This week, trying to distinguish between a lifeline and a live wire…
EVOLUTION OR DEVOLUTION?
Last week, I started hearing chatter about a new twist in the art world’s crypto-saga: some leaders at major U.S. museums had begun quietly exploring the possibility of selling NFTs of some of their most famous artworks to fundraise after more than a year in shutdown hell. But while the proposition might technically keep institutions clear of the public-relations wildfire that is deaccessioning, this alternative route might actually lead them straight into an even worse disaster.
Now, there is
a lot going on in this thought experiment, so let’s begin with the tech side. If you’re still only in the shallow end of the crypto pool, it might be a little jarring wrapping your head around a non-fungible token for a physical object. After all, the nitroglycerine in 2021’s NFT explosion has largely been digital media. But an NFT is really just a claim ticket to an asset (meaning,
The Met is selling art to survive the pandemic. Critics say it s a dangerous precedent.
Peggy McGlone and Sebastian Smee, The Washington Post
March 8, 2021
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People sit on the steps during the public reopening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, New York on Aug. 30, 2020.Photo by Jeenah Moon for The Washington Post.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art approved a policy last week that allows proceeds from the sale of works from its collection to be used for salaries and overhead costs associated with the collection s care. The move follows similar actions by other museums, including ones in Brooklyn, Baltimore and Chicago, and marks the latest development in a debate that has been roiling the museum field, and has set some of the country s leading museum directors against one another.
The Gray Market: Why ‘Global Weirding’ Makes Art Museums Needier Than Ever for Unglamorous Donations (and Other Insights)
Our columnist connects a devastating winter storm in Texas, climate change, and a longstanding drought within cultural philanthropy.
February 22, 2021
Icicles hanging off the State Highway 195 sign in Killeen, Texas after the historic winter storm of February 2021. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Every Monday morning, Artnet News brings you The Gray Market. The column decodes important stories from the previous week and offers unparalleled insight into the inner workings of the art industry in the process.
This week, a story to chill the blood of any art aficionado…