Already at 30 they have years of experience. Prices of '80s photography, works by artists like Cindy Sherman and Richard Prince, are setting records. Collectors are wary of the size of the editions, and worry about being taken. They buy paintings because they already own paintings. They associate painting with the past, with history.
Video is an even greater problem.
But photography is gradually becoming interesting. The problem is that art needs a movement for just a few new artists to stand out. But things are starting to change. Older photographs are going up in price, as are prices of works by younger photographers. The new installation at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where the curators took a chance by mixing things up, older with contemporary . . .