It just sold for 5 billion.
   Of course it did.
It's brilliant.
   Oh, it's performance art!
These rich snobs don't know
more about art than you.
They're mostly just here
to make money.
 Oh!
We're told that art like this
is so expensive
because it's the best
in the world.
 But the fact is, you're looking
at a massive price-fixing scheme
that benefits wealthy collectors
and excludes artists like you.
 Adam, shush it!
The prices here are high
because the art
is objectively good.
Nope. The prices are
high because
a small group of galleries and
collectors decided it was good,
and once they do that,
the price goes up, whether or
not anyone else agrees.
   You. Paint something.
(gasps)
I declare this valuable art.
Go find more cubed meat.
We're gonna be rich.
(chuckles)
Well, outsider art
is a rich tradition.
 How much is this worth?
There's no way to tell.
Big galleries actually keep
their prices a secret
so they can change them
depending on who the buyer is.
For you, my friend,
ten grand,
and for you, my enemy,
200 grand.
And they do their best
  to keep out buyers
  who are considered elites.
Daniel Radcliffe once tried to
 buy a fancy painting,
  but he was denied when the
dealer told him
   he was waiting for a more
prestigious collector.
   For you?
   Not for sale.
Please, sir.
I just want one painting that
doesn't talk to me.
Why are you doing this to me?
  Because if the gallery only
  sells to art world elites,
  they'll be seen as a better
brand,
which means all of their other
 paintings will be worth more.
  Ah.
   (cash registers dinging)
Hmm. That is shady behavior.
  Well, luckily, we outsiders
  could just go to art auctions.
They're democratic open markets
where anyone can buy.
Sorry, but the major
auction houses
are just as rigged
 as the galleries.
  (pounds gavel)
Auctions play all sorts of dirty
tricks to drive their prices up,
like straight up
paying people to bid.
 Let's start the bidding
 at $4 million.
 Do I see 4 million?
   (snoring)
  4 million.
And if the bidding
is too slow,
auctioneers even use a practice
called chandelier bidding.
They just point to a random spot
above everyone's heads
and pretend to see a bid.
And I see 5 million from
 the bidder in the back,
 she's my girlfriend
 who you don't know
 'cause she lives in Canada.
   Whoop, she's back across the
   border, so don't turn around.
   Oh, whatever.
   Six million.
 Why are you okay with this?
Oh, simple, darling.
I own other paintings
by this artist,
so when this one sells high,
it increases the value
of my entire collection.
Sometimes we even bid
anonymously
to drive up the price.
 Up next, we have a fine
 comdiment-based work
from an emerging artist.
Ooh!
I want to bid on this one.
We should all bid on this one.
 Let's start the bidding
 at $7 million.
This shady market can also be
manipulated by crooks who use it
   to defraud the government
   and launder dirty money.
  Hello.
  I would like to buy a painting
  from your fine gallery
   using legitimate cash moneys.
The red is... paint.
But not all collectors
are crooks.
I mean, there's good people
out there
who donate their collections
to museums.
Sure, and that seems
very charitable,
 until you remember that
 that donation is also
 a tax write-off.
 And here's where it can
 get really shady.
 The collectors hire
their own appraisers
   to determine the value of
   the art they donate,
   so they can use it as
   one big tax dodge.
 You owe 40 million
 in taxes this year.
   Ugh!
What if I donate this painting
worth 40 million?
At the end of the day, this is
what the fine art market is.
A few rich people
passing money around.
 No! No! Then I want
 no part of this!
 Screw this gallery
 and screw this opening!
   I will make it in
   the fine art world on my own.
Sorry, that's not really
how it works.
   Persephone,
   this is Allison Schrager.
  She's an economist and
  journalist at Quartz
 who has reported on
the fine art market.
Not only is the fine art world
manipulated financially,
it's also extremely exclusive.
Only a small share of artists
are allowed to succeed
and only their work is
considered valuable.
And those aren't necessarily
the best artists.
Often, they're just the ones
who are best at
 marketing themselves and at
 playing the gallery game.
One art dealer I spoke
with even admitted
that the art you buy
in the street
is cheaper and often
just as good,
it's just not as prestigious,
so big collectors in museums
just aren't interested in it.
And that means this small group
of ultra wealthy investors
   ends up defining
   what fine art is.
So the fine art world
is all a lie,
and it's all about money
and who gets into this
stupid snobby club?
   More or less.
