New York magazine art critic Jerry Saltz’s talk for Art Basel Miami Beach’s Art Salon yesterday, entitled “This is the End: The Rising Tide of Money Goes Out of the Art World and All Boats are Sinking,” took a literal turn when he compared the present moment in the art world to the scene in the movie Titanic where the ship tips vertiginously, and Leonardo diCaprio’s character says, “This is it.”

Here’s the critic in action:

One part serious art lecture, one part stand-up comic schtick — at one point Saltz did an impression of Jeff Koons — Saltz engaged repeatedly with his rapt audience, at one point asking Joel Mesler of Rental Gallery, which shows young artists, if the gallery could get by on just ten collectors in straightened times.

Saltz seems pessimistic — or perhaps realistic — about the art market, but amicably so, emphasizing repeatedly that he doesn’t want to be a “buzzkill.” In his opinion it can only be a good thing that those in art for the investment have fled the scene.

Artists supported by branding and marketability, like Hirst and Prince, will suffer in a reexamination of value. And, Saltz guessed, after polling his audience, 50 to 100 New York galleries will close.

The recent boom was a “fluke,” says this critic. Right now, he opined, unpredictability is a good thing. “We don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s the best thing that could happen.”