The Price of Everything

Nathaniel Kahn's 2018 documentary is about the contemporary art market. Auction houses, collectors, dealers and artists appear in the same film, and the documentary shows step by step how the price of a work is formed. What is interesting is the artists' position inside that order. Some use the market openly, some have chosen to stay away and paid for it; the documentary shows both without judging. Kahn makes an auction day the spine of the narrative and builds his tension there. There is little explanation of art history; the real subject is money and how weakly price relates to aesthetic value. Who it's for: those curious about the art market and the economy of culture. Who it's not for: viewers expecting information about the works themselves; the film looks at the transaction, not the art.