The McDonalds of online art - serving millions and soon to serve billions - is becoming the centralized database for contemporary art appreciation. Once again I pose the question - Why would any artist with an ounce of self respect join this club? Centralization is corporatization and institutionalization. You're an artist - you're not supposed to be a joiner! Christ - make your own web page! You can do it for free! Will you be any less represented on the vast electronic ocean of the web than in the endless compartmentalizing and warehousing of Saatchi's site?

The nice bit in this article is the discussion of freedom and danger for artists in China and if their work is politically incorrect - the web site might have a bit of trouble from the government....
"One looming concern is potential censorship by the Chinese government. In recent months China has aggressively brokered controversial accords with Google and Yahoo to filter the search-engine services they offer in China and blocked access to some material offered by the Chinese version of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.
Mr. Saatchi’s team knows it may encounter problems if work posted on the site is overtly political or directly critical of the Chinese leadership. Its pioneering effort is likely to be closely monitored by Western dealers and auction houses in the months ahead."
So one group of suits will be monitoring the ideas and the other will be monitoring the profit potential - both looking for conformity in one form or the other - excising what doesn't conform.

Carol Vogel closes with Saatchi's plans for Global Artist Domination - "Mr. Saatchi says he won’t stop with China. Over the next six months his team hopes to draw in artists from India, Russia, Spain and South America." Just like a black hole collapsing the universe around it!