Literature: Piroska Dossey. Sold!
ARTinvestment.RU   12 августа 2020

The book is about the phenomenon of pricing, the original title of which was ahead of its time in a decade

Sold! Art and money

Author: Piroska dossey
Year: 2011
Volume: 288 pages
Publisher: Limbus Press, St.-Петербург
ISBN: 9788322931776

In the practice of international relations there are two main types of impact: hard power (eng. Hard Power) soft power (eng. Soft Power). If the tools of hard power vary between the military economic carrot and stick, the soft power operates through dialogue, persuasion, compassion, and temptations. Cultural diplomacy of countries is one of such mechanisms, equally for dialogue and conviction, causing compassion and temptations. Major agents of cultural diplomacy are cultural centers that carry the main message of the country (or countries) to which they relate, in other areas. Examples of this we know a lot: "Alliance française", "British Council", "the Cervantes Institute", "Institute of Confucius", "Goethe-Институт". The last organization in 2011 and has initiated translation and publication in Russia of a book by a German author Piroshki dossey "Sold!". Let's just remember this fact without any-либо premature conclusions.

the book was written in 2007, in explanation of the rapid development of the market of contemporary art, which began in 2004 with the "shark" sales of Damien Hirst, and which led to record deals in the next three auction season. "Sold!" – a kind of European response to canadian Donald Thompson, author of "Stuffed shark for $12 million": the answer is ironic, more literary, with fewer insights and more emphasis on the social behaviour of collectors and sellers. Incidentally, in the original, instead of "Sold!" is the word Hype, which at the beginning of 2010-х not yet Russified and was not included in the usual practice in the description of the big interest outside of logic and understanding of consequences. However, today it would be very useful@the semicolon is that the "hype" with contemporary art a little podostyl – collectors have become more careful, more based on numbers and awards to artists than headlines.

Meanwhile, by 2007 the Russian art market has expanded its foreign geography due to the opening theme of trading in London and new-Йорке, and its turnover was around half a billion dollars. It seemed that even the economic crisis of 2008 affected everyone, in addition to Russian buyers – sale at fantastic prices continued. By 2010 they started to decline. The situation was not rescued even look, Judith Benamou-Юэ, whose "Price of art" was translated into Russian and released in 2008. To keep the interest in the contemporary art market, even after provocative book, was entrusted Piroska dossey – German curator, Director-документалисту, art-консультанту and part-time wife German artist Ugo Dossi. By the way, information about the biography of the author – both before and after writing books in the public domain is extremely small.

From the point of view of the facts, "Sold!" it is not a perfect source of knowledge about the art market, and it's definitely not the only one that must read as an Amateur and a professional in the sphere of art-рынка. Good history of collecting and the emergence of social phenomenonowning a piece of art, as well as little-known (2007) facts from the biographies of the main artists-ньюсмейкеров. In this mini-главы about the impact of auction houses on the formation of prices or expansion of the galleries with a modern twist seem a little naive. What is the section on "secret society" art-рынка in which the answer to the question "So is it or not?" comes down to the antediluvian interpretation of the free market of Adam Smith, and to solve still being offered to the reader.

Adam Smith was not aware of the intricacies of the art-рынка, I swear. Piroska dossey, apparently, too. Or modestly silent in the framework of cultural diplomacy.

Denys Belkevych, AI