Ben Lewis’s new documentary ‘The Great Contemporary Art Bubble’ You can now buy this film on DVD from my website www.benlewis.tv
It investigates the reasons behind the boom and bust of contemporary art.
The Great Contemporary Art Bubble
BBC Four. Monday 18th May. 9.00pm.
The last five years have seen an unprecedented craze for contemporary art. Contemporary art prices rose by an average of 800% while works by Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon and Mark Rothko sold for record-breaking prices of £30 million plus.
Art critic and film-maker Ben Lewis spent 2008 following the contemporary art market; travelling to art fairs, auctions, museums and the offices and homes of billionaire art collectors. He spoke to dealers, auctioneers, gallery-owners, art market analysts and art collectors trying to find out the reasons behind the greatest rise in the value of art in history.
He says: I didnt like what was happening in the contemporary art marketMuch of the art was mass produced, repetitive and commercial. Collectors bought it for investment and stored vast amounts of it in warehousesAnd the special privileges our society gave to art and artists were being exploited by some of the worlds richest people to make yet more money.
Everywhere Ben went he was told the contemporary art boom would go on forever fuelled by a new passion for art from the worlds super-rich. But he found other reasons for the boom unusual market practices, speculation, secrecy and tax breaks involving the whole art world.
It all climaxed on September 15th 2008 when Damien Hirst sold over £70 million of his art in one day. On that same day Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers collapsed triggered turmoil in global financial markets. One month later the art market crashed dropping by 40% in November 2008 and 75% by February 2009. It is still falling today.
Ben says: The contemporary art market had a speculative dynamic of its own thats why it kept on going while other markets crashed. Great works of art are still being made todaybut the Great Contemporary Art Bubble will surely go down in history as the epitome of the vanity and folly of our age.
Duration : 0:3:7
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December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Yeh same here ay, I …
Yeh same here ay, I watched it a few days ago… his voice was annoying but it was so interesting.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
just watched this …
just watched this doc on TV in AUS, brilliant, but his voice is quite annoying.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
I just did a video …
I just did a video called “The Collapse of the Art Market”. In it I make the connection between Jesus turning the table on the temple’s money changers and the genius of the philosophy of aesthetics and the art market.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
yes, on bbc4
yes, on bbc4
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Anyone know where I …
Anyone know where I might be able to view this documentary?
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
It’s about time …
It’s about time people started to see that crap art is worth nothing.
I just hope that people like Hirst and Richter go bankrupt and have to live in the gutters for a while to learn it’s not ok to rip people off like that.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Just saw this …
Just saw this documentary. It is excellent. Hirst is way overrated, it seems.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Excellent work ! …
Excellent work ! Thank you so much !
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
The only works i …
The only works i like from him are his butterfly paintings and the spiral painting as well. I do not care for his concept art.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
damien hirst is …
damien hirst is soooooooo good….ecspecially his butterfly paintings.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
fantastic guy, …
fantastic guy, thanks ben, i’ll be in touch, i am at present going crazy witnessing the corruption clearly visible around the tate and commercial art market in st.ives.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
I like the painting …
I like the painting at 1:06.