Generally, writes Ben Lewis, it isn't possible to make close comparisons between the art market and financial markets. Recently, though, one striking case has emerged: Damien Hirst's sale of his diamond skull (pictured, left) for the asking price of £50m. The skull was sold to a "consortium of investors" (not collectors, in other words) who plan to tour the skull around the world to increase its value. This consortium, it later emerged, included Damien Hirst. So it may be an exaggeration to say that Hirst sold the skull to himself—but not too much of one. Would this kind of thing be possible in the financial markets? Well, remember the Blue Arrow scandal. At the peak of the market in the 1980s, Natwest orchestrated an £837m share issue in recruitment company Blue Arrow. By the time the shares were to be issued, too few had been sold, so Natwest brokers covertly bought some on their own books. The ruse was uncovered and 14 individuals were prosecuted—ultimately unsuccessfully.
As the Hirst skull case suggests, prices in the art market are regularly inflated by market manipulations that could be illegal in the financial or commodities sectors. Does the art market need more stringent regulation?
Warring Hamlets
Who will be the greater Dane? The recent news that Jude Law will play Hamlet as part of the Donmar Warehouse's forthcoming west end season will have ruffled feathers at the RSC, which has just announced its own production of Shakespeare's tragedy starring David Tennant in the lead and Patrick Stewart as Claudius. However, both companies can breathe one sigh of relief. A third production was scheduled to precede both of them at the Old Vic, and would have seen Sam Mendes returning to the London stage with Stephen Dillane as the young prince. However, Dillane has withdrawn for personal reasons and the show has been cancelled.
Demos's French connection
Fieschi's coup comes at a time when British think tanks are under fire for being too close to government or corporate interests, and for not coming up with enough bright ideas. But Gordon Brown's embrace of "citizen's juries"—a think tank favourite from the early 1990s—shows that some ideas just need time to mature. (Meanwhile, Prospect's Think Tank of the Year Awards are on 10th October at King's College.)
Eagleton vs Amis
Terry Eagleton's influential Ideology: An Introduction was re-released this September—and its new introduction pulls no punches in assaulting the "folly and ignorance" of the literary world in the wake of 9/11. In pride of hate is Martin Amis, to whom the first two pages are entirely devoted. "Amis's father Kingsley," Eagleton notes, "was a racist, antisemitic boor, a drink-sodden, self-hating reviler of women, gays and liberals, and Amis fils has clearly learnt more from him than how to turn a shapely phrase." Eagleton is professor of cultural theory at Manchester University and, by what we can only assume is an amazing coincidence, September is also the month that Martin Amis commences his career as professor of creative writing at Manchester University. Professors Eagleton and Amis will no doubt be enjoying a frank exchange of views over a glass of port at this very moment.
King and Haskins
Who is coming and who is going in the court of King Brown? As we went to press, the knives were definitely being sharpened for Bank of England chief, Mervyn King, who was thought to have reacted "like an academic" to the Northern Rock crisis. But King has many powerful admirers and Brown may not want to upset them all. Meanwhile an old friend has been welcomed back to the fold. Chris Haskins, the former Labour peer and adviser on countryside matters, who was thrown out of the party for funding a friend who was standing as a Liberal Democrat, has been asked by Gordon to rejoin Labour's big tent. Haskins has said he is happy to do so.
And then to c**t again
There have been waves in the Prospect teacup, too, over last month's inclusion of the same word in Kate Saunders's "Confessions"—the 19th time it has appeared in the magazine—with a number of letters questioning it on grounds of both taste and linguistic pedigree. The c-word certainly has a chequered history in English, from its early uses as a colloquial and medical term to Donne and Rochester's lewder poems in the 17th century and its re-emergence as a taboo-busting provocation in 1920s literature. But the human fascination with taboos suggests there will never be a shortage of both those wanting to shock and those able to be shocked. As Doctor Johnson answered a lady's approving observation that his dictionary had no foul words in it, "So you've been looking for them, madam?"
Euro-hypocrites
A Brussels debate organised by think tank Notre Europe, dedicated to keeping alive the flame of Jacques Delors, featured a panel of notables—Margot Wallstrom, vice president of the commission; Giuliano Amato, Italian interior minister; and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, former president of France and chairman of the European constitutional convention. After delivering themselves of suitable sentiments on the need to get the people more involved, the panel were asked if they thought Nicolas Sarkozy's idea of appointing 12 wise persons to reflect on Europe was a good idea. Walstrom thought it bad; Amato thought it worse. When the moderator, John Lloyd, put the question to Giscard, he gave an enormous Gallic shrug. Pressed, he gave an even bigger one. Later, though, as he left the hall, he bent over the questioner and said: "I do not think it is a good idea."
Quakers get going
The Quakers, long the most self-effacing of denominations, are waking up to the fact that, in the competitive 21st-century religious marketplace, you've got to go out and spread the word. The last week of September is Quaker week, part of a campaign by British Quakers to raise awareness—respectfully and non-invasively—of the "Quaker Way." An army of publicists has been hired; the Quaker slogan—"Simple. Contemporary. Radical"—has been pasted across advertising boards; numerous chapters are holding meetings (in silence) on public squares for all to join. A group whose worship has traditionally consisted of "sitting in quiet expectation of God" is at last starting—as one of their new ads puts it—to "live adventurously."
The NYT and the power of search
At the same time, "informal" online outlets are seeing their influence increase. With their NYT-sized readerships, leading blogs earn enough from advertising to pay full-time writers, and even send them around the world. Technology blog Engadget sent 12 people to cover the CES technology conference, more than most major newspapers. Advertisers are also getting more savvy with their online spend, something established names can turn to their advantage: time-per-visit is becoming at least as important as number of visits, which helps brands like the NYT, with their lengthy and informed content. The NYT's move could also be a reaction to News Corp's purchase of the Wall Street Journal, one of the internet's last bastions of paid-for content: Rupert Murdoch has suggested he may soon make it free.
