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An earlier post on Eric Doeringer and his dustup with a Chelsea dealer declined to mention the dealer's name until someone (me? why should I do it?) called and verified that said gallerist did indeed sic the cops on Doeringer for selling "bootleg paintings" on 24th Street. As far as I know, no blogger ever followed up on this basic journalistic courtesy, but everyone just piled on with Doeringer's version, sliming Mike Weiss as "probably a Republican" and worse. Today an actual newspaper--the New York Times--did an actual story and even got Weiss's side of it. It's pretty weak. From Randy Kennedy's article:
In a recent interview, Mr. Weiss confirmed that, yes, he had called the police. He said he did so for reasons that might be condemned in the art world but that made perfect sense for any businessman like himself who has to pay a huge rent.Chelsea was always about creating a haven for upper middle class collectors, far from the subways, the plebes, and messy hubbub of the city. Weiss is just articulating one of the unspoken assumptions of the neighborhood. My guess is the "top feeders" don't like seeing Doeringer out there any more than Weiss does, but are too smart to come down on the wrong side of the First Amendment issue. Also, it's gauche to mention any class bias. Should Doeringer get kudos for teasing out these assumptions?
"We've seen what happens in SoHo," Mr. Weiss said of street vendors. "Where there's one, then there's two and three and four."
He added: "Let's say I own a Victoria's Secret and then there's someone outside selling fake lingerie and bras. It just detracts from what you're doing."
Of Mr. Doeringer's art itself, he said he did not want to pass judgment but then immediately did. It is not even original in its appropriation, he said, noting that this is an art-world idea that has been explored thoroughly by many artists already. (Only two artists have complained about the "bootlegs," [Doeringer] said, and in those cases he stopped copying their work.)
"Personally," Mr. Weiss said, "I think he's an opportunist and that he just wants his 15 minutes."