Why do I love documentaries about art forgers and their dealers so much?
I watched the Netflix documentary about the Knoedler Gallery and Ann Freedman scandal for the second time.

Through that gallery and Mrs. Ann Freedman, about $80 million worth of counterfeit paintings have entered the market. Perhaps the most famous work was the 'Rothko'.

If I had seen this work hanging in the MOMA, I would have had no doubts that it was an authentic Rothko. A truly well-made counterfeit?

Some works have disappeared from the scene. How many remain in the various collections?
The gallery is closed, Ann Freedman has her own gallery now. (click on 'gallery' to go to her site).
I admire her courage and perseverance.

How is this hassle possible? And it's not a case in itself...

EASY TO FAKE WORKS

I confess, I too have been fascinated by Rothko's paintings for years. Like any art student of the 1970s, I thought the path to the great art went from say Cimabue to Rothko (even though Malevich had arrived much earlier). From a kind of flawed realism via and thanks to the instructions of, among others, Vasari to the holy of holies, namely an autonomous work of art that refers to nothing or at least as little reference as possible: abstract art! What nonsense.

I've tried for years to get into the holy of holies. I stopped doing it, I found out that it is an empty occupation, completely meaningless. Painting the big nothing is boring. Boring and easy. Moreover, wiping away references to the world around us has nothing to do with making pure painting. To paint is to interpret. If it interprets itself, what is that?

Now I often say that Rothko's suicide was the right gesture; he had arrived at the great black hole and conscientiously jumped into it.

A consequence of this direction in painting is that it is very easy to imitate.

Something has grown crooked here. Before the Renaissance, the works of art were made by anonymous painters. It didn't matter who made the work. The works had to meet certain requirements.
From the Renaissance onwards, artists gained name and fame. Think of Michelangelo and the Pope's letter.
All this has become increasingly important. Often it's no longer about what the work looks like, as long as it's made by a celebrity. What if it's easy to imitate?
To earn a decent amount of money, it's a piece of cake for clever forgers to work in the style of artists such as Rothko, Giacometti, Newman, De Kooning, Pollock, Picasso (from certain periods), Mirò, Chagall and many others.

The difficulty lies in finding old material and properly falsifying the origin.
See the BBC documentary about the duo Drew and Myatt (instructive!).

Another wonderful documentary... (again, click on the gray 'BBC' to see the documentary)

Many experts say that there is a huge number of counterfeit works in circulation, hanging in museums. I believe and like it. Of the works made by Myatt, only 72 of the more than 200 have been found...
One reason, of course, is the lack of expertise regarding what is (or should be) real in the arts coupled with the madness of the gone crazy art market.

And the danger for the owner to loose a big amount of money.

CONFUSION

So often I come across people who appreciate my work, but also talk with gleaming eyes about the most crippled, easy-going, messed up blah-blah.
I can't believe that these so-called connoisseurs of my work love the work of Andy Warhol and his countless number of 'originals' made by others. Should I doubt my work even more?

And then... I've read the biography of Caravaggio by Andrew Graham Dixon and think it's one of the best ever. Not long ago I saw him in a video talking about art works being auctioned by Sotheby's. His rambling about a large screen print by Andy Warhol made me sad.
Go to minute 6.45.

I hope Graham Dixon feels compelled to do this kind of empty talk because Andy Warhol's work has been canonized. He probably fears for his reputation with the followers, assuming that something like quality or lack of it in art is a thing you can drag around as much as you want. I think it's sad. No artist is sacred to me.
I found Robert Hughes a relief. He regularly didn't mince his words, not even about Saint Warhol. (for both, click on the gray word to go to the videos)

COMPARISON

What do I think of Warhol's works…
Two sketches made in response to a few geniuses: Warhol, Van Gogh, Hitler (he was also a painter) and Marilyn Monroe (didn't paint but was a great work of art herself). The last two as a combination I think a missed opportunity for Warhol. In short, there is a lot to laugh about.
I saw the Netflix documentary about Andy's private life and thought he was a turd (Netflix shouldn't have broadcast it: from mystery to pathetic house sparrow with vampire tendencies). Which of course does not mean that he (or/and his staff) therefore produced watery diarrhea.

In the culinary world, Warhol is the equivalent of McDonald's. Do gourmets eat there?
Sure, the McDonald's concept is genius; how else could it have gotten so big? But then to claim it's fine cuisine... I'm trying to make really good art, whatever that is; should I be offended if a disciple of his likes my work?

Should you ban McDonald's fans from good restaurants? I say no.

BACK TO FREEDMAN

What do you think is beautiful, valuable or good? It is quite possible that Ann Freedman thought the false Rothko’s were wonderful. That is really possible.

For years my mother had the crippled works made by me in my youth on the wall. She loved me and therefore she loved them. I did my confused adolescent best to make them.
Also: I knew a alcoholic violist of a very renowned Dutch orchestra who was completely idolatrous of Corneille's work from the nineties; work that now if I'm right has made a gigantic plunge down; who would want such a frumpy screen print on the wall?

What I mean to say; someone who could interpret Mahler's most beautiful symphonies had his house full of cheerful fluffy stuff. And why not? To each his own.

LOL

I once had the idea of ​setting up a museum of counterfeit art (I'm still open to it, who's in on it? Would love a wealthy sponsor, smart promoter, and a few not-too-lazy counterfeiters to help).
A museum full of easily imitated art by famous celebrities: a few rusty Serra steel plates could also be admired there… And to see all of this at a low entrance fee.

ALSO MORE DIFFICULT TO FAKE ART-WORKS HAVE BEEN PRESENTED

In 2011, this portrait, a fake Frans Hals, was sold for more than $10 million. For information, click on the gray '10 million'.
They may as well give me the fake portrait. I think it's a beautiful painting.

My last genius idea (after looking at Graham Dixon's commentary on Warhol's serigraph) is the 'SCREAM PAINTINGS'.

You make a famous artist scream (I'm thinking 'depressed landscape with a fucking hot sun' or 'portrait of a heroin whore up to her crotch in the sea: horny and salty') against a white canvas. That's all: because only a few dried saliva drops may be vaguely visible on the canvas, the spectator's scope for wild interpretation is maximized. He or she can feel I don't know what. And for some help, an art historian or critic can probably be found for a fat fee who can fill a few A4 pages about it.
Here's a sketch of an artist (MONO LISA) making one:

I worry about what good painting is and that's ridiculous...
We are all geniuses! We might as well scream at an empty canvas after undergoing a root canal treatment and then go into a profound experience when we see it hanging over the couch…

As a so called craftsman, I am, completely in the spirit of Joseph Beuys' evangelical message: 'everyone is an artist' not en vogue.

MY TIP: BUY WHAT YOU LIKE, EVEN IF IT IS NOT ORIGINAL. And I will keep trying to make something decent. The money has to roll. I am also willing to make a counterfeit of one of our grandmasters for a hefty fee. It is much fun and educational to do.

Finally, the 'ANALOGUES'. THEY PLAYED ALL THE BEATLES' SONGS AND WELL!
Click on the photo for 'WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS'.

Utrecht, 2 August 2022.