Buying Art
Ever since the times when primitive man began painting with blood and other various natural pigments on the walls, everybody has, at some time, exhibited art within their home. Initially it was most likely something we coloured in ourselves at school, aged four, for mom to happily display on the fridge door. In our later years our taste developed to include that genuine impressionist painting by an elephant called Tojo, purchased while on holiday in Thailand. At some point we have all fallen in love with an image and chosen to decorate our abode with the object that acted as a source of inspiration.
Art in the home is nothing new. What is new, however, is that art is more available and diverse than it has been in the past. Today it’s possible to buy high quality images of anything from architecture to erotica. The platforms selling art have also dramatically increased: not only has the internet connected sellers and buyers from around the world, art (I’m using the term loosely here) is also available in furniture stores, galleries and outlet retailers. “Choice” is perhaps the adjective that I’d use to best describe the current art market.
Even with this said, however, buying art is quite as straightforward as finding property for rent (the analogy seems appropriate in that property values can increase just as art can also become more valuable) . The question, inevitably, becomes, “what should we buy, and where should we buy it?” It would seem as if there are just three types of art buyers out there: those with genuine artistic appreciation and an eye for real talent, those who find it hard to make a distinction between creativity and an unmade bed and, probably worst of all – the “decorists”.
Decorists are those happy image hunters who never leave home without their bag of domestic accoutrements: this lamentable bag contains items like swatches of the various curtains hanging in their homes, samples of the colours painted in their various rooms, a cut off from the laminate flooring in the kitchen, and etc.
In my humble opinion, these are people to be helped and understood: it would be too cruel to hold them responsible for their actions. The sickness could perhaps be attributed to a profound misunderstanding of the role that Art (I’ll capitalise to distinguish between the real thing and empty, well framed and pretty pictures) could play in our lives. The proliferation of decorist mentality could perhaps be blamed on popular, but pulp magazines and magazine programmes. The colours in the image might complement the colour of the paint on the wall behind it, true, but in this action the decorist has managed to reduce Art to its most superficial quality, and turn it into art.
Essentially, there are only two guidelines to follow when purchasing Art for personal use in your private home. The first is to buy only those aesthetic objects (photos, paintings, sketches, even sculpture) to which you feel a personal connection. The second guideline is perhaps more of a rule than the first point: set your budget and don’t exceed it. Art that puts you into debt will probably detract from your life more than it will better it.
The above two guidelines are designed to ensure that what you do purchase will be of a personal value and will deepen the experience of your life.
A third, but lesser guideline is to carefully consider where you intend to look for, and purchase, pieces. Galleries are excellent bets, but are not without their own problems. Often gallery curators and owners are business people doing their best to move over-priced stock. These types of galleries sell both art and Art, but their focus is not on the integrity of the process: this is to say that the galleries are stocked with fashionable pieces that are not quite worth the “bubble” prices they are being sold at. Once the markets finds a new flavour of the month, the previous year’s aesthetic rapidly loses value, and you’re left with a dated piece that serves as a testament to the commodification of art as a product that must respond to market forces. To avoid this, and I’ll refer to guideline one here, look for the piece which you will enjoy even when fashion has moved on and found a new aesthetic.
Recapitulation
Try to look for reputable galleries and art/Art dealers, always ask too many questions, do your own research, never allow someone to “sell” you an artwork, unless you have experience in the field don’t buy Art as an investment, unless you truly connect with an image try not to purchase one that is mass produced, and adhere to the two fundamental guidelines. Be honest with yourself, and be true to yourself: at the end of the day, unless you’re desperately trying to use your choice in art/Art to signify things about yourself to friends and acquaintances (essentially using Art/art to bolster your own image), the person who has the primary relationship with the piece is yourself, so make sure it is something that connects with you in a personal, if indescribable and primitive, way.
