Have you ever seen a modern art painting as a kid and thought, “I could paint this. Why is it famous?” Well, it turns out that artworks featuring paint splashed on a canvas would be worthless if it weren’t for the CIA promoting them behind the scenes, making them worth millions through questionable tactics.
Most people have no idea how unregulated the art market is. To date, there isn’t a regulatory agency in the United States equivalent to the Securities and Exchange Commission overseeing art transactions. In fact, it isn’t even a priority for them, even though they know money laundering is rampant in the art world.
But the real question is, why did the CIA push for this to begin with? It all has to do with Russia and, ironically, standing up to their modern communist art by showcasing that America had talented artists too. However, what happened instead was that the CIA created America’s anarchic avant-garde movement, Abstract Expressionism, and promoted unknown artists with what is known as the “long leash.”
Soon, however, the art world took a very dark turn with auctions and money laundering schemes that encompassed the globe and pushed traditional art out of the market. How did this happen and why? Join Ben Chasteen and Rob Counts on this Edge of Wonder live show as they expose the art world and how it was manipulated by the CIA.
