Can anyone explain to me how this thing has value?

I read somewhere that expensive art is just used to launder money for shady shit.

The buyer buys "art" from a seller and behind the scenes the seller hands over some child slave or the rights to sell drugs in a certain region.

obviously auctions are different, but if you've seen Taken you know that teenage girls are sold at auctions too.

I guess you just have to decide if you want to get your facts from the internet and hollywood. It is 2017 after all...

>>1758455
Money laundering

>>1758455
The kikes use it as a means of tax evasion. Somebody on /ic/ once wrote up a great working example but I forget the exact details.

>>1758788
It was something like commission an artist with dirty money, then sell it back to someone affiliated with that artist

Money is taxed and cleaned

That painting is mesmerizing

That painting is valuable because it was painted by a very important person. That person is very important because he painted very valuable paintings.

>>1758562
>If you've seen taken

Oh man, hitting em with the facts

>>1759880
>facts from the internet and hollywood

its 2017 pal

>>1759688
oh now I get it

>>1758455
Trading artwork is a sort of 'alternative investment' for fantastically wealthy people.

Sort of how even though gold and bitcoin is basically useless, plebs still pay extortionate prices for these goofy financial instruments because they work as a vehicle to transfer wealth still.