Modern Art? Not So Priceless

The Evening Standard runs a mocking article on modern art, listing the prices the Tate paid for various pieces: 400,000 pounds for a "hatstand" (though they grudgingly admit a Clotheshangar of the North was thrown in for free); 100,000 pounds for a nine minute called "How I Became A Rambling Man," a film where an artist dresses up as a cowboy and sings; and 85,000 pounds for two pieces from an artist, including one called Energy of a Potato, which features a potato connected to an electric meter. They see an outrage; I see truth in advertising. When I buy something called Energy of a Potato, I expect a tater and, yes, some indication of its energy. What's wrong with that? Philistines.