Mark Rothko's “White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)" sold for $72.8 million at Sotheby's [1].

I've been to the Rothko chapel [2] in Houston, but I really don't know much about Rothko. This story (and its mention of an inflated market for modern art) reminded me of Lanham's discussion of the Attention Economy, and I was wondering if anyone has studied how an inflated market for modern art influences (or is influenced by) or emerges out of a larger economic moment. Or, is the market for art fairly autonomous when considering larger economic trends?

Just a thought...

I'm at Computers and Writing in Detroit right now. I'm killing time before I head over to the Detroit Beer Company [3] for drinks and appetizers (brought to us by the fine folks at Bedford St. Martins. The Wayne State dorms are really nice (and secure, you have to swipe a card to get in...I'm reminded of how we used to prop doors open with pizza boxes at my undergrad dorm to sneak people in.) More C&W blogging to come...