When it comes to BritArt, then there is an addition to the mix, gallery owner/agents like Charles Saatchi and especially Jay Jopling (who represents most of the BritArt pack) are in it for the money, so a few years back we saw new 'movements' emerging in British Art with frightening regularity, almost on a par with 'new campaigns' in ad agencies (C.Saatchi being one of the most successful admen ever).
Damien Hirst is a forerunner/product/victim/casualty of this engineered movement (in my view some of his art is good, but not as good as he thinks it is ... most of what he says isn't good at all). Tracey Emin is another, her work representing the UK at the Venice Biennale was overwhelmingly 'so what' ... I thinks we're getting tired of her sexual (mis)adventures being presented as art.
Critics, artists, owners and buyers all observed that this frentic activity has destablised the UK art market, inflating prices and egos way beyond the norm...
Meanwhile Anish Kapoor, Andrew Long, Antony Gormley invariably have the 'oh wow!' effect on me ... but why? Couldn't say ...
Thomas