Someone just paid $95 million for a Picasso.

[Fridays Child]

Just heard it on CNN.

It grinds my stomach to think about it, when so many are suffering--children without enough to eat, families without even the most basic medical care. Why is a painting more important than that? :mad:

[Coventina]

1. Picasso himself would agree with you

Being the devoted communist he was.

He liked to live comfortably, but was very generous with his money, and also his artwork. He gave a great deal of it away.

If it makes you feel any better, that money is better spent on the Picasso work than in buying weapons. Just think, some filthy rich capitalist just dumped a bunch of money to hang a communist work on their wall.

At least smile at the irony.


on edit: typo

[Fridays Child]

2. Thank you for the bright side.

I needed that. :) This stuff almost gets me in tears.

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. *lol* I love it, thanks!

[SofaKingLiberal]

33. LOL!

:rofl:

[elehhhhna]

3. picasso was a mean man and his art is overrated.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

13. By who?

[pitohui]

30. picasso was a mean man, a wonderful human being, a great artist

yes, picasso was a shithead in his personal life

however he was a wonderful artist w. a spectacular gift and he was a strong supporter of the peace movement and the communists/socialists

keep in mind we have someone who was in the top half a percent of all achievers by the time he was 20, yes, he had an ego, yes, he had a problem knowing how to behave w. other people because he was picasso all his life and they weren't, he had personality issues

but as far as his character, he stood tall all his life for peace and fighting against the idea that we just accept war as a way of doing politics

as an artist he really had no peer in his lifetime

[acmejack]

4. Probably Alice Walton again

She obviously enjoys displaying her wealth in this manner. If memory serves, she spent a $125 Million not too long ago on another painting. If you got it, flaunt it...

[TexasLawyer]

5. We all paid for that painting

if an American bought it. Our tax cuts subsidized the purchase.

[WI_DEM]

6. Gee, $95 million for a Picasso to impress my rich friends or $95

million to help the homeless? tough choice. Ah, I'd rather have my rich friends envy.

[slackmaster]

7. Transaction doesn't preclude possibility the money will go to a good cause

If it was sold in the USA the seller will be looking at some hefty capital gains taxes. He or she might need (or find it financially expedient, whatever) to make some charitable donations for tax purposes.

You're being very negative about this. Some wealthy people do very good philanthropic work. They're not all greedy.

[Fridays Child]

9. The world's sick and starving children take great comfort...

...in your optimism. :eyes:

[Cobalt Violet]

38. It's 95 million not going to the GOP either.

I think fine art appreciation is always a good cause itself.

[Fridays Child]

8. Here it is: Dora Maar with Cat

[immoderate]

15. It looks like Katherine Harris!

:rofl:

--IMM

[Fridays Child]

16. LOL!

You're right! :rofl:

[Cobalt Violet]

36. It's worth more. What a steal.

I wish I could afford it.

[Beelzebud]

11. And the big deal is?

People are still allowed to spend their money on what they want, right?

While our government squanders BILLIONS in Iraq, I dont' see how a private citizen spending 95 million dollars is even a blip on the radar.

Much ado about nothing.

[Fridays Child]

19. Maybe you could explain that to...

...these kids.

[Beelzebud]

24. Tell that to our war machine of a government that spends TRILLIONS.

I don't see what that pic has to do with a person buying a painting.

[Warpy]

12. The law of diminishing returns

The more wealth the rich have grabbed, the higher they've bid up all the things they want to possess: art, antiques, fine wines, pleasure palaces in resort areas. They will never have enough because they cause their own variety of inflation in items those of us who have to work for a living would never consider essential to anything but a museum's well being.

Scuse me while I squeeze out a few crocodile tears for their increasing penury.

Expect to see art go for the hundreds of millions in the future if the current trend of stripmining the world's people to fatten a few rich men continues.

[BiggJawn]

14. And THESE are the people that $5 a gallon gas are gonna hurt?

S'Yeah, r-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ight...
Maybe some day we'll get to see that painting. While we make "Long Pig" pulled BBQ sammiches out of the owner...

[Egalitariat]

17. On the bright side, somebody's got $95 million who used to only have a

painting.

Maybe they'll give it away.

[Skidmore]

18. Someone must have gotten a heckuva tax break this year.

[genieroze]

20. Thanks for the tax cut.

[JVS]

21. I'm not a fan of trickle-down, but it isn't as thought the $95 is being...

destroyed. Whoever sold the painting will probably be spending the money in some manner, maybe some of it will get to the poor. It's certainly not as bad as spending $95,000,000 on bombs or a war.

[BrownOak]

22. Someone may wish to ask the Vatican that question

It grinds my stomach to think about it, when so many are suffering--children without enough to eat, families without even the most basic medical care. Why is a painting more important than that?

How long do you think the Vatican could feed the world if they sold off that art collection?

[Bridget Burke]

44. Somebody should ask all the Museums of the world....

Lots of art hanging on those walls, as well.

[Dukkha]

23. that's nearly a poor country's entire GNP

such a waste and it's not like it will appreciate any further.

[Book Lover]

25. Gee, my reaction was going to be that it's a shame Picasso isn't going to

see any of that cash.

[pitohui]

32. picasso did not die a poor man

picasso was a v. savvy person and even tho he didn't live into our era of insane blowing up of costs, he lived v. v. well

i think he would be pleased to know that he set such a record

[Dave Reynolds]

26. I needed something to brighten up my garage.

Is that a problem?

[LisaL]

27. Hey, don't lie. I have it in my garage!

[Dave Reynolds]

28. Shhhhh. I'm trying to impress my millionaire friends.

I have a copy I picked up a Bed Bath and Beyond.....aside from the price sticker, it looks like the real thing!

[LisaL]

40. Well, good.

[WeRQ4U]

29. So what.

Perhaps I'm insensitive, but this means very little to me.

[Brigid]

31. And I suspect . . .

that Picasso himself would agree with you.

[Hissyspit]

34. As a art history professor, I have to point out that economics is much

more complex than everyone is implying. The typical immediate reaction to news about visual art always seems to be manifestations of stereotypes and reactions of "How can that be worth THAT much money?"

The valuing of cultural objects is not necessarily at the expense of other things in society. The production and evaluation and re-evaluation of "high" cultural expression is EXTREMELY important to society. As someone else pointed out in another post, it is not as if the money has been destroyed. $65 million gets spent on many motion-picture budgets every year. Where are the weekly threads attacking that practice?

One reason many philanthropists can give massive amounts of money to charity is because they invest in things of cultural value.

Massive amounts of money are moved around all the time, everyday, and much of it is illicit and directly at the expense of many people and at the negative exploitation of many people. Buying important, culturally significant artworks is hardly the worst thing that someone can do, and having a knee-jerk reaction to about the only aspect of the visual arts world that gets reported in the mainstream media seems to indicate a confusion of intrinsic value and cultural value.

We saw similar naivete displayed concerning the "Gates" project by Christo last year.

One other thing: Picasso was mean, and there is nothing wrong with criticizing/taking a critical view of his work, but he is not especially "overrated" - much of what he accomplished, in conjunction and under the influence of his fellow artists was pretty important to 20th-century thought and art in general.

[Cobalt Violet]

37. Thank you for your post.

People seem to have no problem with over payed, steroid jacked athletes. But look out if a one of a kind masterpiece happens to sell for a few million.


I have to say that as a whole Americans a brain dead when it comes to art and art history,IMHO.

[Hissyspit]

39. As AN art history professor - typo

[Coventina]

43. Hey Hissy! I didn't know you were an art historian!

What's your specialty?

I'm working on my thesis on 17th century Dutch art.

Actually, today is my proposal defense.

:scared:

[Hissyspit]

46. Cool!

My speciality was Postmodern.ism

I show "Girl With A Pearl Earring" in my intro class all the time.

Good Luck!

[Misunderestimator]

45. Good post!

:thumbsup:

[Hissyspit]

35. "Guernica"

By Picasso.

A major anti-war humanitarian statement recognized by people the world over as a symbol of fascist inhumanity to man. A copy of it is in the United Nations and is seen often on television as a backdrop to corrupt lying world leaders (including Colin Powell.) The work is a mural about 26 feet long (now back in Spain).

How much money is this artwork worth?

[kwassa]

41. True story about this

Many years ago I was in the Museum of Modern Art on a weekday. I had never seen "Guernica" before in person, and was just standing there, studying it. There was no one else in the gallery but the guard, who was eyeballing me as part of his duties.

Suddenly this middle-aged woman came around the corner and stopped in front of this painting. In the thickest possible New York accent she said, loudly, "They cawl this AHHHT? They cawl this AHHHT? My two-year old nephew could do bettah!"

Both the guard and I burst out laughing. This is possibly the most famous painting of the twentieth century.

I later wondered why this woman was in the museum in the first place. She must have been very disappointed.

[Hissyspit]

42. I get that all the time in class. It does get wearing, but that's part of

territory. The answer I have to give is, of course, no, your two-year-old nephew could not do better, nor could your nine-year-old son. There are many different types of skills, there are many different types of significance, there is provocativeness, there is vision and there is trancendence, and as far as modern 20-century art goes, there is a difference between simple, simplified and simplistic.

[kwassa]

47. If you have spent any time drawing ...

you realize immediately how good Picasso really is. His lines are essential ones, sometimes the only essential ones.