On Friday, a group at Art Basel Hong Kong debated and then held a vote on whether "The Market Is the Best Judge of Art's Quality."

A report in the South China Morning Post says the motion was squarely defeated. After the debate, 25% voted in favor and 73% against.

Yet prior to the debate, 20% were in favor, 60% against, and 20% undecided. The discussion apparently pushed more than half of the undecideds to reject the claim that sales are the highest measure of a work of art.

Speaking for the market as ruler were Amy Cappellazzo of Christie's auction house and art dealer Jeffrey Deitch, who is the director of LA's Museum of Contemporary Art. Artists Matthew Collings and Rirkrit Tiravanija rallied votes against.

Deitch said the market is "a complex open system that encompasses a giant web of information and disinformation and informed and misinformed opinions that influence our perceptions of quality and value." But he also noted that this system creates "freedom" for anyone to participate.