. Who's going to cut more mustard in the 10021 zip code – the man who bought his Jasper Johns for $80 million, or the man who bought his Jasper Johns for $80,000?

Also, note to TED: the Hirst shark at the Met is not bisected, not even if you say it is twice. And if you set the background color of your blog to #e8ffbf (a kind of lemon-lime), people are unlikely to take your verdict that a given Johns is "half-baked" particularly seriously.

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