Art for the Rich

Art for the Rich-the works of Picasso, Cezanne, Warhol, Kandinsky, Rosenberg and there is one exception Basquiat. From the very beginning when God had Noah build the ark, he took two of every kind of animal into the ark. There has always been two worlds here in this one big world. What we've here are two disunions, one for the rich and another for the every day people, not a part of the so called "big machine" or the main stream art world.


In the February 13, 2012 Detroit News article, artist extraordinaire Olaymi Dabls made a comment about art for the rich and the Europeans. That comment is somewhat true but it's much deeper than that. I believe now after twenty five years I somewhat understand this machine called the business of art. It's a world that is full of make believe, that art is the focal point. It's about money and power and might along with fame. In a nut shell, it's about everything and yet it's still about art.


It's a business ran by wealthy people with money. It's no different from the stock market or the music industry for that matter. It goes all the way back to the Roman empire, even the slave trade and it's deeply woven into the fabric of society, here in this country and around the would. You've always had art for the elite or people who could afford to pay big dollars for a certain kind of art. But let me be real clear here now. I see the same thing with people of color, African American people to be more specific. So yes, there is art for the underclass and less fortunate folks too.


As I think more about Dabls' comment, I truly understand where he's coming from. My own prosperity has put me in a place where I understand the business of the game now. You've got to become so good at what you do, the world comes looking for you and not you looking for the art world. What Dabls has done is created a concept for both the rich and the poor, both black and white and it's art from the depth of the soul that makes it rich and real. As the world continues to change itself and the change I and Dabls have done alone with the art movement in the D, we need to keep doing what we do because in the spirit we're rich already.