Damien Hirst has gotten to the point where the sound of his own voice isn't good enough – now he needs a record of his thoughts for the ages. He and fellow artist Richard Prince (who actually has some talent) discuss the pains of the art market in Requiem II, which is scheduled to be published by Other Criteria this fall. Of course, Hirst is one of the publishing house's founders, making one wonder if this is the only most effective way for him to get a book published.

If a recent interview with ArtNews is any indication, Requiem II will contain the insights you'd come to expect from an artist of Hirst's caliber. My personal favorite: "Yeah, we ain't gonna sell as much art, art shows are gonna get better now the focus shifts away from money."

Brilliant.

If you were planning to sell that Damien Hirst in your closet to help pay the mortgage, think again. According to a recent piece in Portfolio, "To capitalize on the past few boom years in the art market, Hirst's studio churned out works at a speed that many feared would overwhelm demand, pushing down prices further."

Daniel Komala, president and co-founder of Larasati Auctioneers tells Bloomberg that art prices could fall 40% in 2009. Bloomberg adds that "Confidence levels in the contemporary-art market have fallen 81 percent since May 2008 and may take between three and five years to recover, according to a survey released by research company ArtTactic Ltd. this week. Almost half the respondents to the survey expected auction prices would fall by 30 to 50 percent from their May 2008 highs."

What is ailing the art market seems to be the same thing that's ailing housing. For instance: Speculative buying drove up prices for hot contemporary artists (or houses), leading to a flood of new works (construction) hitting the market. Then consumer confidence took a plunge and now people are freaking out.

Prices for more artists with longer track records -- like Monet -- are not expected to be impacted nearly as much. Shares of leading auctioneer Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) have already been pulverized by concerns about the market, taking another big dive yesterday. But with its solid balance sheet and strong moat, the stock might even be interesting as the ultimate contrarian play right.