Prada or Picasso??

One of the reasons that art has become so hot is that those with money have identified art as a means of getting noticed and becoming part of the hip art collector crowd . What use if having lots of money if no-one knows about it and what better way to get noticed than to spend huge amounts of money on art. In the past, Impressionist artworks have been the Prada of the art world with everyone who showing up at the worlds auction houses and snapping up the best impressionist paintings. The problem with the Impressionist painting "fad" is that the publicity and recognition the rich collectors received was short lived meaning that they had to buy another and another to keep in the spotlight.

The recent flood of new money that has become available thanks to the economic boom in countries such as Russia and China has brought about a new breed of collector that has found a new avenue of patronage that will not only provide almost instant recognition but will provide the cultural immortality that they are looking for. The answer came in the form of contemporary art which basically allowed these medici wannabees to make an impact not only on the art market but on various artistic movements and periods by buying art. By purchasing contemporary art from artists involved in particular new artistic movements or periods, collectors can gain cultural immortality by being credited with being involved in, or responsible for the success of recognition of a particular movement or perioda, an almost guaranteed entry in the history books!!!