Date: Sat, 10 Sep 1994 15:49:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: Alex Trotter <uburoi-AT-panix.com>
Subject: Re: art and money (fwd)
To: avant-garde-AT-world.std.com
Cc: avant-garde-AT-world.std.com



On Sat, 10 Sep 1994, Judith Frederika Rodenbeck wrote:

> 
> Date: Fri, 9 Sep 1994 08:35:00 EDT
> From:SLEVINE-AT-HAMP.HAMPSHIRE.EDU
> To: Multiple recipients of list CAAH <CAAH-AT-PUCC.BITNET>
> Subject: Re: art and money
> 
> I heard a relevant story this morning on NPR.  It turns out there is a
> new CD-Rom game that was developed in response to the violent games
> made for children.  This one is for adults and is called "Millenium
> Auctions."  It is a game of the art auction business, and comes complete
> with breathy female voice who introduces the game (at the end she
> makes it clear that the sale was a "very satisfying experience"), canonical
> works with high prices (Cassatt, Picasso, etc.), and an auctioneer who
> seemed, in the example given, to be having a "buy-in" problem, but didn't
> want to make that apparent in the course of that lot's bidding.  According
> to the story, the idea of this game is to reinvigorate the art market
> and to make art a worthy commodity once again.  If anyone ends up buying
> this game, I'd be interested in knowing what it's really like, otherwise
> .  Although I am not sure what to make of having art act as some
> kind of tempering device against violence in computer games, I find it
> fascinating that such a game has been developed and wonder who might
> buy it.
>   Sura Levine
>   Assistant Professor of Art History
>   Hampshire College
>   Amherst, MA 01002
>   SLevine-AT-hamp.hampshire.edu


Sounds as if it'll be at least as popular as Bertell Ollman's "Class 
Struggle" game. (Anyone remember that one?)

--AT