Russell Smith has taken Psych 101

Howdy!

Yesterday Mr. Smith decided to pipe in with some very "interesting" analysis about the theft of "The Scream." He wrote 950 words which start "It has become clear by now that the reasons behind the brazen theft of two Edvard Munch paintings from the Munch Museum in Oslo were probably psychological rather than commercial."

Gimme a break, has he spoken to the thieves? Maybe he was one of the thieves, and that is why he knows so much. He then goes on to tenuously link the psychological aspects of the theft with what he calls "Economics 101 stuff."

...the market for artistic objects, which also functions almost completely independently from considerations of aesthetic or philosophical value. This fact is dramatically illustrated in the Canadian market, in which the most valuable paintings -- the childish and dull -- are the least interesting.

Umm, not to bludgeon him with a wet noodle, but take the words "paintings," "Lawren," and "Harrises" out of the above quote and replace them with "songs," "Celine," and "Dions."

The market for "artistic objects" functions pretty much as any other market in this world. If it didn't it would've been the focus of innumerable studies in a humongous amount of universities economics' departments. Nothing like a weirdo to attract people.

To me, it can be summed up pretty simply, "make art, market it, sell it." That's why it's called a "market," right? The key is in how you market it?