No sympathy for the devil

toomuchart:

Don’t read this unless you want to rip out your hair in frustration. Here are some gems:

“The art market is not sexist,” Mr Sewell said. “The likes of Bridget Riley and Louise Bourgeois are of the second and third rank. There has never been a first-rank woman artist.

“One would expect the art world to be more egalitarian. It was only in 2004 that a living woman, Marlene Dumas, broke through the $1m barrier.

The Russian avant-garde artist Natalia Goncharova, who died in 1962, holds the record for the most expensive female artist sold at auction, with her Les Fleurs selling for £5.5m at Christie’s in June. Yet this pales in comparison with the £43m made by Bacon’s Triptych, 1976 in May – the most expensive piece of contemporary art sold at auction.

Mr Wirth complained that, while even the best-known female artists sell for around £2m-3m, lesser male artists make more money at auction.

None of this surprises me and I’m absolutely not offended by it. Complaining about male chauvinism and the denigration of female artists based on monetary value and exchange is circular and, frankly, a little ridiculous. Controlling institutions exist in all forms of business. If you think discriminating against female artists for being female is stupid, there is a simple remedy: don’t do it. Appreciating artists for their “greatness” is like watching TV commercials. Be the critic for yourself.
This is the abortion debate of the art world.