Art Basel these days is as much about sales as it is about performances. The show that connects Basel, Miami and Hong Kong, works not only as a mirror for the current art market but also as an indicator of global art trends. Now that the 48th edition in Basel is over (the show was on from June 15 to June 18), we can sum up a few interesting observations.

Though Art Basel generally attracts a more prestigious pack of collectors than any other fair, this year the demand for pricey, well-established art was unusually high even for this world’s top art fair. The early sales indicated the reaction of the market towards political and economic turbulences. Besides, a growing number of visitors and buyers from China, Korea and Japan, ensured demand for ‘weighty’ artists. And if the previous years were more about search for new stars on the arts scene,  this year the approach is much more down-to-earth.
The works sold as mega-deals were by the following artists’:   Philip Guston, Piero Manzoni,  Alberto Burri, Marlene Dumas, Wolfgang Tillmans.

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“Science and technology revolutionize our lives, but memory, tradition, and myth frame our response”, as Arthur Schlesinger once said.

What about art then? Technology is redefining art in completely new ways. And now that the era of AI is approaching, chances are all our lives (with our memories, traditions, and myths) will not be able to stand up against technology. Let’s take a look at some of the inspiring artists’ works — where art is created with (or by) hi-tech devices.

Addie Wagenknecht is ‘an anti-disciplinary, experimental artist who works in the fields of emerging media, open source, pop culture and hackivism’. Her chandelier made of security cameras made her famous when it was sold for $16,000 at the watershed Paddles ON! auction in 2013.

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John Thackara is a writer, blogger, and master of stories about practical steps taken by communities to realize a sustainable future.  He is the author of 12 books, among them Design after Modernism: Beyond the Object (1987), and Lost in Space: A Traveller’s tale (1995). His most recent book, the best-selling In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World, was published by MIT Press in May 2005, and has since been published in nine other languages. He has lectured in more than forty countries. In 2013 John Thackara spoke at BE OPEN Senses and Tastes Talks in Milan.

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