Art is for the Masses

In the beginning...

Welcome to my arts blog!  I am an artist and a freelance curator working with a local art gallery.  I work with a myriad of people with many different backgrounds and experiences (don't we all), and one common thread I have found in the past year of working in suburbia in the art "scene" is that no one seems to know anything about art around here! 

My intent with this blog is perhaps to provide a bit of information that can be used to better understand why art is important in any culture, what it's true value is, how to buy art, why we create art, how to look at art, and well... pretty much anything else that strikes my fancy about art and the current state of the art market.  Hopefully some will find it interesting, or informative, or at least entertaining. 

I think that the future of art depends on the education of the general public about art and I believe that it is part of my job as an artist and curator to share whatever knowledge I have that will benefit both viewers and artists alike.  I look forward to sharing a dialog on a subject that I am so passionate about.

Day Two.

My grumpy ball python Dekembe... he's hungry and doesn't like to have his picture taken.

Spend your art budget on work that is worth it!

A couple of weekends ago I was in Salem with friends checking out art set up at a few different venues throughout the city. At one particular gallery, we found a series of adorable “dark” paintings… tiny monsters and creeps and such. I was interested in one particular piece and after a song and dance to find the price of the work (somehow I had the impression that a business should know the prices of work, or perhaps have a list somewhere) I was ready to whip out my credit card to make a purchase (seeing as it was in my minuscule budget). While the gallery owner disappeared in the back room for some unknown reason, my husband took the piece off the wall to look at how the piece was constructed. Oh, man, am I glad he did! I was so enthralled with the piece I hadn’t even thought to look at its construction, and when he flipped it over, we realized that the painting was done on a student’s “canvas board,” which in and of its self isn’t that terrible, but it had been torn from a larger piece of board… not cut neatly and the edges sealed all clean, but torn, with jagged, uneven edges. Needless to say, I did not purchase any art that day. Obviously, if the artist does not care enough to prepare his materials properly, I should not care enough to give him money for his work.

This entire experience then brought to mind another important aspect of starting an art collection: spend your art budget on work that is worth it! Whether you have a hundred dollars or a hundred thousand dollars (or more) to spend, make sure you understand the value of what you are purchasing and make sure that it is worth the cost. Aesthetics are very personal, but quality is an aspect of art that is somewhat universal. Keeping this in mind, there are some things that I would suggest you look at when thinking of purchasing work for any budget.

The surface that an image is painted on is a very important factors in how the work ages. The more flexible an item, and the thicker the medium on the surface, the more likely you are to see the paint crack and fall off later. So look to see if the surface is well supported? Do you know if the artist created the surface themselves (stretched the canvas, built the supports)? Can you tell if the canvas is wrinkled or is it stretched tight? Is the structure beneath the surface visible (intentionally?) or hidden? Do the edges look like they were finished nicely or were they left ratty and unpainted? Has the piece ever been damaged and repaired (its okay to ask this question... a professional will probably expect it)?

If the potential purchase is a work on paper, is the paper archival (meaning it is not going to fade so much over time)? If it is a print, what is the printing method? Giclee prints are different from inkjet prints are different from monoprints are different from silkscreen… know the method and know what it is worth. If an artist is printing from an inkjet printer at home using non-archival paper, they should be charging you less than the same image printed on archival paper, mounted on board or printed on canvas. Do you know if it is a limited edition, or is it from an open print run? Are the prints signed and numbered?

The frame a work is displayed in (and sold with) can also be an important factor. Is the work displayed in a frame? Can you tell if the frame was custom-made for this piece of art or was it picked up at the local craft store? Was the frame built by the artist? Is the frame actually a part of the work? Does the frame enhance the image or take away from it? I have found that often you can tell a lot about how an artist views their art by the way in which they frame it. Keep in mind as well that young and emerging artists often choose frames for financial reasons, not visual ones, so don’t over analyze the framing job in these circumstances.

Mostly, just LOOK! Look at all the details… is that smudge a part of the painting, or a post-production error? Is the painting going to tear right off its supports because it isn’t put together properly? Is the store-bought canvas a “professional” grade canvas or a “student” grade canvas (which primarily relates to the quality of the canvas material and the thickness of the support structure)? Is the paint already cracking or the paper turning yellow? Spend your money wisely! No matter how beautiful or enchanting a piece of art might be, make sure it will be around for you to enjoy in a few decades (centuries?) as well! Ask the artist if there are care instructions when you inquire about purchasing because that information will be invaluable in keeping your work beautiful for a long time!

Buying Art For Dummies?!

A New Users Guide to Starting Your Own Collection

 

First, it is imperative for you to understand that you cannot be a dummy when it comes to starting your art collection.  There are two major reasons for this… 1) It is YOUR art collection… there is no way that your choices will be “dumb” if you are choosing pieces for yourself and not allowing someone else to tell you what you should like or what you should purchase.  And 2) you must educate yourself about quality and value in art (quality referring to technique and media, value referring to purchase price compared to quality and history).  Make sure you speak to artists about the medium they use and also what their work means to them.  Talk to dealers at galleries about what techniques will stand the test of time.  Value is also important to understand:  a piece of art is generally priced/valued based on a number of factors including the medium and technique used, the history of the artist (where they have shown and who owns their work) as well as the history of the piece itself (where it has been displayed and who has owned it).  I will talk more about these topics in future blogs, but to begin this important process, the most important thing you need to think about is WHAT kind of art moves you?!

 

Not Yo Momma’s Art

 

So, most of us grew up with some semblance of art gracing the walls of our parent’s homes.  Whether it was photographs or paintings, craft assemblages or sculpture- it was definitely present.  Most of my friends had still-life paintings of vases, flowers and fruit or landscapes of the countryside, woods and the seashore.  Boats, horses and family pets were also common themes.  Many of you may have similar aesthetic histories—well, let me tell you that this assortment of art is most certainly NOT the only art that can be hung on your living room wall!

 

Remember when you were an adolescent or young teenager (wow that makes me feel old)… what did you decorate your bed room walls with?  My friends and I covered our walls with posters and pages torn from our favorite magazines; I don’t know how many boys I knew that had a white Lamborghini poster right over their dresser with Tawny Kitaen (or some similarly busty bikini-covered vixen) over their bed… I had images of horses (I always wanted to be a jockey), pastel fairies (I grew out of that phase) and I even recall some NKOTB posters (for a VERY short period of time) while my brother had comics and pictures he had copied from album covers… Can you remember why you chose those images?  Were they activities or objects you were obsessed with? Perhaps they were of your favorite movie star or that band that you adored?    Whatever those images were, they had one thing in common:  they were exciting, they challenged and inspired you; they represented who you were at that moment in time or who you wished to be in the future.  The emotions and some of the thought process for choosing those images years ago will serve you well now in choosing pieces of artwork that you will enjoy for many, many years (although it might be a bit creepy if you still have that Tawny Kitaen poster displayed anywhere other than “Man-Town”).

 

Every person on the planet has a different aesthetic, but you will find that many of us respond to similar images due to both biological and social conditioning.  Trust me, you will find pieces that excite you and speak to your life and to your experience… so take your time!  Don’t purchase work because someone has told you that it is good and that you should like it or that this particular up and coming artist is the NEXT BIG THING!  You will know if you like it!!  One of the best ways to find visual images that inspire and excite you is to LOOK!  Visit galleries, go to museums, go online (there are so many websites featuring art, it will take you years to find it all), look at the artwork on your favorite CDs (or the artwork on your ITunes or whatever it is you look at if you no longer buy those old fashioned CD things).  There are a million different avenues to find new art and artists, and you are in a position (thanks to this wonderful digital age) to utilize them all! 

 

When you find work that interests you, really look at it… does it make you remember something from your past? Does it make you question? Does it challenge you? Does it inspire an emotion (or emotions)?  Think of the color (do you like brights, pastels, black and white, neon (some of us grew up in the 80s), look at the composition (is it balanced? asymmetrical on purpose?), how about the execution (is it meticulous? Is it intended to be messy and free? Is that blurry effect deliberate?).  Does anything about it throw you off (or piss you off)?  Is that an intentional effect?  Does it make you think of home? The Future? Does it disturb you? Is it supposed to?

 

The artwork you purchase and add to your collection should both speak to you and about you.  If you have a darker view of the world, it really is okay to fill your living space with darkly inspired work!  If you are obsessed with spending your days surfing and enjoying the sunshine, your collection can reflect that.  If you are twisted in the head and want to find work that expresses the disturbed workings of your mind… there are plenty of artists out there for you.  The biggest thing for everyone to remember is that you will be looking at this work for a REALLY long time, so you had better ENJOY it!!!  Art has no value to you if it doesn’t speak to you!  Think before you purchase!  Educate yourself:  it is in both the artists’ interest and a galleries interest to answer your questions and help you to learn about the art you are asking questions about.  If either one presumes that it is not worth their time or energy to help you understand the work better, than the work is probably not worth your time and money to begin with.  Be picky!  There are MILLIONS of artists out there… you will find the work you are looking for with a bit of patience and a bit of vision!

 

I truly believe that everyone deserves to have an aesthetic environment which excites and inspires them, and that everyone can own original works of art to fulfill this.  Look around you and I promise, you will find the work that will satisfy this basic need!