with modern art; this exhibition contends that, for many artists working after Warhol, to cross this line is to engage with modern life on its own terms.” Referring to the conflation of culture and commerce as a result of artists attempting to engage with modern life is, in my opinion, a flimsy excuse that an artist would use to surrender to the powers of popular and commercial culture. The fact that contemporary art is often so ambiguous means that it is quite possible for an artist to give a work the identity of their choice regardless of whether or not the basis of that identity has anything to do with the reality of the work and the artists intentions. I think that it is quite obvious that in the contemporary art market there is a significant level of value put on the visual impact of a work of art and artists are well aware of this.
The concepts that I have written about in the “Spectacle of the Art Market” series of posts are by no means flawless or bulletproof. I am not aware of any intensive studies that have been carried out on these concepts but the research that I have conducted has left me with no doubt that there the concepts that I have written about are valid and have at least some impact on the art market.
**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications
