Who are the 1%?

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

Sotheby's is the 1%.

http://www.sothebys.com/en/catalogues/ecatalogue.html/2011/contemporary-art-evening-sale-n08791#/r=/en/ecat.fhtml.N08791.html+r.m=/en/ecat.list.N08791.html/0/60/estlh/asc/

The cheapest painting sold for slightly over 420,000 USD
A single painting. The CHEAPEST painting. nearly 10 years of labor for the 50th percentile of american income earners (50% is 44K/year, sourced to wiki)

We know what we are protesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYduewUsX3o&feature=related

Neil Cuvato at Fox, our trustworthy friend, can always be trusted to shill for the rich.
The most expensive painting was sold for over 60,000,000 USD (or over 100 years of labor for the 50th percentile)

EDIT: I assume people know why there was a protest at Sotheby's. If people don't: Sotheby's is union-busting.
They want all the money from their massive art sales for themselves. They don't want to share their vast sums of money with their workers. Labor is a key part of the 99%. Sotheby's is part of the 1%.

Comments

[pastorlenny.livejournal.com]

So OWS is a protest against placing high monetary value on works of art? That seems a bit silly

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

Obscene wealth is a sin, is it not?

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

Ah, so it is about class warfare.

Thanks for clearing that up.

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

I agree, artists are overpaid and their labor is poorly spent.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

What?

[auntiesiannan.livejournal.com]

Gee, I thought we were starving.

[notmrgarrison.livejournal.com]

Sotheby's is a company that makes money off of extremely rich people.

And the more people spend on paintings, the better it is for painters.

[eracerhead.livejournal.com]

Um, the artists don't get squat, most of them are dead.

[oportet.livejournal.com]

For $420,000*, Monet better come back from the dead and give me a handjob.

(*$420,000=$1000**)

(**$1000=$35)

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

Cheap date!

[404.livejournal.com]

I would expect 12,000 handjobs for one Monet, or 2,800 trips around the world, if you get my drift...

[soliloquy76.livejournal.com]

LOL, "Homage to the Square" sold for $500k.

[prisoner--24601.livejournal.com]

I know, right? Hilarious.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

That's how much art is worth.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

my friend gave me a piece of art today that he bought for $1

[hikarugenji.livejournal.com]

I'm generally in support of OWS and I'm not sure this is really relevant. I'm not bothered or angry by the fact that rich people exist.

The two things that bother me the most are (1) that in the past 30 years, the very richest people have gotten even richer while everyone else's wealth has either stagnated or decreased, and (2) the very richest people have too much influence over the political process which allows them to stack the deck even more in their favor.

I would actually rather than people spend 60 million on artwork than on bribing politicians.

[soliloquy76.livejournal.com]

Word.

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

Jealousy.

[notmrgarrison.livejournal.com]

They don't want to share their vast sums of money with their workers.

You realize auction houses often don't own what they auction?

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

EDIT: I assume people know why there was a protest at Sotheby's. If people don't: Sotheby's is union-busting.
They want all the money from their massive art sales for themselves. They don't want to share their vast sums of money with their workers. Labor is a key part of the 99%. Sotheby's is part of the 1%.

Were their employees part of the protest?

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Kind of off topic, but sort of related: you won't find a stronger champion of the arts and funding by government bodies, but seriously, the New York Philharmonic and its paltry offerings for free concerts this year was insane, especially considering how much city money is thrown their way every year.

*edited for clarity*

[dreadfulpenny81.livejournal.com]

For the 99%: http://www.art.com

Give me a break! Next they'll be protesting AmEx because they can't get the elusive black card. OMG!

And FYI, no company is required to support unions just as no individual is required to support unions.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

and FYI, no company is required to support unions

Think again about this sentence, carefully.

[404.livejournal.com]

This whole post is full of fail.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

your comment is full of explanation

[harry-beast.livejournal.com]

A small group of artworks is hogging all of the art dollars, earning more, hundreds, thousands, even millions of times more than rank and file paintings, sculptures and other items. Clearly, laws need to be passed that guarantee all art, from fridge door baby colouring to the works of great masters, is treated equally. It is time that the 1%, the privileged paintings hanging in art museums, galleries and private collections, be brought to account.