Art as Money - Money as Art

“During today’s financial crisis, art has been frequently cited as an advantageous alternative asset class. But do the millions of dollars that might buy you a Koons or a Picasso speak about the social and spiritual value?” is the question asked by The Art-as-Money-Blog.

The Zero Bill © Exchanghibition Bank

Or do these millions of dollars speak even about the artistic quality, I am wondering! It is indeed an interesting question. I am just reading a book about the the “curious economics of contemporary art” entitled “The $12 Million Stuffed Shark” - clearly referring to Damien Hirst's unbelievable success. The author Don Thompson (a collector himself) states that the art market bases on branding of artists, museums and auction houses – and these brands determine the price and value of contemporary artworks. He writes: “Since art collectors cannot always fathom the value code, the understandably do not trust their own judgement. Their recourse is often to rely on branding. Collectors patronize branded dealers, bid at branded auction houses, visit branded art fairs, and seek out branded artists. You are a nobody in contemporary art until you have been branded.” [Don Thompson: “The $12 Million Stuffed Shark”, 2008, p. 12.] As current art market developments show, outstanding prices are reached mostly by big names and big players, and the quality of works of art is often not proportional to its price.

The Infinite Bill © Exchanghibition Bank

So, why not just doing it the direct way? Turning art into money, I mean. The “Exchanghibition Bank“ had exactly this idea of turning art into money – in the fully literal sense. The Netherlandish artist Dadara creates candy-coloured bills with amounts of “Zero”, “Infinite”, and “Million”. They also provide exchange rates (for the CAD it is currently 1.39).

“The Art-as-Money-Blog” also asks: “Do you want to buy art as an artifact of beauty and spirituality or as a financial investment? Money has always invested in art, though in an admiring, even worshipping way, since it respected art as its superior, something, which can’t be measured by financial values. But today’s hyper-investment in art seems to be an implicit attempt to overwhelm it, demonstrating in this way that money is superior to art.”

Link: http://exchanghibitionbank.com/