Thousands are dead and the death toll continues to rise in the Philippines. Hundreds of thousands are homeless and conditions are desperate for the impoverished residents hardest hit by the deadly typhoon.
For Canadians and Prince George residents, the best way to help is to throw money at the problem. The Canadian government has sent the military's Disaster Assistance Response Team and has pledged $5 million in aid, plus it will match the donations Canadians make until Dec. 8 to charities providing relief in the Philippines. The Nechako Rotary Club in Prince George made a $750 donation on Wednesday morning to Shelterbox, a Rotary International project partner specializing in disaster relief.
Governments and citizens around the world have pledged money and aid to help Filipinos with immediate assistance and long-term recovery.
Meanwhile, in New York on Tuesday night, money was flying around the famous auction house Christie's. By the time the last gavel fell on the sale of postwar and contemporary art , an incredible $691.5 million had been spent. The headlines went to Three Studies of Lucian Freud, a 1969 painting by British artist Francis Bacon, which sold for $142.4 million, a world record for the most expensive work of art sold at auction.
A world record was also set for the value of a single work by a living artist when Balloon Dog (Orange), a 10-foot orange shiny orange stainless steel replica of a balloon dog, by Jeff Koons went for $58.4 million.
And if Eric Clapton happens to owe you some money, now's the time to collect. He dumped a Gerhard Richter painting from his private collection for a cool $20.8 million.
With all due respect to Sir Eric and his ultra-rich art-collecting chums, it's hard not to wonder how $691.5 million devoted to disaster relief in the Philippines or anywhere else isn't a better investment, both in the short and long term, than paintings and sculptures.
A low blow? Perhaps. Clapton is well-regarded for his charitable efforts, both with his money, his time and his talent. Many of the handful of people in the world with pockets deep enough to buy the works up for sale Tuesday are also generous to charities and have set up personal foundations so their money will continue to go towards good deeds long after they die.
This isn't a cheap shot against modern art or contemporary artists, either. Bacon was an impressive talent with a unique vision and Koons produces playful, provocative and technically brilliant sculptures. The world would be a little more dull and little less interesting without their artistry.
The criticism goes towards the lack of imagination of individuals so wealthy that they can't think of anything better to do than spend tens of millions of dollars on a single work of art for their private collection and not for a world-class national gallery that will display it for everyone to enjoy.
The buyer of the Bacon work is anonymous to us little people but to those breathing that rarefied air, they know who owns it and he or she pronounced to the rest of the elite both their sophistication and the size of their wallet. Surely the ego to make such an investment couldn't fit into the room chosen to house Bacon's work.
How ironic that such gorgeous and unique displays of creativity inspire such wasteful and vulgar spending.
The clamour from the cash register drowns out the pleas of the suffering half a world away.
