Going though Sotheby's coming design sale and there are so many goodies, but Newson's ladder stuck out to me like a sore thumb, it's simply not worth $30-50,000. It's worth whatever some dipshit will pay, I know, but they ought to be ashamed to pay an amount anywhere near that.
I've always viewed design as an indicator of taste, but this work is completely devoid of any redeemable aspects that may merit its inclusion into design art. And shame on Galerie kreo for birthing this garbage as a part of it's program!
It's a carbon fiber ladder. There's nothing, and I mean n-o-t-h-i-n-g, special about that &^%$#@!! ladder.
https://www.artsy.net/artwork/marc-newson-carbon-ladder-1?auction_id=sothebys-important-design
Your simple outlook and witty phrases are refreshing and appreciated.
These two comments have meaning for me:
Marc Newson Commander of the Order of the British Empire is quoted as saying it doesn’t matter that the Lockheed is “utterly unusable”.
Alexander Payne, Phillips’ worldwide director of design, believes the Lockheed Lounge selling for £2.4m is an indictment of wealth run amok, the excesses of art-world valuation pouring into the realm of design, such that a product becomes worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it. If the Lockheed has to be a poster-boy, it would be a better poster-boy for free-market capitalism than it would for design.
That said, I would buy this ladder should that be my desire. The economy is not equal for everyone.
I'm frequently amazed by auction estimates (and hammer prices), but in this case the valuation doesn't seem too far out of line. Large, high-quality carbon fiber pieces are expensive; the estimated range for the ladder is only about 2-5x the price of a similarly sized automotive body part.
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