“Contemporary art is a luxury brand,” declared HBO’s Richard Plepler, introducing Nathaniel Kahn’s excellent, entertaining documentary, The Price of Everything, at a posh premiere at MoMA last week. “And the artist is our last best hope.” These words were not lost on a crowd that included artists like George Condo, Marilyn Minter, Larry Poons and Jeff Koons, all featured in the film. In addition, museum curators, private collectors, and auction house personnel were all part of the mix celebrating a movie about a market that keeps its prices up. After all, “you can’t have a golden age without gold,” as someone wisely put it. All the while, the work created on camera, as some question what makes art art, or good art, seems to ignore the vagaries of commerce, allowing the money minded to thrive.

The film’s best moments are seeing Marilyn Minter making human figures in a cotton candy haze, and George Condo putting the finishing stroke on a large cartoon inspired canvas, suggesting in fact that completion is a creative decision even when the work looks as if it could continue. Seeing collector Stefan Edlis’ extravagant collection including a statue of Hitler after his explanation of how he escaped Europe during the war provides a bit of humor, just as a fleeting shot of Woody Allen at Christie’s shows him (perhaps contemplating a bid). Nathaniel Kahn explained that it was a tit-for-tat moment for him after his film about his father, My Architect, flashed on a movie marquee in Allen’s Match Point. As the quote goes in part, “A lot of people know the price of everything.” The value, well, that’s something else.

Regina Weinreich

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