The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art and Auction Houses

With globalization, the privatization of culture and the dominance of finance in the economy, art has also transformed into a significant financial instrument. The speculation that governs the financial world has increasingly taken over art as well. In this process, auctions have surpassed all other venues where art is valued.
They have established a hegemony over the operations of museums, fairs, biennales, and galleries, and even over art history and critical literature. This development, which escalated in the 1990s, was followed by the intense commodification of contemporary art. Art was pushed towards becoming a luxury, and the artist towards becoming an entrepreneur. While a minority among them, those who knew the ropes, amassed fortunes that no artist in history could have ever dreamed of, the majority lost out. Don Thompson explores "the curious economics of contemporary art and auction houses" in his book, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark.
When the auctioneer brought down the hammer for Mark Rothko's painting "White Center" at $72.8 million, a long applause erupted from the hall. What was being celebrated? The buyer's wealth? The triumph of their ego? Their aesthetic taste? A new record price? When the auction hammer falls, the price is equated with value, and this enters art history. The price demonstrates how easily art history can now be rewritten with a checkbook.