Christine Mehring

In her discussion of the emergence of art fairs, Christine Mehring speaks about some unsettling parallels between them and flea markets, or at the most generous, Walmart. When presented with her context of the budding art fair it is startling to see the similarities between Basel and Red Barn. There are differences and those are pointed out as well. The fringe shows are one example. One of the biggest examples are that in art fairs the booths set up by a person do not sell their belongings but another person's belongings. In essence they are selling a piece of a reputation. She explains that the Art Fair sets up the desire to own rather than just view. She finishes by showing the shift in financial motivation from the gallery spaces to the Art Fair.