Well, ok. Maybe I’m exaggerating. It might be more of a knockdown or maybe even a shove. But ‘Shove!’ hardly work as a headline. And if I stick to the precise letter of the view that she expressed, the appraiser has indeed been knocked out.
Recall: the appraiser said the damage to Charlie’s painting made it worthless. WORTHLESS. To my ear that means I wouldn’t be able to sell his painting for any money.
Well, appraiser, the bid for Falling Down Man has now reached $42.12.
Now, I realize that $42.12 is not a huge amount of money. But still, $42.12 is more than nothing. So I do feel that the appraiser has been shown to be wrong.
Of course, as in all things conceptual, there are some objections one might make at this point.
Objection #1
I haven’t strictly speaking sold Charlie’s painting. To sell Charlie’s painting requires finding an individual buyer who is willing to put down a certain amount of money for it.
Objection #2
The bids came from my wife and two friends. (Thank you Lisa, Paul and Keyne!) But that doesn’t count. I have to get bids from people I don’t know. Otherwise, I haven’t really sold Charlie’s painting but have cajoled people into supporting my project.
Objection #3
$42.12 is nothing. It’s not nothing in the strict sense. But come on! It’s hardly something.
Ok. I admit. These are pretty good objections.
I don’t think I can really answer the third objection at the moment. Instead, I’ll just have to wait to see if more people bid on Charlie’s painting. And if some of those people are relative strangers (or at least people over whom I don’t have any undue influence), then the second objection will be answered as well.
But what about the first objection? From a conceptual point of view, I think the first objection is the most interesting. I also think I have an answer to it. But I will wait until the next post to give that answer, since it is a bit long winded.
Before I end, however, let me remind anyone reading about the procedure to bid on Charlie’s painting.
You need to go to the following webpage, which will allow you to make a donation to UrbanMinistry. In the comments section, which appears after you have entered your information, you should write: For ArtWorks945/The Van Gogh Project.
So anyone who thinks Charlie's painting is worth more than $42.12 and who would like to make a donation to ArtWorks945, please put in a bid.
