「貧乏臭さ」の象徴：村上隆、ドラえもん、藤子・F・不二雄、ガゴシアン。アート・フリッパー：2020作を2021年4月のオークションへ Symbol of "Shabbiness": MURAKAMI Takashi, Doraemon, Fujiko Fujio, Gagosian. Art Flipper: Work of 2020 Selling at April 2021 Auction
My dear readers and friends of ART+CULTURE,
somehow I feel tired in pointing out to the many anomalies in the art industry. They really distract from the joy and contemplative feelings we experience when looking at beautiful, inspiring, thoughtful, socially engaged or shocking works, installations of art.
Nevertheless, when my mood allows, today’s text and pics seem necessary. Some 30 minutes of writing.
Japanese curators and artists tell me, they are learning via my texts. Thank you.
I assume it should be better that you, the art lover or potential collector who spends money, foster your skills, optimise your knowledge in the context of understanding contemporary artistic practice. Do not pretend in acting as a fool.
Let’s have a look at the actual situation of the auction house Sotheby’s.
Just by chance, as I am interestingly following/watching my peer Takashi in his artistic practice, an art newsletter with DORAEMON ドラえもん, an extremely popular manga/anime 漫画・アニメ “character”/comic-figure in Japan, caught my eye.
In one or two days, depending where you live, starts the bidding for the work by MURAKAMI Takashi 村上隆 “Doraemon Sitting Up: Weeping Some, Laughing Some” 2020, that means, executed several months ago in Takashi’s studio in Saitama, a city north of Tokyo. The provenance on the website explains: Gagosian Gallery, Hong Kong. Acquired from above by the present owner.
It’s not the first case we see a person, or a proxy (by the gallery or artist?), selling a newly created painting at the auction house. In this case, what we know for sure: Takashi, 藤子・F・不二雄 “Fujiko Fujio” (the company involved) and Gagosian allow to let this kind of art flipping happen.
That’s the reason why I call the whole situation “shabbiness” 「貧乏臭さ」, implying a sense of sarcasm. Poor guys, who have to do such a thing. For sure, not for the sake of art.
Other galleries, like Goodman or Zwirner force the buyer to sign a contract, in which you’re not allowed to sell the art work at an auction house for the next 10 years.
May I hereby quote Sotheby’s outgoing Asia CEO Kevin Ching:
“When I joined 15 years ago, we were reminded not to link art and investment. Investment was almost an ugly word. Then, the world changed. As art became more expensive, a painting is not just art.”
“When someone is spending US$20 million to US$30 million, say, on a piece of art, it would be silly not to ask if it’d make good investment. So to sell a painting, you can no longer just rely on the expertise of your specialists. I’m leaving at the right time. Now it’s about deals.”
アジアのアートマーケットの中心的人物：26歳のネイサン ドライ氏、新CEO サザビーズアジア (サザビーズのオーナー パトリック・ドライの息子）
Key Person of Asia’s Art Market: 26 Years Old Nathan Drahi, New CEO Sotheby’s Asia (Son of Sotheby’s Owner Patrick Drahi)
https://art-culture.world/articles/key-person-of-asia-art-market/
My dear readers and friends of ART+CULTURE, don’t be disappointed. Deal with it.
That’s the New Normal in the Contemporary Art World. Remain sceptical towards the words by gallery owners, artists, art advisors and curators. Art Business by the art dealers of the galleries implies deep knowledge of the auction world.
2021/4/17
Mario A
If you want to learn more about the genre “art flippers”, check
アートマーケットと現代アート・フリッパーについて
Art Market and Art Flippers
https://art-culture.world/articles/art-market-and-art-flippers/
五木田智央の絵画が投機好きなアートとして @ ニューヨークタイムズ
GOKITA Tomoo’s Painting as Flip Art @ New York Times
https://art-culture.world/articles/gokita-tomoo-painting-as-flip-art-new-york-times/
ビハインド・ザ・シーン。例えばA.B.の場合
Behind The Scene. For Example The Case Of A.B.
https://art-culture.world/articles/behind-the-scene-ビハインド-ザ-シーン-例えばa-b-の場合/
Mark Bradford + Kerry James Marshall: ‘Black Art’ for American Art Flippers
https://art-culture.world/articles/mark-bradford-kerry-james-marshall-black-art-for-american-art-flippers/
“Bribed” journalism at Wall Street Journal: Gagosian pushing up Grotjahn for U.S. Art Flippers, 6 days before the exhibition
https://art-culture.world/articles/gagosian-grotjahn-for-u-s-art-flippers/
前澤友作コレクションですが、これで終わりか？
Is this the end of the ‘MAEZAWA Yusaku Collection’?
https://art-culture.world/articles/end-of-the-maezawa-yusaku-collection/
About auction houses:
サザビーズとクリスティーズのオークションに夢中になっている前澤友作
MAEZAWA Yusaku, crazy about auctions at Sotheby’s and Christie’s
https://art-culture.world/articles/maezawa-yusaku-crazy-about-auctions-at-sothebys-and-christies/
前澤友作の米国アーティスト・ダーリン、マーク・グロッチャンの作品：クリスティーズのロンドン・オークションで下落
MAEZAWA Yusaku’s American Artist Darling Mark Grotjahn @ Christie’s London & Lévy Gorvy : Sharp Depreciation
https://art-culture.world/articles/maezawa-yusaku-mark-grotjahn-christies/
村上作品の価値？不幸な村上隆、、、
The Value of Murakami’s Works? An Unhappy MURAKAMI Takashi…
https://art-culture.world/articles/takashi-murakami-art-works-value/
「Aクラス・現代アートコレクター」マーティン Z. マーグリーズ、マイアミ
‘A-Class Contemporary Art Collector’ Martin Z. Margulies, Miami
https://art-culture.world/articles/a-class-contemporary-art-collector-martin-z-margulies-miami/
クリスティーズジャパン社長・山口桂さん 美の歴史に携わる喜び
The Pleasure To Be Engaged In Art History – Christie’s Japan CEO YAMAGUCHI Katsura
https://art-culture.world/articles/christies-japan-ceo-yamaguchi-katsura/
ジャン＝ミシェル・バスキア 〜 メイド・イン・ジャパン 〜 売り出し中
Jean-Michel Basquiat 〜 Made in Japan 〜 For Sale
https://art-culture.world/articles/jean-michel-basquiat-made-in-japan-ジャン＝ミシェル・バスキア/
More than a Muse: Picasso’s Great Love Affair パブロ・ピカソ
https://art-culture.world/articles/picasso-great-love-affair/
バンクシー「愛はごみ箱の中に」aka「少女と風船」
Banksy “Love Is in the Bin” – aka “Girl with Balloon”
https://art-culture.world/articles/banksy-girl-with-balloon-love-is-in-the-bin/
ARTnews の「トップ200コレクターズ」」2018
THE TOP 200 COLLECTORS (ARTnews 2018)
https://art-culture.world/articles/the-top-200-collectors-artnews-2018/
Following are the archival documents, for you to research in the future. If the work doesn’t find a buyer, the page at Sotheby’s will disappear.
Link to Sotheby’s:
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/contemporary-art-evening-sale/takashi-murakami-cun-shang-long-doraemon-sitting
Contemporary Art Evening Sale
19 April 2021 • 19:00 HKT • Hong Kong
Contemporary Art Evening Sale / Lot 1142
Takashi Murakami 村上隆
Doraemon Sitting Up: Weeping Some, Laughing Some
坐起來的哆啦A夢：哭哭笑笑
Estimate:
2,800,000 – 3,800,000 HKD
360,307 – 488,988 US$
39,207,636 – 53,210,363 JPY 円
Description
Takashi Murakami
b. 1962
Doraemon Sitting Up: Weeping Some, Laughing Some
acrylic and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on wood panel
signed and dated 2020 on the reverse
122.9 by 94 by 4.8 cm. 48⅜ by 37 by 1⅞ in.
村上隆
1962年生
坐起來的哆啦A夢：哭哭笑笑
壓克力與鉑金葉畫布裱於木板
2020年作
款識
藝術家簽名，2020（作品背面）
122.9 x 94 x 4.8 公分，48⅜ x 37 x 1⅞ 英寸
Provenance
Gagosian Gallery, Hong Kong
Acquired from the above by the present owner
香港，格拉斯頓畫廊
現藏者購自上述來源
Catalogue Note
quote:
Doraemon Sitting Up: Weeping Some, Laughing Some by Takashi Murakami is a unique shaped canvas featuring the classic Japanese manga series Doraemon. Murakami’s fixation with Doraemon dates back to his landmark 2005 exhibition Little Boy; in the catalogue, Murakami interpreted Doraemon against the context of Japan’s recent history, comparing the plight of the character Nobita to the overall sentiment of postwar Japan. Shortly after Little Boy, Murakami was asked to contribute to Doraemon creator Fujiko F. Fujio’s Please Make Your Own Doraemon exhibition. Later in 2017, Murakami created the main visual for The Doraemon Exhibition Tokyo at the Mori Arts Center Gallery in Tokyo, and also designed collaborative T-shirts with Uniqlo featuring the Doraemon character.
quote:
「漫畫擁有獨特的美學。它會觸碰你的童心，讓你追憶美好的童年往事。」
村上隆
隆くんを巡る About MURAKAMI Takashi, learn more via:
世界のNFT作品70%下落。今日の村上隆：すでに入札をしてくださっていた方々には誠に申し訳ないのですが、より便利に楽しく安心して私のNFT作品を楽しんで頂く為にも、今回の取り下げをご理解頂けますと幸いです。(2021/4/12)
NFTs prices linked to art down 70%. MURAKAMI Takashi, today: I sincerely apologize to those who have already put in their bids, but I hope you will understand the logic behind this withdrawal, the aim of which is to later allow you to enjoy my NFT works more conveniently and with peace of mind.
https://art-culture.world/articles/murakami-takashi-nft-apology/
村上隆とNFT：芸術家は、死ぬまでの短い数十年間で、その後何百年も対応可能な作品を作らねばなりません。(2021/3/30)
MURAKAMI Takashi thinks, to be remembered hundreds of years later, he has to join shitty NFT: “Murakami Flowers” for dumb NFT digital money speculators
https://art-culture.world/articles/murakami-takashi-村上隆-nft-murakami-flowers/
村上隆：「森ビルさんや、協賛のスポンサーさん達にはご迷惑をお掛けしております が、メディアへのインタヴュー一切をお断りしております。」(2021/3/3)
MURAKAMI Takashi Refuses To Give Any Press Interview (repost from the archive 過去サイト・アーカイブの再投稿 2015/10/16)
https://art-culture.world/articles/murakami-takashi-refuses-to-give-any-press-interview-村上隆/
森美術館前なう！日本一美術家、天才村上隆の超ダサい、米国産、金色うんこ自画像！爆笑！！(2020/11/20)
In Front of The Mori Art Museum, NOW! Japan’s No.1 Artist, Genius MURAKAMI Takashi’s, Made in America, Golden Bullshit Self-Portrait Sucks! ROFL!!
https://art-culture.world/articles/genius-murakami-takashi-天才村上隆/
日本の現代アーティスト・トップ 6（2020年）(2020/7/18)
Contemporary artists from Japan, Top 6 (2020)
https://art-culture.world/articles/contemporary-artists-from-japan-top-6-2020-日本の現代アーティスト・トップ-6-2020年/
米国ギャラリー Blum&Poeのアーティスト・リストから外された村上隆 (2019/4/23)
Takashi Murakami Had Been Erased From American Gallery Blum & Poe’s Artists’ List
https://art-culture.world/articles/takashi-murakami-blum-poe-村上隆/
今日のJapan Times。「村上隆：日本のアート・アウトサイダー、平成時代を定義した、’嫌われた’アーティスト 」。不幸な村上隆、、、(2019/3/14)
Today’s Japan Times. “Takashi Murakami: Japan’s art outsider. The ‘hated’ artist who defined the Heisei Era”. An Unhappy MURAKAMI Takashi…
https://art-culture.world/articles/takashi-murakami-japans-art-outsider-the-hated-artist-村上隆/
村上作品の価値？不幸な村上隆、、、(2018/11/16)
The Value of Murakami’s Works? An Unhappy MURAKAMI Takashi…
https://art-culture.world/articles/takashi-murakami-art-works-value/
日本のアート界を駄目にした男？ 不幸な村上隆、、、(2018/10/19)
The Man Who Ruined The Japanese Art World? An Unhappy MURAKAMI Takashi…
https://art-culture.world/articles/takashi-murakami-kaikai-kiki-japanese-art-world/