[akudha]

hahaha, that was a hilarious read. Thank you for taking the time to write something funny while also explaining.

I watched this documentary on Netflix called Made You Look. There was a painting in it that sold for crap ton of money - it was literally two rectangles (not perfect rectangles, but close enough. And no, I am not making this up) in different colors. I paused the video and looked at it for a couple of minutes and thought, my 7 year old niece can draw this. What is special about this painting?

So yeah, I guess I am a simpleton who can't understand art ...

[zerocrates]

By your description I'm assuming it was supposed to be a Rothko.

[akudha]

This one, I think https://www.moma.org/collection/works/80566

[morelisp]

I would suggest you don't try to evaluate 3x3m piece of art on canvas based on a screenshot on your 13" LED laptop screen.

[NoOneNew]

True but theres also a difference for a wall sized "painting" of paint splatter/gradient rectangles and a Salvador Dali. I had the benefit of visiting the Dali museum in St Pete FL. Seeing his work in photos and on a computer screen is, "Meh, that's cool". Seeing the exact same pieces tower above you in person is a borderline religious experience that cant be described with words.

[NoOneNew]

To be fair, I do like some abstract art. Those rectangle ones you're talking about can look good as generic decor. Multiple thousands of dollars type of good? Hell no. $20 poster? Yea. A good textured giclee print, 50-100 tops.

In truth, it's just like bitcoin. The black market got involved and drove up prices. The naive market observed without understanding and jumped in.