Art Collection: Investing in What You Love (Part 3 of 3)
CategoriesFine Art
by Michael Damico
See Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.
Art Collection Part 3 – Investing in Art: How Much is Too Much?
Here are a few things to consider as you develop your art collection in case this thought ever crosses your mind: “I love that piece, but it costs too much.”
First, philosophically speaking, many artists are compulsively drawn (no pun intended) to making art or whatever creative craft they practice. This means that regardless of the cultural pressure to go to school and get a job, they push forward and perfect their craft. Each artist is truly on the cutting edge of mental, social, philosophical, and psychological exploration (and probably a whole lot more).
However, artists in our culture have been reduced to aesthetics for the most part. There was a time when artists were given the same regard as explorers, philosophers, and government officials. They were of high importance to any particular community.
But now it’s different. So, when I say artists have been reduced to aesthetics, I mean this: there is a lot of pressure on many artists to explore what’s “pretty” rather than what is in their mind and heart. Expressing the soul gets put on the back burner, so to speak.
Valuing the Artist
Second, when it comes to developing your art collection, think about this: many artists are still following a higher calling even if they aren’t selling it. Most can look back on a lifetime of thousands of logged hours honing and perfecting their craft. Many have had formal schooling or are even self-taught. Nevertheless, when an artist is asking a certain price for a piece, it’s likely to be undervalued for the amount of practice and work that actually has gone into the creation of this brainchild of theirs. And that applies whether the price is $50 or $10,000.
Alternative to Investing in Art
Third, if you like something but can’t afford it, ask the artist about the option of having a giclee print reproduction of the work. Giclees are reproductions of fine art on paper, canvas print, or any viable medium. Yes, we offer this service. But my point is that we are very familiar with the outcome of a high quality print reproduction like a giclee.
The level of technology that currently exists allows for impeccable quality. It is often hard to tell the difference between an original painting and the giclee. At Damico Frame & Art Gallery, we work to make it as authentic as possible. Our goal is to generate an accurate reproduction. To do this, we can usually use the same papers and canvas that the artist works with. For example, we have real cotton canvas, watercolor paper, and others.
Print production is a great way to gain access to the art you may be drawn to. And it’s good for the artists too, because they are able to still realize a profit for their challenging effort. They also get to keep the original for that magical buyer who wants to collect the original.
A Little Social Critique
I firmly believe that if we all buy into the notion that art is a valuable, even critical, component of humanity, then we will all see the benefits. It naturally draws out the best when the means are available to purely focus on ones’ practice.
For example, think about professional athletes who get paid the big bucks. Every year we see super human achievements come to the foreground. New year = new records. Why do you suppose that is? Because they have the monetary means to focus solely on their craft. How many never bother pursuing their talent because they don’t have the means? In our culture, art falls to the wayside.
It gets suppressed and so do the creative people because we don’t value creativity anymore. Think of the thousands of dollars spent each year by any interested individual on season tickets for one seat at a professional sports venue. Now ask yourself: How many opportunities are we as a culture suppressing in the creative artistic types because we do not provide the means for them to solely pursue their craft?
This is something I feel very strongly about. What are your thoughts on this and developing your art collection in general?
Leave a Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.