Leo Braudy wrote a book detailing the mechanics of fame entitled "The Frenzy of Renown: Fame and Its History." In it he details how the concept of fame came about in Western minds and he explains the mechanics that drive it. Basically we start with Alexander's rough ride over Northern Africa and Asia. Alexander understood the power of narrative and carried a group of historians with him documenting his victories, minimizing his defeats and burnishing his mythos. Even his horse found eternal fame in the legedary tales. What propelled Alexander's myth was his image stamped on coins. Coins that drove the economies and marketplaces of the Hellenistic New World Order. Money and Fame go hand in hand especially when merchantile folks figure out how to make a living from it. Later the Roman Caesars would place themselves as Alexander's heir, wearing his symbols, repeating his warrior deeds and claiming his godhead. Not to mention stamping their likenesses on coins.

In the Art World we see a lot of the same mechanisms at work. Precedent and money create a smooth market system for those involved. Artists are now revered for the fact that they can produce money rather than art. The top contemporary artists at auction are the same ones we see over and over again in the museums, art fairs and galleries. Like a bunch of Alexanders they provide a lineage, a precedent for the wannabe Neros and Caligulas that make their way up through the gallery farm system. The Chelsea scene is flush with newly minted art work that sort of reminds us of things we've seen before. Each contender to the throne spins their tale a bit differently, but never too far from the original. The coin continues to be made with the same image only now stamped with a new emperor's name.

The past few days we've run across a lot of information regarding the changing art market. We believe that change is in the air. Constantine redefined the Roman empire by some radical and strategic moves, finally leaving Rome to the barbarian hordes and bringing about the start of a new kind of kingdom and mythology. His Alexandrian moment was a different one than those before. It showed in the architecture, art and mythology. Change came at a moment when survival of the legacy of Rome was in doubt. But along with the new came the inevitable flow of coins and the barbarian hordes looking to make a living. We're never going to change that. But what we can change is the face on the coin.