At last something good has come out of the credit crunch, cheers Mrs. M. I'm delighted to hear that over-priced, valueless art, which was part and parcel of the greed culture, is on its' way out...Going, Going, Gone!  That at least is something to cheer about.

Could it be that by weeding out trashy art the crunch is the best thing that's happened to art in recent times?  I hear that diamond skulls are no longer in demand, (for £50m).  What a joy! And some people are sighing with relief that art fairs are on the wane.

With the unprecedented rise in global wealth, the craze for Silly Art had spiralled out of control.  Silly Billionaires couldn't get enough Silly Art.  They walked hand in hand.  Astronomical prices were achieved that were out of all proportion to the aesthetic or historical values of the works, which became symbols of excess and obscenity.

What goes up must come down.  The Silly Art market is now falling as fast as it rose.  This time last year $86 m was paid for a Francis Bacon and $26m for a Jeff Koons, the apex of popular kitsch.  This year a Koons Easter Egg will do well to sell for $8m.  We're now seeing a 50% drop in the shooting stars of the Silly Art Market.  Last year Sotheby's made $362m in its' Contemporary evening sale.  This year will bring only $73m, if they're lucky. Christie's is hoping for $105 this year, as opposed to $331m it raised last year.

Even though the auction houses claim no one wants to look like a spendthrift anymore, private sales are not faring much better.  Works by well-known artists were off 40% at the Brussels art fair.  Sotheby's shares are down 56% this year.  I'm personally thrilled to hear that Hirst works are not selling well.  Eleven out of 17 lots offered at the major auction houses failed to find buyers.  Hirst who led the art rise also leads its' fall.  Good!

Last night I went to a show of fifty young artists at a country venue.  You couldn't have given me one painting there.  And the prices were £5,000- £20,000.  I doubt that any sold.

Silly Art like bad debt has no real value.  It's only worth what the market will pay for it.   Rubbish doesn't sell for much anymore, Thank God!