I just don't get "art"

[BG5150]

This thing sold for $104 million dollars. That's over a hundred times more money than Dr. Evil originally wanted. A statue of a skinny man. I truly don't get art. Or, probably more accurately, I just don't understand the commercial value attached to some art.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_448243.html

[Patrick Bauer]

Trophies of the Rich and Powerful

[Colonel Cool]

I would have paid $105 million. Suckers.

[Browncoat]

Originally Posted by Colonel Cool

I would have paid $105 million. Suckers.

I would have paid $106 million just to get rid of it.

[Patrick Bauer]

Money paid equal to penis size

[Jasper07734]

Originally Posted by Patrick Bauer

Money paid inversely proportional to penis size

IFYP

[Buck]

Rich people want the stuff they like being untouchable, and they want to perpetuate it -- that was the main reason. Also, an art piece can not be duplicated -- that was part of the reasons too.

So, demand = some rich people bid the things they like sky high; supply = there is only one in the world, forever.

[glassjaws]

Mo money mo problems. This takes money away and thus avoids problems.

[Arden Bensenhaver]

Originally Posted by BG5150

A statue of a skinny man.

Is that all you see?

Open your eyes man...

[BG5150]

Originally Posted by Arden Bensenhaver

Is that all you see?

Open your eyes man...

Okay. I see a skinny man, crudely shaped. But he's both a humble image of an ordinary man, and a potent symbol of humanity. His gaunt frame shows the weight of the world has taken it toll on him, as he aimlessly ambles through life, searching for, not only his true purpose in life, but answers to why a so-called merciful God would allow the state of Man to be in such a condition.

The color of his body relates to his emotional state--grey. Grey is a mixture of white (hope) and black (despair). That the color is dark grey shows he is consumed more by despair, but there still remains hope.

That his is naked shows Man's vulnerability to the harsh world around him.

The slightness of the body straddles existence in this world and Man's hopes and dreams.

That the surface is not smooth is no accident. I causes the light to both be absorbed in the valleys and radiated from the peaks. Once again a juxtaposition of Man's outward despair and inner hope.