Films on the Arts
The Great Contemporary Art Bubble
Directed by: Ben Lewis
In the midst of the last economic boom, one bubble was bigger than all the rest: contemporary art. Art
critic and award-winning filmmaker Ben Lewis spent a year following the booming contemporary art
market, from its peak in 2008 to its inevitable crash in 2009. In this eyewitness journey through the
art world, Lewis visits auction houses, art fairs, galleries and the homes of billionaire collectors across
the world, searching for the reasons behind the greatest rise in art’s financial value in history. Lewis
interviews leading dealers, collectors and art market analysts and uncovers a rarefied world of secretive
deals, greed and speculation behind a seemingly boundless enthusiasm for art.
(90 minutes)
Preceded by:
Art:21 – Jeff Koons
Directed by Susan Sollins
Jeff Koons employs symbolically charged images and objects from popular culture to frame his questions about taste and pleasure in modern society. His painstakingly crafted artworks—perfected by a small army of studio assistants in a modern equivalent of a Renaissance atelier—were recently exhibited at a controversial installation at the Chateau de Versailles. (14 minutes)
In the midst of the last economic boom, one bubble was bigger than all the rest: contemporary art. Art
critic and award-winning filmmaker Ben Lewis spent a year following the booming contemporary art
market, from its peak in 2008 to its inevitable crash in 2009. In this eyewitness journey through the
art world, Lewis visits auction houses, art fairs, galleries and the homes of billionaire collectors across
the world, searching for the reasons behind the greatest rise in art’s financial value in history. Lewis
interviews leading dealers, collectors and art market analysts and uncovers a rarefied world of secretive
deals, greed and speculation behind a seemingly boundless enthusiasm for art. (90 minutes)
Preceded by:
Art:21 – Jeff Koons
Directed by Susan Sollins
Jeff Koons employs symbolically charged images and objects from popular culture to frame his questions about taste and pleasure in modern society. His painstakingly crafted artworks—perfected by a small army of studio assistants in a modern equivalent of a Renaissance atelier—were recently exhibited at a controversial installation at the Chateau de Versailles. (14 minutes)
This program is made possible by the
generous support of Kemgas.
2010 Mendocino Film Festival