Priceless

One change we’ve seen creeping into the dealer system in NZ is price lists without prices. In big city galleries in the US and the UK it would not only be most unusual to find the prices displayed but you'd be bloody lucky to get one of the assistants (assuming you could get them to talk to you at all) to tell you any prices at all unless you were ‘known to the gallery.’

This is one of the reasons of course why art fairs have become so popular internationally. Collectors and particularly the art interested public (who previously had no chance of knowing what cost what) can now see the price of almost anything thanks to the unashamed competitive commercialism of the art fair culture.

In New Zealand transparency of pricing, in the primary dealer market anyway, has been the rule rather than the exception. Those sheets on the wall or in plastic folders almost always included the prices although of course deals have always been commonplace and serious collectors, like major buyers anywhere in the world, expect to be able to negotiate a bit of a haircut on the sticker price. But international practice may be taking hold here. Increasingly the prices don't seem to be easily available. From what we can see the Commerce Commission allows that “businesses are not obliged to display prices” but does encourage “businesses to price goods clearly.” Go figure...if you can find them.

Not fair

“What we are dealing with now is destination shopping. We bring the art to the collector rather than bringing the collector to the art. Fairs are beneath the dignity of art. To stand there in a booth and hawk your wares — it is just not how you sell art.”
New York art dealer Arne Glimcher, of the Pace Gallery berating art fairs in the NYT.

Big Ears

We can’t make the Auckland Art Fair this year but we’re figuring things will be much as usual so here's the very best of Big Ears past.

"For someone who doesn't have one I guess it's ok."

“There’s a general problem with his art, that people don’t get it.”

"It's a reindeer and a towel. Everyone's excited."

“I said it was eight thousand bucks and he offered seven, so I told him ‘we’re not having this conversation.’”

“It was all fine until we had to deal with the artist.”

“He won’t be told, but he’s easily led.”

“Oh sure, he’s got lots of money, but can he make up his mind?”

“I’m just going to go over there and pat the dog.”

“I did like it. I liked it a lot, but in the end the paint was too thick.”

From the stream

Art critic Anthony Byrt gets a hard time from an impatient Auckland Art Fair

Rat king

Left the Union scab rat brought out to protest non-union labour being used at the Frieze Art Fair and right a 3.5 meter bronze 'art' version created by the Bruce High Quality Foundation ("a learning experiment where artists work together to manifest creative, productive, resistant, useless, and demanding interactions between art and the world") that sits without any visible irony in the foyer of Lever House.

Big Ears

An ear to the ground at the Frieze Art Fair:

“You talk to them, they’ll talk to George and George, can get back to us via Gina. Then maybe we can do something.”

“All I can say is whatever you think of his collection it certainly works in dollar terms.”

Collector: “I’ve got one of those but I think it is a different size.”

Dealer: “Yes they do come in different sizes.”

Collector: “I don’t like that.”

A: “There aren’t any labels, so how do you know who did what?”

B: “If you don’t know who they’re by you can’t afford them.”

A: “Love your trousers.”

B: “Thank you, they’re green.”

A: “I noticed.”

A: “That guy is totally of the moment.”

B: “Who is he?”

A: “Can’t remember.”

A: “Is it just me or are things getting smaller and smaller and costing more and more?”

B: “Mostly you I think.”

A: “Well at least we’re not screwing anyone over and that’s a good thing. Right?”

B: (uncomfortable silence)

Collector: “I do so love Struth.”

Dealer: “Actually this one is by Wolfgang Tillmans.”

Collector: “Oh, I’m not so sure about Tillmans.”

Collector on the phone: “Where are you? Oh. Have you seen anything… me? …no… it’s all either too big or too blue.”

The Saturday chart

Deep Frieze

The Frieze Art Fair opened this morning and OTN walked the halls on your behalf. You can also count on our special operative Big Ears having them both to the ground over the next few days, but in the meantime a quick sum up of what was everywhere you looked and what was nowhere to be seen.

Everywhere: cut glass, silver, cast objects, drawing and painting over photographs, birds and Paul McCarthy

Nowhere: neon, video, curtains, chandeliers and skulls

Image: Paul McCarthy's giant Balloon dog based on Jeff Koons's very large Balloon dog based on a regular party clown balloon dog

Frieze...it's Fiona

Frieze … it’s Fiona. The Frieze Art Fair is one of the two or three top fairs and it's held annually both in London and in New York. Today many dealer galleries make a significant part of their turnover from these fairs so competition to be included is fierce. In addition to the usual booths, talks and related exhibitions this year’s Frieze in New York also promises an outdoor sculpture park featuring major works by artists like Franz West (Gagosian Gallery), Paul McCarthy (Hauser & Wirth), Pae White (Andrew Kreps) and Fiona Connor (Hopkinson Cundy). Tom Eccles, who was previously Director of the New York City Public Art Fund, made the selection of 12 sculptors. Fiona Connor's contribution will be following on from her exhibition in Auckland where she installed a number of works in a field and duplicated them in the gallery. We’ll post photos of what she's come up with when we visit the fair in a couple of weeks.

Images: Fiona Connor’s work photographed at night (don’t ask) in a field somewhere in Mangere from the exhibition Mount Gabriel, Ruby and Ash