The Price of Everything (2018)

The Price of Everything: Directed by Nathaniel Kahn. With Jeff Koons, Paul Schimmel, Larry Poons, Stefan Edlis. With unprecedented access to pivotal artists and the white-hot market surrounding them, this film dives deep into the contemporary art world, holding a fun-house mirror up to our values and times.

“u0026quot;The Price of Everythingu0026quot; (2018 release; 100 min.) is a documentary about the world of contemporary art. As the movie opens, we watch a Sothebyu0026#39;s auction unfolding. u0026quot;Itu0026#39;s important for good art to be expensiveu0026quot;, observes an art dealer, as we see the prices at that auction reaching ludicrous highs. The documentary focuses on two artists with similar last names (Jeff Koons, and Larry Poons), and who couldnu0026#39;t me more different in their approach and creation of contemporary arts. Koons is like the CEO of a mega-company, with many underlings cranking out new works (and these works are snapped up by eager collectors), whereas Poons has left the u0026quot;corporate tracku0026quot; decades ago and now works with his wife in a remote location and at his leisure (but no less passionate about art)…. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, youu0026#39;ll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCouple of comments: this is the latest from documentarian Nathaniel Kahn, whose previous films include the excellent u0026quot;My Architectureu0026quot;. Here he takes a look at the contemporary arts scene: what constitutes art, do art collector collect as an investment or for the love of art, why at times it feels more like a stock market than a museum, how new art is created, etc. Many u0026#39;talking headsu0026#39; pass the review. I have to admit that I am not at all a connoisseur of contemporary art. Who am I to object against someone paying an outrageous amount of money for a piece of art? It reminds me of the seemingly limitless amount of money thrown at free agents in sports: are they worth it? Well, someone thinks so, so yes, they are. Kahn collects many great quotes from his talking heads: u0026quot;Auction is a trading house for assetsu0026quot;, and u0026quot;To be a collector you have to be shallowu0026quot;, and u0026quot;In the art world, there are many followers and few leadersu0026quot;, and u0026quot;A lot of people know the price of everything and the value of nothingu0026quot;, and thatu0026#39;s just a handful of them. In the end this is an enjoyable film, but there is nothing u0026quot;revolutionaryu0026quot; in here as such.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis documentary premiered at this yearu0026#39;s Sundance film festival to good acclaim. HBO snapped it up and I saw it recently on HBO On Demand. If you have an avid interest in art, and even more so if your interest is in contemporary art, Iu0026#39;d readily suggest you check it out and draw your own conclusion.”