ART WORLD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

ART WORLD - Essay Example Financial and cultural capital is important for a city in order to have an art market and the above mentioned cities have it in abundance. The United States of America has over 50% of sales when it comes to contemporary art market and this is an impressive figure considering the fact that there are other major players in the art market. There has been a recent influx of young buyers in the art market and this has brought about significant changes. It is good for the economy because a lot of money has been pumped by these young buyers into the art market. â€Å"The art world is structured as an interdependent network of social-economic actors who cooperate--often contentiously or unknowingly--to enact and perpetuate the art world, while at the same time negotiating kinds and levels of cooperation in a mutually understood careerist and competitive context.† (Art Economics) Dealers and galleries play a pivotal role in displaying the art works to prospective buyers, without these display art galleries it would be hard for buyers to see and get what they want. Auction houses also play a key role in displaying art work to prospective buyers. In addition to this there are art consultants and advisors who bridge the gap between sellers and potential buyers of art work. Art fairs are also being organized on a regular basis to attract more buyers interested in buying contemporary art work. The economy of the art world is being affected because more and more thieves are trying to get their hands on valuable works of arts so that they can sell it and make good money on these contemporary art works. It is a win win situation for the thieves because most valuable pieces of art weigh only a few pounds and they are sold for millions of dollars in the market. It is very easy to transport such expensive works of art because thieves usually steal art works that are easy to carry and transport hence, it is a very trivial job for them to get it transported. In the year 2011 artworks worth $1 billion were recovered from a home in Munich, Germany. These art works were believed to have stolen by the Nazis through the end of World War II. It has become a very lucrative business for thieves, there is no investment required and the returns are unbelievable this is precisely why more and more cases of burglary of these art works has been reported in the last few years. Stolen artwork fetches a lot of money and it is well over a billion dollar industry. This practice is illegal and also highly unethical, but people still involve themselves in this lucrative trade because there is easy money to be made. It promotes corruption in society, in addition to this famous paintings fetch a lot of money and this is precisely why many people eye these famous paintings and when an opportunity presents itself they steal it and sell it on to make a nice quick buck. There are two categories of people who steal these famous painting in an endeavor to make a quick buck. The fi rst is called the naif. A naif typically steals a painting but after sometime upon being unable to sell it, a naif realizes that the work of art has become extremely burdensome because of their inability to sell it and the same results in the work of art becoming worthless at least to the person who has stolen it. The second category represents sophisticated criminals who do not think like typical naifs. They understand and value the worth of stolen art work and come up with appropriate strategies to sell it and in the process make good money. The FBI each year reports that several high-profile paintings go missing and they also understand and realize that these high-profile paintings are being sold and the stolen artwork industry is thriving because of the same. â€Å"