I attended a meeting last evening where Professor Joan Jeffri from Columbia University’s Teachers College discussed her recently-published book entitled Respect for Art: Visual Arts Administration and Management in China and the United States. In spite of (perhaps thanks to) my lack of knowledge in visual arts, I ended up learning a lot about the fascinating world of artists, galleries, auction houses and museums in contemporary China as well as their interactions with their peers in the United States and Europe. I also came away with an appreciation for the often crucial role government policies play in shaping production, distribution and consumption of arts in both countries.
One side discussion dealt with the rapid increase in the price of Chinese art over the past few years and whether such an increase was warranted. “The auction value of Chinese contemporary art has skyrocketed, not necessarily because they are excellent and therefore deserve high prices, but because some hedge fund managers are willing to pay high prices for even some mediocre pieces,” went one casual comment. [I am paraphrasing here and not quoting verbatim.]
Which begs this age-old and one of my favorite questions: what do we mean by the word “value“?
Why? Doesn’t everyone know what value means? No! I have seen many instances of public policy discussions where the meaning of this (sometimes emotional and ideological) word is unclear at best and confused at worst.
Posted by Matthew
