Where’s the lesson in this????
Do people actually pay these prices for these things so others will think they are cool and hip?
Is it to fit in with the class they belong to?
Is it just to show that they can afford it?
I was going through eBay looking for guitars
Can anyone freaking believe this crap…
(Click here if the eBay auction has ended and is no longer listed)
It’s like we live in the Twilight Zone.
If I were him, I’d be smiling too!!!
Check this out (from the ebay listing):
Artists Statement: As full time contemporary artists we have been profoundly influenced by our worldly travels viewing art works within more than 300 art galleries and museum spanning back forty years. The work we are creating today are reflections of all those experiences, keeping that in mind I feel our true art roots start and fall into a style called pure psychic automatism, constituting a significant artistic record of our personal psychic forces with total control to express our freedom.
Music Man Was influenced by watching these bands in person: Donovan, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jimi Hendrix, Arlo Guthrie, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Three Dog Night, Les McCann, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Korn, Prince, Duke Ellington, Johnny Winters, ZZ Top, Lyle Lovett, Ringo Star, Elton John, Puddle of Mudd, Mike Finnigan , Dan Fogelberg, Kenny Loggins, Jethro Tull, Doobie Brothers, The Moanin Glories, Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Wonder, Leon Russell , Willie Nelson, Aerosmith, The Chambers Brothers, The Flock, Iron Butterfly, Zephyr, Poco, Tim Buckley, Aum, Aeorta, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Pointer Sisters, Taj Mahal, Buffalo Springfield, Bob Weir- Rat Dog, Blues Traveler, John Lee Hooker, Billy Preston, Sting, Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Billy Joel, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, The Hollies, Nickelback, Nitty Gritt Dirt Band, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cher, Flash Cadillac, and Foreigner.
BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA… Gimme a break
If they can ask a mill for that then I could at least get a 10 Gs for this: took me 30 minutes in MS Paint and Gimp and it really is worth it cause I have actually listened to AC/DC for years and have had metaphysical and out of body experiences understanding them on a level no one else can and if they were a picture this is what they would look like. I’ve had my whole lifetime as experience – Oh and I’ve actually seen them live, 4, get this, 4 FREAKIN TIMES! Once was in the VIP section. Really up close! & Angus Young actually stopped moving so that I could take a picture! I got a really good shot! Very emotional and inspiring! Do Not Delay!!!
Whaddya say? $10,000 for a hi res print of this on 8×11 glossy photo paper (includes free shipping to anywhere in the world!!!) I can get bigger prints at your request. No xtra charge.
UPDATE:
WOW. I CAN’T BELIEVE THERE WAS ACTUALLY A TAKER OVERNIGHT.
SOLD TO THE FAST ACTING LADY IN THE LIMP BIZKIT T-SHIRT & $20,000 TO BURN
SORRY EVERYBODY BUT YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE. SHE PAID XTRA SO THAT NO MORE WOULD BE SOLD.
I guess I’ll have to throw some of the $18,000 X’s way since I advertised on his blog (Darn Paypal Fees)
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Actually, I bought one just like this the other day for roughly the same price. A little more actually. I thought it was a pretty good deal at the time.
Asoka
I was, of course, referring to the $100M original in the eBay auction. Not the cheap and tacky print mentioned above.
Asoka
Yes, it’s absurd, but you seem to think you’re immune to this absurdity.
It’s the same reason people pay thousands more for a designer label or a signed guitar by their favourite band. Does it make logical sense? Of course not. The same is true of this listing – you only noticed because it’s so ridiculous that it’s almost a satire of what happens in the art world.
“Yes, it’s absurd, but you seem to think you’re immune to this absurdity.”
Now what in the world would give you that idea? =)
I definitely would go to the ends of the earth for certain things that you and others would think is ridiculous. I’m not a fan of consensus dictating what the truth is and to each their own, however I do have a peeve about people getting taken advantage of.
I’ve gotten angry at myself many times, as a matter of fact, when I’ve realized I’ve been a dumbass.
I think it’s people’s own innate selfishness (I don’t totally let people off the hook since it’s largely their own fault, too), conditioning (and the sicker society is the worse it is) and the marketers and business people who see opportunities and capitalize on them taking advantage of the former.
“It’s the same reason people pay thousands more for a designer label or a signed guitar”
Not just a signed guitar but even stock guitars because of the brand (Gibson) seem way overpriced (to me) and from what I hear their quality has been going down hill, too.
Gibson means “class” in the guitar world because of names in music that have become associated with that brand.
A stock standard Fender Stratocaster afaik is roughly give or take $500. I’ve seen these Yngwie Signature Strats go for $2000 to $12,000 which is basically a stock Strat and the only main differences are a couple of pickups, brass nut and a scalloped neck. Any other difference (like artificially aging the guitar, his name on the headstock, etc.) is negligible.
Taking that stock strat to a custom shop and making the very few needed changes in order to have basically what Yngwie plays would costs a heck of a lot less. Or with just a little know how and tools you could buy your own pickups and nut and could make those changes yourself at home. If they you wanted to age it so that you can play make believe and think you have an old Strat that’s worn you can kick it, drag it through the dirt and sun bleach it for a couple of hours everyday for a month yourself.
If you can afford it and that’s just what you want and realize what you are getting, fine, whatever. I wouldn’t pay that much for a guitar except possibly in special cases. But often people can’t afford it but think they really need it and some sales peoples in these big company guitar centers are the equivalent of the evil “guru” well known to those who try to learn in the IM niche.
Value is relative. What seems absurd to one is totally reasonable to another. If someone has $10 million to blow and they want to that’s up to them. I don’t even think it’s a bad painting. Not to deny people personal responsibility but my opinion is those who charge those prices are trying to take advantage of people and usually don’t actually believe themselves their warez are worth those prices.
I can appreciate the balls on the seller’s end. It reminds me somewhat of what X said “you don’t wait for people to tell you you’re good, you tell them you’re good”
Then again if someone has that attitude and people buy into it, why did they?
Sorry, but these are the kinds of things I ponder.
But hey I’m not a part of that world so maybe I just don’t get it and to someone who is a part of that scene it’s totally reasonable.
I don’t know who the heck “Music Man” is – if he actually is any sort of “anybody” at all that his stuff can demand those prices. Maybe he is the Balenciaga, Christian Dior or Chanel of the art scene. Maybe you can tell me since you made the comparison with designer labels.
I know that if I made that painting, someone wanted to pay that much money for it I’d be hard pressed to say no, especially if I could really use the money, but I guess a little disclosure would be in order and my gut would bug me into wanting to know the buyer realizes what they are doing and aren’t on drugs (literally/figuratively) or something. Then again maybe I’m not giving people enough credit wondering what’s wrong with them because I think paying that money for that product is ridiculous. Maybe they’re right. And having *too much* of a conscience and reservations doesn’t make for the best business person.
As for designer labels, the question is “why”? Is it the perception of what the brand means and what it says about the person who wears those big name brands?
These are questions I’m raising. I’m trying to provoke discussion while having fun doing it and not just trying be a dick. This isn’t my personal blog where I get to rant and vent about random stuff – the post is relevant to the psychology of why people pay for what they do.
“you only noticed because it’s so ridiculous that it’s almost a satire of what happens in the art world.”
I’m not exactly sure what this means. Is this referring back to the beginning of your comment where you say I seem to think I’m immune? That I don’t recognize the same in myself or whatever and that I only notice it in others when it’s so exaggerated, like in the ebay auction?
Anyway none of this really gets to the “why”
Besides wanting to make a wacky post because of the fun mood I was in at the time I was also trying to get a discussion started on why people often put value on what they do and what drives them.
Here’s a guess – you might have heard of it before:
1) Security
2) Approval
3) Control
Any one of those could probably fit but you could get deeper. The better the understanding of this the better the creation and communicating of value will be, which is part of what marketing is.
Oh, wow. I don’t see where there was a buyer.
All I see is the listing expired (ended).
Hi, Robert
Not surprised there was no buyer
Yea it looks like it ended. I’ve uploaded a PDF of the listing for when it’s no longer visible.
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