What Is The Value Of Art?
Art is everywhere whether we like it or not. Our inner voice critiques the art around us, whether it is seen as good or bad. As children, we adorn our bedrooms with posters and objects we relate to and identify with. It becomes a valued possession. Those objects say something about who we are. As we age, we decorate our personal spaces in creative ways as tastes change. We are influenced by what is “ in” with a keen eye to what is then“out”. Social forces subtly dictate our artistic choices and tastes. Remember shag carpet and Avocado colored appliances? We move it around, acquire new art, or get rid of it altogether in exchange for something else. As we accumulate greater financial stability some individuals turn the collection of art into a passion.
We buy art at gallery exhibitions, auctions, and private sales. And there are art fairs on the low end and Art Basel on the high end. We even hire consultants to find the right balance between aesthetic value and monetary investment.
Yet some people out there see making art as an almost frivolous pursuit, not having a value like being an Accountant, Lawyer, Waste Management Operator, Dentist, Teacher, Captain of Industry, or maybe even a Politician. How often has an artist been approached by someone and they then try to barter down the price of a piece of work that took time and effort to make? Yet they would never consider asking that of the above-mentioned professions. Try asking the city if they would consider lowering the price of their trash removal or telling Jeff Besos that you are only willing to pay half for your Amazon subscription. A friend once asked me what the price was for one of my pieces. I responded by telling them the price and their reply was, “Really?” “Yes, really!”. Their reaction was surprise masked as doubt. They saw little value in my labor.
People react strangely when I convey to them my profession as an artist. They either don’t know what to make of it or don’t understand the words coming out of my mouth as the sound molecules hit their ears. Then the strange attempt at humor is made, smiling they’ll say the old starving artist cliche which is so tired and old, or “What’s your medium” as if there’s just one? The bottom line is it’s a business like any other. It is built from the ground up and takes considerable time, passion, and energy to grow with all its trials and tribulations. It has to start from somewhere after all.
Artists have value. After all, they are the masterminds in their creations and how they deliver them to the world comes in different ways. The largest reason for creating work of any kind is intention. Intention goes from how it is made to how it is presented. Where, why, how, and for what reason their art is to be made? The sculptor considers how they mold the clay. The painter decides what color to use and how the paint is applied to the chosen surface. The photographer considers all the technical elements of how an image will be taken while considering the subject matter. It’s hard work!
There are so many kinds of art. There’s high and art low art, craft art and graffiti art, religious art and sex art. There’s good art and even bad art. There’s even art for art’s sake. Regarding the consumption of art, it’s the pursuit and passion of the artist to make something and deliver it to the consumer with a reaction. I recently saw the writer and humorist Fran Liebowitz say in an interview how the AIDS crisis, at the end of the Twentieth Century, severely damaged the connoisseur structure of the creative art world. The death of so many gay men who were the apex connoisseurs of art and culture vanished. Nobody was left to guard the castle. It was wiped out. I had never heard anybody, expert or otherwise describe how that episode decimated art in that way. She was right and we were then left with second and third stringers which hurt the art world establishment.
Whether someone is an art museum curator or anyone who buys something that strikes their fancy at the Goodwill is of no consequence at the end of the day. There is a visceral reaction to that object. Art does have obvious value to even the non connoisseur no matter the price. That person also needs to realize and understand the long and difficult hours of work that went into the piece they are now coveting. It did not poof, appear from thin air unless you are at the Louvre viewing Leonardo’s Mona Lisa or cranking your head up to view Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. If you are a genius then authorship becomes as important as the piece.
If an artist is serious about their craft they are not impractical dreamers. They have purpose and direction in their work and maintain real-world responsibilities (although we all know the stories of the eccentric artists who made it despite themselves). Artists can be unconventional in their approach and also quirky, self-absorbed, or even egocentric. Those characteristics cross over into other professions as well and we have all seen their horror stories shared on social media clips.
The artist is expressive and passionate about their work. They are devoted to their craft in the pursuit of their artistic journey and vision. The value of art is the emotional impact it has on the individual who looks at it. The first time I visited Florence I went to see the Statue of David for the first time. I was standing next to a woman who had tears rolling down her face. David had a visceral reaction to what she was experiencing. She was overwhelmed with awe. He gives you a visceral reaction. You can’t help but react to it. The sheer beauty of that work sent her somewhere not of this world. It truly does take your breath away. The impact hits you like a bomb.
Art has value. Not just monetary economic value but It is viewed as a commodity that appreciates over time. Back in the day, you could buy a Warhol Campbell Soup Can for a song. If you bought one then and choose to sell your Soup Can, you buy a pretty nice house with the proceeds. There is also the value of cultural significance. An artwork can become so important as to mean something greater than the artwork itself. Greek and Roman antiquities easily come to mind. They represent a time of pride in the cultural past that supersedes one individual work. This is evident in the way the concept of colonial reappropriation of art back to its original country has become accepted as an important right thing to do by the gatekeepers in art culture. Tradition, cultural values, and history play a huge part involving cultural significance. Social impact also influences the value of art. Many don’t think the Statue Of Liberty is a work of art but she is. She projects a dialogue of the acceptance of immigration and that meaning changes in each generation for good or for bad. She fosters dialogue, promotes social change, and adds glue to the greater society at large. We project something onto her and she communicates something back to the greater society.
Art enriches our lives in so many ways. How can we possibly live without music? It’s inconceivable. It is a visceral part of our DNA and it connects us in so many ways. The self-expression, therapeutic benefits, and enrichment it gives to culture are so large that most of us do not reflect on it. But what if it didn’t exist according to some political utopian declaration?
Ultimately, the value of art lies in its ability to enrich our lives in countless ways. Whether it's through its emotional impact, cognitive stimulation, or cultural significance. Art has the power to transform our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
I once read a small book by Sigmund Freud. He stated something that sticks with me to this day. The two things all cultures value are art and science. I interpret that as valuing the advancement of human thinking and expression. Moving forward and advancing the questions we have about ourselves is part of our nature merely because we are curious beings.
I see the artist as a steward in that curious journey that we are in but two symbiotic elements are needed in it in regarding artistic expression and consumption. The Consumer must tow their share of the line be aware of what the other side of the line (the artist) is towing and acknowledge that what the artist does has value. After all, at the end of the day, who wants to live with just white walls in their house with no sound or anything to ponder over? Somebody had to make the stuff for you.