“Apart from drugs, art is the biggest unregulated market in the world.”

“Apart from drugs, art is the biggest unregulated market in the world.” Robert Hughes. 


Secondly, the fair was awash in money, and the brazen commodification of art and the consequences of that process are readily apparent. 

For some contemporary artists, success seems to bring with it a conservatism in form, so that whatever “worked” is then reproduced, with slight variations, dozens or even hundreds of times. 


The late critic Robert Hughes said, “Apart from drugs, art is the biggest unregulated market in the world.” The pernicious influence of large quantities of money was readily apparent at Expo Chicago. Even before stepping in the hall, one passed a $135,000 roadster by official sponsor Mercedes Benz. Once inside, the prices of the artwork ranged from the thousands of dollars to $25 million for a Picasso painting surrounded by round-the-clock security.



http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/sep2012/expo-s27.shtml