When Art Meets Money: Encounters at the Art Basel

Art Basel is more than just a fair in the commercial sense of the word, more than a concentrated gathering of dealers offering their goods for sale to interested buyers. It is the site of display of holy goods in the presence of thousands and thousands of believers, a mecca for the ritualized adoration of modern and contemporary art. It is also the decisive witness of the upheaval marking a radical change in the relationship between art and money, with all of the consequences–not least, the evaluation of what is to be regarded as genuine art. When Art Meets Money offers a sociological study in the vein of Pierre Bourdieu, the result of several years of field work, attempting to draw a picture of this change as perceived by the participants, fair organizers, gallerists, collectors, curators, art consultants and artists as a central problem of the contemporary art scene.