Yep, this is how it works. And the sad thing is, that most people aren't aware of the scheme, and so they believe that this really bad art that is being pushed is "good" art, and they should force themselves to like it in order to appear cultured. I used to run an art gallery (not by choice). The number of people who came in and oohed and aahed at the abstract, haphazard paint splatters on a canvas because they thought it was so beautiful and deep (the stuff we called "over the couch art" because it would match their sofa but has no other redeeming qualities), and ignored the art that really took talent to make, was mind boggling. And the sad thing is, even these types of crap paintings made by no-name artists who spend 2 hours swirling paint around on a canvas can command much higher prices than someone who spends 40 hours on a realistic masterpiece, simply because the general public thinks it is good art because it is similar to all the super-high-end art that commands millions of dollars because of this scheme. And therefore, more and more artists decide to go the crappy "abstract" route, and we lose artists with talent. It disgusted me. Ok, rant over :)