Cultured Magazine

Sara Roffino: How did this project come to life? Jennifer Stockman: I started observing startling and disturbing changes in the art world over nearly three decades of being a collector and involved in museums. It became tougher and more competitive for museums to buy contemporary art with their limited acquisition funds because the prices were so high. And unpredictable prices at auction were also affecting my own ability to collect the art I wanted. The market was becoming white-hot and very competitive, with new collectors from every nook and cranny around the world. I became interested in trying to understand the when, why and how the art world was changing. Was this a unique time in our history, or has this phenomenon occurred in the past each time markets became flush with new funds? I started asking everyone I met what events they attributed to these drastic changes in the art world—where art was now being thought of as a tradable asset. Some very smart people thought it was when Alfred Taubman bought Sotheby's in 1983 and turned the auction house into a "shopping mall." George Condo thought it all changed when Damien Hirst made a diamond skull and sold it for $100 million. Others thought maybe the idea of collecting and selling living artists started with the Scull auction in 1973. Anyway, answers were many and across the board, and it only piqued my interest to find out more. I knew that no one had yet produced a documentary on the subject of the layered, complex and non-transparent art world, and I became very interested in documenting this through storytelling. I knew making a documentary on this subject would be a long and complicated journey, and it was in early 2012 that I started putting the pieces together. About two years later I met Debi. Debi Wisch: And we went on a hike. JS: Yes, we went on a long hike called Sunnyside in Aspen and by the end we had decided to form a company and call it Hot & Sunny Productions. We realized right away that we shared many common goals and were both eager to make this film happen. DW: I was looking for a way to do a film about the art world and who makes it and why. Once we connected, we probably spent a year talking about where to begin. Do we follow students? Do we follow emerging artists? Older artists? Female artists? We had a gazillion questions, but the big question was how to cover it all in one film. Our goal was to be broad and illuminate the plethora of questions that exist in the art world. We wanted to observe the ecosystem and let the audience reach their own conclusions. We did not want to pass judgment, nor did we want to be myopic. JS: As art world "insiders," we knew that very few people in the entire world 142 culturedmag.com MARKET MADNESS 0((1"- */(1-,%& '-,1$10!!/&&0+1 /""1++,(10**1++,(10*#0*01+(/10,'10-,1*+,10#+ . )0.1.)/1)-./)+.1$0*/.1$/0,(1"+*10*.10,'10*.-(.(1+&&+-,10 !*/$-/*/10.1 ,'0,%/1-,10*%)1"/(.-0&1(%*//,-,(1.)*+ )+ . .)/1+*&'10,'10% -(-.-+,1#1 1.)/1"-&$'-*/%./'1# %0'/$10*',+$-,0./'1"-&$$0/*10.)0,-/&10),10,' !*+' %/'1#11 0,'10*&0 +&+$+,$0/(1-.(1.)/0.*-%0&1'/# .1.)-(1"0&&1(%*//,-,10.1+ +,1%.+#/*11.+%$0,10,'1-(%)1!)+.+*0!)/'1)/*/1# 0%10*&-.+(1()0*/1.)/1-,(!-*0.-+,1#/)-,'1.)/1$+-/10,'1.)/-* )+!/(1"+*1-.(1-$!0%.1-.)1(11

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