DIGEST 39: God Bless America! (NSFW)

At Auction October 30-November 5, 2024

Are you guys enjoying the atmosphere of ambient dread? Do you like the sinking November 9, 2016 feeling? Here are some things to help you feel better: (1) Looking at your phone. Check it again. Look at some apps and sites, see what experts and most importantly non-experts have to say. Then, fugue-like, repeat. (2) Someone once told me that worry is “anticipatory suffering” but what they didn’t say was that it has the quasi-magical power to actually change the course of events: the more you worry, the greater effect it will have on the external world. Your worrying is working and it is the only way to affect change. (3) Get into fights on social media. This is an idea advanced by Jürgen Habermas in his famous “theory of the public sphere”—you need to get into fights on twitter. It is something you must do. The stakes are high, so go all in :)

OK that actually made me feel better.

If you’re looking for a moment of distraction, do check out the gay art auction (see the “cum baptism” listing below). It is unswervingly weird in a way I find affirming. Like, while the interracial sexual fantasy we see here is pretty standard fare, the pair of billy goats copulating behind them is inventive. About the beer can, the less I say the better. Did you see Shawn Mendes kind of came out?

But seriously, who do you think is going to be president?

For my precious new subscribers: Landed cost (the final cost you pay) = the hammer price (the highest bid) + the premium (a set percentage added to the hammer price that the auction house takes) + shipping (you’re always on the hook for this) + sales tax

Also, now worth repeating: I don’t get a commission on any of these sales/am not involved in any way with these auctions.

To the listings!

1. Art Nouveau Stick Pin

I know this sounds unlikely, but I think there’s a stick pin renaissance on the horizon. Worn on the lapel. It will probably be a shitty groom thing in a few years, but there’s a window opening.

2. Chinese Peacock Filament Feather Robe

This is wild: the textile is made of silk threads that were wrapped by hand with filaments from peacock feathers. Click through for detail shots. From the Qing Dynasty, late 18th-19th C. I would wear this when the van gets drafty.

3. Giuseppe Brusadelli Nightstands

Teak, 1960s, at auction but also for sale here. I like the adjustable brass feet. I also like that they’re sisters not twins.

4. Mahogany Table

I don’t get this auction or this auction house. This is a knockoff of Dan Johnson’s Gazelle Table from 1955 (though it feels very current to me). But who and how and why are they producing these? Like, the real deal went for 10K at Wright (kind of a bargain); the estimate is 1.5-2.5K for this, but I can tell you for a matter of fact that it cost more than that to make this and transport it etc. I don’t get it!

5. Pigeons Byobu

I like this. Byobu are Japanese screens. Would be great as a headboard or above a sofa, or to spruce up the ceiling of my van.

6. René Herbst 1930s Mannequin

René Herbst (1891-1982), pioneering French modernist, advocated for the industrialization of furniture. You’d recognize his chairs. But look at how fun this is.

7. (6) Petroliana Chairs

Petroliana is (1) gas station stuff and (2) an incredible drag name. Can we talk about the store in Dimes Square that sells candy and vintage tobacciana? As a person of failed retail experience, I think I’m allowed to say . . . not gonna last!

8. St. John the Baptist Cum Baptism

John the Baptist cum baptizing Jesus (who is also cumming for some reason???)? With the Holy Ghost present? Deranged and inspired! Also—is the Arcades a professional asset or liability! Clap if you think it’s an asset.

9. Reber Painting

The starting bid on this is $10. I like it a lot. She’s a little clocky (neck, jaw, hands).

10. Peter Milton, Hidden Cities

From DIGEST 10 “Many of you have already heard me describe the trend in contemporary art that I call Loser Art™️. It’s organized around the triad of anime, wizard smoking on a toadstool, and heavy metal reaper. It’s figurative, fantastical, and (to me) seems to have its roots in doodles you’d see in a Trapper Keeper (I don’t mean this pejoratively).” This is a very bookish form of Loser Art™️ in which Milton stages an elaborate fantasy set in Paris in 1922 in which Joyce, Proust, and Sylvia Beach all share a frame. You can read his detailed explanation here. This is like, bad, but there’a a horseshoe theory of why it might be good. And I like that.

BONUS PAINTING

God Bless America!

May the hammer fall ever in your favor!