The Market and Art

I was reading an interview between Tàpies and Valente. Valente talks about the drawbacks of the marketplace and the painter answer that he doesn't think the market is all that bad. Otherwise, it would be only "políticos y funcionarios" who decided on the value of art. Of course, the difference is that a painter of that much prestige can make a significant amount of money from art. A poet can not. Tàpies goes on to say that owning art privately is not a bad thing, because the owner can derive therapeutic benefits from such a talismanic object. It would be quite nice to have a talismanic Tàpies at home for my spiritual benefit!