A Fairy Tale ?
Bill
keeper, in a small village just outside the city of Florence , Italy. His
name was Giuseppi Buonorroti and his inn was called The Pensione
Michelangelo. It was old but not quaint. Small, but not cozy. Secluded
but without real privacy. And cheap but not attractively priced since the
plumbing never worked and the windows never opened or closed properly making
the place stuffy all summer and frosty all winter. Nothing Giuseppi could
do seemed to work and help turn the place into a business success.
And then one day Giuseppi had an idea. His name was Buonorroti. Maybe he
could turn this to his advantage. Anyone can - given enough time and
energy- trace his family tree back to Adam and Eve. Who is to say that he
was not a direct descendent of the master himself- Michelangelo ? Soon, he
added a little shop filled with Michelangelo posters, trinkets, ash trays
and T shirts all suggesting they were somehow "authentic" and connected with
this, the one, the only, the original, version 5.0 Buonorrati family.
Success was immediate ! The shop soon doubled in size and he had two
family members turning out the junk upstairs in what had been two bedrooms.
After all, why buy retail from the Vatican Museum when he could double his
profit by cutting out the middle man ? And then there were those drawings
in the style of Michelangelo which sold like hot cakes - at almost ANY price
he chose to post. When asked if they were "authentic", he (at first)
replied that they were genuine reproductions. Later his answer was "I'm not
certain" which later still became "Maybe. They've been in our family for
years". (two years in fact).
Soon he was approaching art galleries and museums with an offer to sell
Buonorroti "family heirlooms," which "he believed" might be by the master
himself. (But which were in fact by G. Buonorroti Junior who was a busy,
talented, and fast becoming wealthy- forger operating out of the entire
second floor of what had been the Pensione Michelangelo. An establishment
now known as BFIMSAR or the Buonorroti Family Institute for Medieval Studies
and Artistic Research.
Selling single drawings occasionally at high prices was making the
Buonorroti family rich. The Fiats out front were gradually replaced by Alfa
Romeos, Maseratis and (Junior's fondest dream) a fire truck red Countach.
And then papa had another idea. Suppose we had a collection of 40 or 50
drawings, he supposed. And suppose we rented them out to major museums who
were having financial problems. They could pull in the crowds, maybe clear
seven or eight million, pay us half, rent to four or five museums a year
and bingo! The Buonorrotis are in tall clover. And all of it is perfectly
legal and safe. Why would any buyer who smelled a rat blow the whistle when
his resale value kept rising ? Why should he admit he was taken for a fool
and destroy his valuable investment ? Why should a museum director raise any
questions when he or she was making millions at the box office ? Nope. Ain't
gonna happen.
And now you know why major museums in the US, the UK, France, Spain,
Germany, Italy are charging so much to get in the door. And why the supply
of newly discovered "old masters" will grow ever larger and the number of
fake "old masters" will grow ever smaller.
artangel
Everybody in the arts is a crook?
OK Bill, then why bother with it? Move on to something honest like
sports or politics.
Bill
"artangel" <cityofim...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:1144101114....@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
Bill
"Bill" <bm...@XpaM.net> wrote in message
news:443214d1$0$3687$470e...@news.pa.net...
You said it Art, I didn't. But then you would know more about what's
happening on your side of the pond than I would. For instance, I just
found out that rigging prices in the UK is not a crime and that explains why
the director of Christie's auction house is not in jail as he would be if he
operated his scams in the States. And you ? Let me guess. You have a
tacky little hole- in- the- wall art "shoppe" in Notting Hill where you
flog art fakes from anywhere you can find them to some of the not- too-
bright people who inhabit that once civilized nation of yours Why do I
comment ? I don't know about you Art,. but I live in a free country and can
say any damn thing I like. And if it twists the guts of the art
fraudsters, shysters, and crooks preying on the art buying public, then
that makes my day. Perfidious Albion was never a major player in the art
world. So it's not surprising that they react with passion whenever anyone
raises questions about their parasitic relationship to the real world of
art. Sorry if I rubbed a raw nerve with my skepticism regarding the
Michelangelo show in the UK. I hope you enjoy it. I personally wouldn't
touch that fakery with a pair of tongs.
Have a nice day, Bill
CB
guess Hurricane Katrina was stronger than I thought. Or maybe everything
outside Backwater, Pa. is just foreign to you?
CB
"Bill" <bm...@XpaM.net> wrote in message
news:4432158c$0$3692$470e...@news.pa.net...
Mar Chaire
caldwell...@gmail.com says...
>
>I wasn't aware that Gulfport, Florida had been moved to the UK
Must have moved there right after it moved from
Mississippi to Florida!
artangel
Gulfport Florida was never in Mississippi. We just set up that place
as a diversion so people like Bill would not find us. Katrina did blow
us over to the UK but it was a short stay.
A north Atlantic storm brought us back to the U.S. We landed in Kansas
not Arkansas.
Bad news! A recent tornado moved us to of all places, Backwater Pa.
Bill is the Mayor. We are waiting for the next storm and looking
forward to being in you neighborhood soon!
Gotta go - the wind is picking up. See you soon.
artangel
We are black/hispanic/gay/liberal/ACLU/ex-New Yorkers from France.
The distinction must be made.
Mar Chaire
cityofim...@verizon.net says...
>
>Oh goodness no!
>
>We are black/hispanic/gay/liberal/ACLU/ex-New Yorkers from France.
>
>The distinction must be made.
Speaking for yourself, I presume.
Me...I'm a TEXAN! Nuff said!
andy gee
$4...@newsreader.com:
> Jeez - I hope you guys aren't black or gay or foreigners or from New York
> or anything. Take cover!
don't forget papists and jews.
--ag
andy gee
> And now you know why major museums in the US, the UK, France, Spain,
> Germany, Italy are charging so much to get in the door.
Nice fairy tale. I'll just give you the punchlines on the solutions:
1. "This tuna isn't for eating, idiot, it's for buying and selling!"
2. "Tulip market in Holland."
BTW I don't know about where you live, but all of my museums (almost all,
anyway) have free days or evenings. Regular admissions are about as much
as an IMAX ticket, and you get a full day of entertainment and edification,
not to mention yummy crumpets with tea.
Also BTW, is there anything in the world that has a possibility of
appreciating as much as an original artwork, even without market
manipulation?
--ag
Bill
"andy gee" <and...@GETRIDOFTHISinterport.net> wrote in message >
> don't forget papists and jews.
>
hispanics, liberals, commies, papists and jews. I don't think I can
remember another example to match this for its blatant effort to demonize
the messenger while never, never addressing the message. (fraud in the
world of art). I love it !
CB
"Bill" <bm...@XpaM.net> wrote in message
It's not a question of demonizing the messenger; the responses jump past
Bill's latest whipping post to address his real text - the evil of the Other
(Jews, gays, economists, art dealers, cosmopolitans, practically anybody
identifiable by a collective noun that that does not apply to Bill) - in the
only form suitable, which is ridicule. His approach might be addressed with
reason should he ever care to use it himself; but it's pretty clear that's
not a tool accessible to him. See his Picasso=Jew=Communist theories - and
his weaseling when called on it - for a typical example. Or his rants on
Brokeback Mountain.
As for the fraud issue, it's rather funny in itself that Bill - who is
probably one of the most fraudulent posters we've seen in a long time (check
out his educational claims for example) should be the one throwing stones.
If that same logic were to hold vis-a-vis his other screeds, we might
actually be dealing with an
educated-black-jewish-gay-cowboy-graffitti-scrawling-art-dealer-from-new-yor
k., instead of some old fart from Smallmind, Pa. :)
Cheers;
CB
>
Thur
"CB" <caldwell...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:OrNYf.55252$VV4.9...@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca...
Interesting. I had an image of someone living just out of town,
that town having the one main street, lines of pensioners
lounging under shady sidewalks, pickup trucks parked along
both sides, and the street wide enough to herd a thousand head
of cattle without disturbing those pensioners.
Flies a-buzzin, ice-cold beer in a smoky saloon, and perhaps
the drumming of hoof beats as someone exercises their trotting
horses.
--
Thur
artangel
I may be a black/hispanic/gay/liberal/ACLU/ex-New Yorkers
/papist/fag/jew from France, but I am not a cowboy Damn it! (Although
I will date one given the chance)
By the way Bill. If you managed to travel at all you would find that
most European museums are free or charge very little for admission.
CB
"Dan Fox" <danfoxa...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:20060405093702.060$Z...@newsreader.com...
> "CB" <n...@this.address> wrote:
>
> > >
> >
> > It's not a question of demonizing the messenger; the responses jump past
> > Bill's latest whipping post to address his real text - the evil of the
> > Other (Jews, gays, economists, art dealers, cosmopolitans, practically
> > anybody identifiable by a collective noun that that does not apply to
> > Bill) - in the only form suitable, which is ridicule.
>
> artist who has exhibited over a period of time. Also cf. the biographies
of
> prominent artists from the 19th century on.
>
> "Well, you know, there aren't that many paintings!" -- Dealer Leo Castelli
> to a collector when Warhol was shot and not expected to live.
>
> "I will buy anthing you have, right now. I give a good price, you'll see."
> -- Paris art dealer to Diego Giacometti, while both were walking in
Alberto
> Giacometti's funeral procession
Well, good point Dan (I read Vollard's Memoirs not long ago), but I would
have to except some dealers - like our own artangel (even if I do take the
occasional misdirected potshot down his way..).
Cheers
Chris
artangel
artist who has exhibited over a period of time. "
There is another exception, Chris - Artists really "are" evil. Ask any
dealer who has exhibited their work over a period of time. The dealer
creates a market for the artist, getting their work into important
collections and setting a very good price. The artist then deals out
the back door just to screw the dealer who created the market.
CB
I think it's time for you and Dan to kiss-and-make-up. (or is that
kiss-in-makeup ?). Anyway, it should shock Bill into silence for awhile :)
Chris
Erik A. Mattila
> I think our posts got scrambled. Of course I have the utmost respect for
> artangel and the other honest dealers extant. I've never really dealt with
> businessmen in other areas, but I suspect that dealers are no more or less
> crooked than anyone with a product to sell. (Look at Enron, etc. Be glad
> you're in Canada - if things get much worse here I might join you.)
>
> Now I've got to quit screwing around and get this painting finished.
Hahahaha....they're never finished, Dano, one just stops doing them.
You should have writ: "Now I've got to screw around and quit his painting."
Bill
"andy gee" <and...@GETRIDOFTHISinterport.net> wrote in message
> Also BTW, is there anything in the world that has a possibility of
> appreciating as much as an original artwork, even without market
> manipulation?
>
is bringing the crooks and thieves out of the woodwork in unprecedented
numbers. Houses are appreciating in value too and so are tangibles of
almost ANY kind. Which is another way of describing the growing realization
that our currency is being debased and losing its buying power at a rapid
rate. I can remember when gold was $35 dollars an ounce and when our
currency had something REAL behind it besides a government promise to
replace
one dollar with another dollar. (One promise to pay with a second promise to
pay)
You mentioned the Dutch tulip craze which of course was a similar bubble, in
which money was less valuable than a pretty flower. Their bubble ended as do
ALL such periods of fiscal insanity in financial collapse, ruin and misery.
I have no idea what will happen in the US. But a total financial collapse
is not beyond imagining. There is a limit somewhere on how much American
debt the Chinese and Japanese and the Saudis are willing to take while
seeing its value collapse. We're living on borrowed time and sowing the
wind. Will we reap a whirlwind ? I don't know, Meanwhile, real money
(gold) is above $400 an ounce and climbing..
Regards, Bill.
CB
"Bill" <bm...@XpaM.net> wrote in message
Meanwhile, real money
> (gold) is above $400 an ounce and climbing..
>
Actually, gold is trading just a shade under 600USD today. OTOH, back in the
late 70's early 80's (in a similar oil-panicked sort of environment) it
traded at over 800USD, which hardly makes it a sensible long term investment
(though a good one for speculators). To say nothing of the fact that, being
mostly owned by central banks, it is the most manipulated commodity on the
market. The reason it was 35$, for example, up to the 60's was because
governments both set the price, and refused their citizens the right to own
any significant amount; don't be surprised when they pull the same stunt
again. Buying work by Picasso, Rothko or even Bouguereau would probably have
been a much safer investment.
> Regards, Bill.
>
>
Andy Gee
news:44353bae$0$3690$470e...@news.pa.net:
>
> "andy gee" <and...@GETRIDOFTHISinterport.net> wrote in message
> news:Xns979BD5E69BD6Aa...@216.196.97.142...
>> Also BTW, is there anything in the world that has a possibility of
>> appreciating as much as an original artwork, even without market
>> manipulation?
>>
> Yes, art is appreciating in value. Which is one reason the art
> market
> is bringing the crooks and thieves out of the woodwork in
> unprecedented numbers. Houses are appreciating in value too and so
> are tangibles of almost ANY kind. Which is another way of describing
> the growing realization that our currency is being debased and losing
> its buying power at a rapid rate. I can remember when gold was $35
> dollars an ounce and when our currency had something REAL behind it
> besides a government promise to replace
> one dollar with another dollar. (One promise to pay with a second
> promise to pay)
Just for the record, as much as I favor objectivism and enjoyed "We the
Living," a moment's thought will show that gold is not real money,
since it is dependent on energy and information (which are both actually
the same thing.) If you want real money, denominate your bills in
kilowatt hours.
> You mentioned the Dutch tulip craze which of course was a similar
> bubble, in which money was less valuable than a pretty flower. Their
> bubble ended as do ALL such periods of fiscal insanity in financial
> collapse, ruin and misery. I have no idea what will happen in the US.
In the last collapse, mid 80s, Japan got left holding the bag and lost
Rockefeller Center, Universal Pictures, and billions of dollars in Old
Master art works. We bought our stuff back at half price and went on,
in the mid 90s, to create 7 trillion in brand new wealth in information
technologies. In the beginning of the current collapse, we lost half
the 7 trillion (but amazingly managed to keep half of this brand new
virgin wealth) and it looks like China might be holding the bag, unless
they learn from the Japanese.
> But a total financial collapse is not beyond imagining. There is a
> limit somewhere on how much American debt the Chinese and Japanese and
> the Saudis are willing to take while seeing its value collapse.
> We're living on borrowed time and sowing the wind. Will we reap a
> whirlwind ? I don't know, Meanwhile, real money (gold) is above
> $400 an ounce and climbing..
This is one of the reasons I boycott Chinese products (wherever
possible) and I spend my free time as an advocate for alternative
transportation. This time around Americans are too fat and lazy and
getting expensive diseases of the fat and lazy. About 30% of personal
travel would be faster, cheaper, and healthier by bicycle and other
alternatives. If that 30% went alternative, the other 70% would also be
faster and cheaper. But it seems that someone with friends in the oil
and pharmacology industries is sticking to the status quo no matter how
much it costs me. I just did my taxes, you should see how much I'm
paying to keep these fat slobs in their SUVs and lipitor.
--ag
Andy Gee
> Yes, art is appreciating in value. Which is one reason the art market
> is bringing the crooks and thieves out of the woodwork in unprecedented
> numbers.
And by the way, this is one of the reasons I like "free" public, outside
art. Until the writer steps into the gallery system and becomes an artist,
the art is completely untouched by speculationists, der stazzi, homintern,
or any of the other evil apperatchiks who may have interests different from
the appreciation of art. If you're a fan of FAILE or Claw, for example
(shameless plug: latest FAILE update still at
www.graffitirider.blogspot.com) you will never have to pay admission to see
one or worry if your investment (which is $0.00) has gone up or down.
--ag