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The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art
 
 
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The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art (Paperback)

by Don Thompson (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £14.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd (1 Jan 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1845133021
  • ISBN-13: 978-1845133023
  • Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 15.6 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 11,815 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #16 in  Books > Art, Architecture & Photography > Architecture > By Chronology
    #19 in  Books > Art, Architecture & Photography > Sculpture
    #25 in  Books > Art, Architecture & Photography > History of Art & Architecture

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Product Description

Richard Morrison in The Times, January 16th 2008
"If you read no other book about art in your life, read the one that's gripped me like a thriller for the past two days."


The Independent, 28th March 2008
an 'entralling revelation-rich trip through the money game of the art market.'

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A shark that is not alone swimming in those waters..., 26 Oct 2008
By Claude Reich (Florianopolis, Brazil and Paris, France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Written by an economist who had access to the most important actors (collectors, dealers, auctioneers, curators, art fair directors...)while doing his research, this book is an in-depth study of the way the market for contemporary art functions, the part played by auction houses, dealers, big collectors, museums, the sometimes incestuous relationships that exist between all of them, how art is priced, how auctions are organized (on and off the scene), how gallery shows are sold (or pre-sold), the importance of art-branding in creating an artist's reputation (the brand being the gallery, the auction house, the artist himself, a museum, or even a collector if he is important enough), and, most importantly, how these art brands are created. One insighful conclusion is that the art market, and the market for contemporary art in particular, is as much brand-driven as any other high-end luxury market. Through case studies (the dealers Larry Gagosian or Jay Joplin, the artists Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Tracey Emin, Jeff Koons, the auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's, the collector Charles Saatchi...)and broader considerations on the overall economics of art, the author manages to write a book which is at the same time well informed (with some spelling approximations, e.g. "Joe Bernardo" for the Portuguese collector Jose Berardo), to the point and easy to read. Of the more than twenty books on the topic available on Amazon's, this one is the best in my opinion (and I've read quite a few...).
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Art is all about money, 9 Feb 2009
By G. J. Davis "GD" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
If you are interested in the financial side of art then this is a great book. If you think art is all about money then this book will be an agreeable read. But if you think art is on a higher plain than filthy lucre then you'll be spitting blood with this book.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Art for Money's Sake, Money for Art's Sake, 21 Dec 2008
Whilst the art industry traditionally shrouded the artwork behind a transcendental aesthetic fetishism which rendered redundant any notion of use value, the contemporary market has abstracted this onto a purely economic level. Art's value is now not only shorn of any relation to its production or other commodities, but also to those of other artworks.

Thompson provides an insightful investigation into the mechanics of the art market, illuminating the exponential process of increasing sums of money being exchanged for artworks, setting new sales records on a regular basis over recent years. To explore this phenomenon the book reflects on the relationship between artists, galleries, auction houses and collectors, focusing on recent transactions, and some of the major players and artworks involved, with a particular emphasis on the central role of the major auction houses, Sotheby's and Christies, in setting standards of financial value for artworks.

The importance of the book lies in the fact that it reveals that contemporary art production and consumption have little to do with promoting reflective or challenging ideas through the work itself, or has any basis in qualitative values held by either the public, or the industry itself. It is is shame then, that at points in the text, Thompson derides the work of various YBA artists as being substantially of less value than works from earlier historical periods. Asserting subjective judgements of this kind contradicts the journalistic neutrality the book generally projects, and adds nothing to the information it presents.

Perhaps the book could have benefited by relating the art market to the parallel recent developments in investment finance and consumerism to reveal wider social trends taking place, and the interrelated notions of growth, risk management and conspicuous consumption, that fuel and regulate contemporary global economies. But overall it is an informative enough view of the interdependent relationships between aesthetics, investment and consumption within a traditionally discreet commodity based industry.

Interestingly since the books publication the art market has yet again evolved to another level. Damien Hirst's Sept 2008 Sotheby's auction 'Beautiful Inside My Head Forever', recomposed the balance between artist, gallery and auction house into a new alignment, suggesting a new future economic paradigm for the high end players in the market, and perhaps even a starting point for a second volume!
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