Why Everyone Gets a Piece in Today’s Art World
By Walter Robinson
The other day, while attending a matinée by way of seeking inspiration for my beloved Artspace column, it occurred to me—and it’s by no means an original idea—that artists are like the X-Men. Possessed of strange powers that are both a blessing and a curse, they are dramatically individual and distinct from each other, but, perhaps more importantly, separate from the vast mass of ordinary people. They are freaks, yes, but freaks with a mission: nothing less than the salvation of all humanity (as I have written before in my column “Why Artists Just Want to Help.” This is no simple task, of course, especially when faced by widespread suspicion and even hostility. Considerable effort must be devoted to fostering a cloistered community devoted to their own survival.
