When does an art piece become valuable?
Or value-able?
Society at some point decided that if Damien Hirst were to
sneeze onto a sock, this 'Amazing Conceptual Art Work' is worth more
monetarily than my entire educational spending.
Is Greatness in the sum of its parts? In a painting does
the expense of each portion of paint get added up, plus minimum wage for each
hour that is spent of the piece, with petrol an addition for the travel to get
the materials and to take the painting to where it is viewed.
Plus VAT.
And if this is not the cause of pricing, is it the name of
the artist creating a profit? A particular configuration of letters creating a
sensation of value within a piece of ‘art’ or a perception of a specific set of
sounds meaning money when attached to a created art object.
A fluid hierarchy of ideas has been (man-)made. A
particular statement or motif becomes ‘en
vogue’. With this popularity,
does it create value? Is the mass enjoyment of a creation equate to a monetary
rise and gain? Is each singular dislike include a percentage of value lost or
removed?
0.03% revenue lost due to
Ralph from the UK “not liking
that shade of blue”
Does a reproduction increase or decrease the value of a
work? The suggestion that it is popular enough to be desired as a two or more
is a gain, but the copy of a work sheds an originality that was perceived as
desired, a loss. A triangulation of repetition and markdowns with an increase
meaning a weakening.
A Pyramid Scheme.
Sentimentality creates a price range all of its own. Great
Aunt Marie’s prized plates may be worth a few quid to the ‘Average Antiques Dealer’, but to your mother they could be the
greatest value in her life. More than you and your brother. It could be a
Daulton or a Worcester, or ‘that
Bobby down the road who paints plates for a living, remember him?’. But what makes his work any different
from the ‘Greats’?
What makes it valuable?
Expens(iv)es: For Sale SOLD
