Of course, all of this mediocrity claims to transcend itself by moving art to a second, ironic level. But it is just as empty and insignificant on the second as on the first level. The passage to the aesthetic level salvages nothing; on the contrary, it is mediocrity squared. It claims to be null -- "I am null! I am null! -- and it truly is null.

Baudrillard was no art aficionado, but he was no stranger to art either. In 1983, after the publication in English of his ground-breaking essay, Simulations, he was adopted by the New York art world and put on the mast of Artforum, the influential international art magazine. The book instantly became a must-read for any self-respecting artist -- they suddenly were becoming legions -- and it was quoted everywhere, even included in several artist installations. Eventually it made its way -- full-frame -- into the cult Hollywood sci-fi film The Matrix. (Baudrillard is Neo.)