Art Derivatives

By Dominika Karc

Paolo Cirio is an Italian Artist known for conceptual art, hacktivism, and cultural criticism.  He is fighting on behalf of social issues emphasizing the dangers of modern technologies and global tendencies. 

In his work “Art Derivatives”, he focused on speculations in the global art market.  He published information from  Sotheby’s auction house that has over 100,000 auction records of the past 10 years. To do so, he created a special website Art-Derivatives.com where you can buy a printed copy of Sothersby’s artwork for a fraction of the original price. By doing so, Cirio gave back a little power to small investors.  He also provoked the public to discuss secondary art market conditions and the art house’s power.

I think the important question that this action poses is: Why do we buy art ? Why do we desire to own it ?

I want to think that people buy art because it is an ownership of something beautiful, one of a kind, value beyond the material it is made with but, I’m afraid that art is just another tool to fill a desire of increasing social status. Even if it’s true, should we be so afraid of making our own judgments ? 

OBDK actively participates in this discussion. That is why we opened our evaluators program. Check out their website and make an impact on the Modern Art world!