From: Matthew Bown, "Traces of the holy: The contemporary art work as 'crypto-relic'" -- The Times Literary Supplement (April 10, 2015), p. 14:
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[I]f a relic was acclaimed stolen, that was felt to be evidence that it was genuine because, well, who would want to steal an item that wasn't genuinely miraculous? This form of proof is still offered in insalubrious corners of the art market; as a dealer in Russian art I have encountered it several times. Sellers of purportedly avant-garde works inform you that these were stolen from Soviet museums during the fall of Communism; in the sellers' minds this adds glamour and plausibility to the work offered.
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