Collecting: same or different?

Continuing on from last week's post about the Auckland Art Fair, two pieces of writing on hedge fund type collecting.

On artnet.com, an article by Charlie Finch titled 'A New Market Theory of Art', which concludes:

"Herd behavior by collectors at art fairs is stimulated by these new realities [hedge fund type collecting]. Nobody wishes to strike gold, because they already have gold: what these collectors want is status and cachet and, let’s face it, more gold. Greed is good. But art suffers in this context, because it functions solely as an economic and social marker, always subject to immediate obsolescence, should economic realities change. Yes, everyone is making money, but the money is really making them."

And Edward Winkleman, who's commenting on the Finch article in a post titled 'Looking for Fairness in the Age of Art Fairs'.