Julian Schnabel – Self Portraits of Others | Hacker News Reader

Julian Schnabel – Self Portraits of Others

brantfoundation.org

12 pointseternalban5 comments

This is an excellent meta-link that demonstrates how the art world works: a bunch of rich people and their friends get together, they buy and sell between each other, a couple of the rich guys put the pieces in their “foundations,” “museums,” etc, a couple other rich guys who bought the art get the publishing houses they control to publish “retrospectives,” the major auction houses buy and sell between these people... and then you’re done! You’ve created a “cultural icon.”

That's why I haven't seen anyone from the art world really complain about NFT. It's just a way to this at scale and much faster.

I had a follow up submission on the mechanics of art world which imho is even more interesting/informative in terms of art and its production and institutionalization which may interest you:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28946017

Here is a taste of Judd’s fantastic rant:

“Panza is also like Thersites (Book II). Nothing stops him or shames him. But also Panza is typical of the situation in art. The other wholesale collectors are not going to understand my objections. Many supposedly interested in art are not going to understand. I think the situation has declined so far that even many artists will not understand, as can be foretold by their work. Panza, many, have no respect for art, the artists, for the integrity of the activity. Panza’s only purpose is to be a rich big shot.This is in art because he thinks it’s a soft spot in the society, an easy place for a soft predator, a foggy swamp full of willing victims and lots of clear loopholes.”

Great quote. Particularly the end. Thanks for sharing this.

The Silicon Valley people who are playing in the art world are perfectly described as “soft predators.” A lot of the men in the art world could be described that way... I like it. I’m stealing that one!

Funny that on one of the artworks, Van Gogh looks way more like Willem Dafoe than himself [1].

Maybe that particular piece was done around the time Schnabel began working on At Eternity's Gate, which stars Willem Dafoe as Van Gogh.

[1] https://www.brantfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/p...

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