According to a report compiled by Arts Economics, the art market in 2012 reached 66 billion dollars internationally. This market, though extremely volatile and unpredictable, has endless potential, and has been on it ways up ever since the end of the recession a few years ago. Galleries, such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and many more, have received their fair share of the wealth created by the ever-increasing demand and interest in such a high-end market. There are many people out there, however, who doubt the sincerity and significance of such a complex and baffling industry.
Knoedler and Co. Art Gallery
In 2011, an extremely revered gallery, Knoedler and Co., closed due to the 32 reported illegal-dealings of paintings; which were later deemed to be forged. According to the article “Lawsuits in Knoedler Forgery Case Are Set for Trial” by Graham Bowley, the President of this gallery is about to appear in court for two separate lawsuits pertaining to multiple forgery cases at the firm. Ms. Freedman, who is the former President of Knoedler and Co., is currently being sued for the knowledge of these criminal acts, and for acting with “fraudulent intent.” Among the pieces which were forged and then sold, are famous works by Jackson Pollack, Willem De Kooning, Mark Rothko, and Robert Motherwell.
The forged art items were sold directly to the gallery by Glafira Rosales, a Long Island art dealer. Federal officials concluded that Rosales used the legitimacy of the venerable gallery to create such authenticity of the paintings. Once the gallery took possession of these items, it was the responsibility of their own to confirm the validity of the works before selling them off. The lawyers for Ms. Freedman stated that Ms. Freedman put up her best effort to verify all the works, including having gallery staffers research about them. Additionally, Ms. Freedman said she “widely exhibited the paintings in places where their attribution could have been challenged.” Ms Freedman had even bought a few pieces herself. These short few statements regarding the forged works made me question the entire idea behind such a longstanding business.
Glafira Rosales at court
When I think of great art, I think of something that has a positively lasting impression on me, rather than a direct impression on someone else. The entire art market is based off the credibility and the “eyes” of others. Regarding this case, if a certain work by Willem De Kooning did not strike me as phenomenal and remarkable, should it then be recognized as such a noteworthy and pricey piece of art? If Ms. Freedman’s accounts about the exhibition of all forged works is truthful, then it seems as if even the most renowned critics and aficionados cannot tell the difference between real works and fake works. It is here that I have the most trouble with this industry. If one is able to replicate a famous work of art, and the buyer cannot tell the difference between the real one and the fake one, then it is just puzzling as to why a buyer would pay significant sums of money for such a piece.
“Foregery”/Replications of the Mona Lisa
In my opinion, Pei Shen Qian, the mastermind and forger behind all these illegal and counterfeit pieces, is the true artist at hand. If one is able to replicate the works of such celebrated and popular artists, while many experts cannot find the smallest of differences, then that is art in itself. Imitation has proven to be a common technique in many forms of art, and painting should not be any different. It is understandable that people want the real piece that is worth value. Nonetheless, I still find the entire system to be incredibly flawed when commoners are able to fool the specialists; and in some cases get away with it—Qian has recently fled to China, and sure enough does not plan on returning anytime soon.
This scandal alone has given rise to ten civil suits in total. In an industry that is worth 66 billion dollars annually, and counting, it seems as if there is a possibility that many more instances like this will arise in the future. The question comes down to whether these activities are wholly illegal, or if they contain some artistic proficiency.
These forgers have potential. There is no doubt about that. However, I view forgery of paintings as a violation of a copyright and plagiarism. Let me expand further upon that. A painting is a piece of creation. A music track is a piece of creation. A piece of writing is also a piece of creation. There are laws surrounding all of the above mentioned creation. These laws protect the creator from people stealing his ideas and benefiting from it. That’s why these laws are important. Forgery, like copying another’s writing, music, or invention, should be deemed illegal and will remain so to protect the creator’s benefits.
Jason I totally agree with you that what Pei Shen Qian did was illegal and wrong. However, the point I was trying to get across was that though his work may be illegal, I found great artistic expression and value in it. This was a way of showing the complexity and irony of this entire industry.
When I read this, I just think about how advanced our society has become in terms of recreating authentic masterpieces… And that doesn’t only apply to the realms of artwork. People have been forging so many different things… designer handbags, iPhones, and even counterfeit money! The creation of anything can be artwork, so I would agree with you that there is artistic value in what any counterfeit artist does. But though people like Pei Shen Qian, have those artistic capabilities, they shouldn’t be allowed to PRESENT them as real. If he wants to present such similar artworks, but make it clear to the buyers that it is, in fact, fake then I would think that’s okay. But to have such great “counterfeit artistic ability”, and then take illegal benefit from it, I would say (and I see that you agree) that’s wrong.
I found it interesting that art indeed has many forms of imitations within it and so is a complete imitation not art? Your post reminded me of a Television Series, White Collar, and a subsequent newspaper article that I read about art forgers. The overwhelming amount of art forgers are actually very talented artists who have tried to “make it” as artists under their own name but their careers never sparked. I am not condoning art forgery as a means of deceiving people, but I can certainly empathize with the art forgers. The way I think about it is, if the artists who forge the works have the ability to forge the likes of Jackson Pollack, Willem De Kooning, Mark Rothko, and Robert Motherwell, then their own personal art must be of the same or better quality.
I always found art fraud really interesting. There is a quote from the 2013 award winning film American Hustle, a movie about con artists, that states, “People believe what they want to believe because the guy who made this [referring to a forged painting] was so good that it’s real to everybody. Now who’s the master, the painter or the forger?” I personally believe that forgery is a form of art within its own right because it takes talent to replicate a piece of art so perfectly.
I think Pablo Picasso once said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Forgers are good artists, but if they are caught then they fail to be great artists because they could not pass off the work as the original (a backwards way of thinking about the quote, but accurate). In the case of buyers, I think you brought up a great point: if the buyer cannot tell the difference between real and forged art, does it matter which one it is? Why pay extra for the original when exact copies are available? Also, I really enjoy the way art is replicated on various accessories. I saw a pair of shoes with Van Gogh’s Starry Night on them and they were beautiful. Of course it’s not the original but should creativity be stunted because of copyright/plagiarism laws (like using artists’ music in Youtube videos)? I think with technology now it is harder to control this.
I find the act of forgery appalling. The reason these paintings sell for so much is because they are unique. Taking the laws of economics into account, when there is high demand and low supply for an item, it is only natural that that item will be expensive. Forging artwork deceitfully adds to the supply of an artist’s paintings, devaluing his hard work and fooling investors. Not only is it an insult to the buyers, it is an insult to the artist as well. Qian seems very talented to me, but I just wish he would use his skills to create art of his own rather than copy other people’s work to sell it illegally. Mimicking a favorite artist is a great way to get exposed to an art, but after a certain point, one has to develop his own style and works. I think it is about time that Qian did so and stopped stealing from other artists.
This is a very interesting post, I didn’t even know that the art world has market of that size. That being said, the forgery alone is a form of art in its own right. It takes tremendous skill for someone to make the smallest deviations from the original painting, which fools many different art professionals in the art world. I applaud their skill, but I don’t applaud their intent to fool others and make tons of money. There is so much talent in the world that is being applied incorrectly in this world, if only these people took their skills on another level of creativity.
You have a very unique take on forgery that i never thought of before. I didn’t think there could be some good out of stealing someones ideas. Although it’s great that artists are getting their own take and expressing their own creativity on others paintings, i feel like the ends don’t justify the means in this case. Bluntly stealing others ideas should never be seen as a good thing because it only hurts the society as a whole. Why would people want to create things if their ideas could just be stolen without any consequences.
Your post made me think of forgery in a different way. I never took into account the incredible artistic abilities the forger must have in order to replicate a original painting. That being said, it is an incredibly deceitful act. Through our IDC class this semester, I have learned that art does not exist in a vacuum. Original works of art hold so much history and knowledge of that history determines the significance of a piece. To forge something that holds a certain social and historical context destroys that piece’s position in history. Forgeries falsify our perception and understanding of original art.
Indeed, it takes talent to create a forge, that is no question. However, forging original work to fool legitimate buyers of great works is wrong. The forger is gaining huge sums of money through the original work of masters. In this ever-expanding business, future forgers cannot be treated lightly in their illegal activities.