The art market heavily favors fashionable contemporary pieces, often driven by affluent buyers seeking status rather than genuine artistic value. Prices in high-end art auctions are influenced by just a few bidders, leading to inflated prices for well-known artists. In contrast, many talented artists remain undervalued and overlooked. This disparity allows savvy buyers to acquire quality artworks at relatively low prices, as the market is saturated with hype-driven contemporary art that absorbs most available funds. Consequently, while universally recognized artists like Leonardo are generally not undervalued, a multitude of skilled artists whose works are less recognized are consistently undervalued.
Tyler and Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham sat down at his home in the English countryside to discuss what areas of talent judgment his co-founder and wife Jessica Livingston is better at, whether young founders have gotten rarer, whether he still takes a dim view of solo founders, how to 2x ambition in the developed world, on the minute past which a Y Combinator interviewer is unlikely to change their mind, what YC learned after rejecting companies, how he got over his fear of flying, Florentine history, why almost all good artists are underrated, what's gone wrong in art, why new homes and neighborhoods are ugly, why he wants to visit the Dark Ages, why he's optimistic about Britain and San Fransisco, the challenges of regulating AI, whether we're underinvesting in high-cost interruption activities, walking, soundproofing, fame, and more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.
Recorded July 15th, 2023.
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Photo credit: Dave Thomas