It’s almost painful to watch the conversation between Alberto Mugrabi and Robert Hughes. Hughes’s bullying does his wit, learning and great skill as a writer no credit. There’s no particular reason that this clip comes back to light except that it reminds one of the great antipathy that exists toward the art market.
Update: We’ve already had a response to the video remarking that it is Mugrabi’s inarticulate defense of Warhol and Prince that is most striking about the video. But that’s exactly the point of posting it. What we have here is a battle of wills between the critic and the market (personified by the private dealer, Alberto Mugrabi.) The signal feature of the last decade in the art world has been the erosion of critical authority and the rise of rapid market-determined artists.Continue Reading