The Great Art Con

I certainly do not claim to be an expert on art, but I am no philistine either. I have visited the Louvre in Paris, the Prado in Madrid and the Uffizi in Florence, among other art galleries – and I can appreciate the color, texture and brush strokes of a Titian, a Velasquez, or even an occasional Monet as well as anybody. Modern art – not so much.

I can just about appreciate the artistry in Jackson Pollock’s "Strings", but I readily admit to a sense of bewilderment when I see someone go into raptures over a canvas which has squiggly lines and shapeless blobs; and which – we are supposed to divine – is a Woman in Repose; or some such meaningless title.

Take a look at the picture accompanying this article. It is entitled "White Center" and painted by a US abstract artist named Mark Rothko. On May 15, the painting was sold at the Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Sale in New York for $72.8. You read that right – almost seventy three million dollars.

Call me an uncultured boor, but I’ll tell you what I see when I look at this "masterpiece". I see two horizontal bands of different colors, on either side of a white band; with a vaguely defined border. Any average house painter could have knocked that off in less than an hour. Heck, even a moderately talented twelve year old could have done it.

And somebody paid 73 million dollars for this? I know it’s all about branding these days, but this is patently ridiculous. In my opinion, it’s nothing but a great art con.