Art and the Omnibubble

Is there a relationship between the Omnibubble and the world of art?  While it may seem a dubious proposition, indulge me for a moment.  When I penned Escaping Oz: Navigating the crisis, I noted how the economic recovery since 2009 exhibited an uneven pattern.  Main street didn’t enjoy the same fruits of success as the upper crust, or even the upper crust of the upper crust.  One expression of this success is in the world of art.  In reference to this fabled 1% I wrote,

..they are doing so well that artist Robert Gober recently sold his masterpiece, entitled Three Urinals, for $3.52 million.  In case you were wondering, this is not a painting depicting three urinals, it is literally three urinals hung on a wall.  Oh and the urinals are not functional, which in the opinion of the auctioneer was good since “smooth contours invite the viewer’s touch.”

Believe it or not, the auction house, Christie’s, estimated the urinals could fetch between $3.5 million and $4.5 million in the November 2014 auction — the work sold at the low end of the range!  Flush from that success, the artist created a single urinal, entitled Urinal, in 2016 that fetched $1.44 million, well below Christie’s range of $2 to $3 million.  To be clear, the artwork consisted of urinals crafted from plaster, wire, wood, and paint.

The object of this post is not to cast judgement on the appreciation of art lovers.  Beauty’s clearly in the eyes of the beholder.  Rather, I’d like to shine a light on the prices paid.  During an Omnibubble, expressions of euphoria permeate many areas, including art.  The euphoria is consistent with prevailing social mood reflecting confidence.

At the time I wrote the book, I thought the bid for Three Urinals, might’ve represented near peak optimism.  You be the judge.

In October of this year, Banksy’s painting called “Girl With Balloon” sold for $1.4 million.  While there’s nothing unusual about the transaction, it’s what happened immediately after the auction that will grab your attention.  The artist staged a half shredding of the work moments after the award.  Ironically, the shredding was meant to make a mockery of the excesses of the auction market.  Instead, given the amount of publicity generated, it’s anticipated the price of this and his other work will increase.  In the opinion of one dealer, “It was a brilliant PR stunt.  It’s become worth more as a conceptual moment than as a work of art itself.”

This may be the ultimate expression of the Omnibubble; the person creating the work recognizes the excessive euphoria and takes drastic action to make the point, which should have been to their own financial detriment.  Instead, they’ll gain from their act of immolation.