New York Times, 19 May 2020 : Auction Houses Postpone Live Sales and Pivot to Online
some extracts : ... Like companies all over the world, auction houses now find themselves in uncharted territory, trying to find a way to keep their businesses afloat even as the future of buying art looks as if it may be forever changed.
Theatre of the Actors of Regard
“I’m thinking really seriously about what the online experience is for our clients,” said Amy Cappellazzo chairwoman of the Fine Art division of Sotheby’s. “In effect, we’ve been in the live theater business. Now we’re segueing into what is more like live streaming. The truth is, that revolution has been underway for some time.”
TARists at 'Exhibition of a Rhinoceros at Venice' by/after Pietro
Longhi, 1751-2020
Many experts say online auctions can’t replicate the high drama of an auction room, nor replace the revenue required to sustain personnel-heavy operations like Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips.
“The auction itself is high drama — gladiator sport,” said the dealer Brett Gorvy, a former Christie’s executive. “When we get back to a degree of normality, it will return.”
Mr. Gorvy also emphasized that sellers need auctions to gauge where the market is; sporadic private sales don’t provide enough information on whether prices have fallen as a result of the virus.
“There is nothing publicly to test the market — no fairs or auctions,” he said. “It’s holding up business. People don’t really know at what price to trade.”
culTARal enTARopy : gold in, shit out, energy of TAR along the way
“I’m not an online fan," said Adam Lindemann, a prominent collector and dealer. “I want to see the real thing if I can.”
Theatre of the Actors of Regard
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...
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