Art to Market

Whenever I’m asked what my dream job would be, the first thing that comes to mind is an artist. Aside from the fact that I love to draw and create, there are several perks to this career. The way I envision it, artists get to do whatever they want. I would set my own hours, travel frequently, and get paid immensely. “Project Research” could consist of a lavish trip to Italy or sailing across the Atlantic. I could “look for inspiration” anywhere I choose and make money in the process. Of course the trick to all of this is being able to sell ones work at ridiculous prices. For this reason I will research the science of selling artwork. I will attempt to gain insight into the minds of both customers and dealers so I may discover what affects pricing and how to give value to my own creations.

There are few businesses in which a manufacturer can sell their goods with no correlation or even consideration for expense. However, what cost one artist $30 to paint could sell for $30,000. Inversely, another artist may spend thousands of dollars creating a “masterpiece” and find himself unable to sell it. So who decides what is “art” and what isn’t? I’ve been to museums that feature Crayola scribbles on canvas and wondered, “What makes them better than me?” Does it come down to explaining the significance of each brushstroke? Does one need to establish a reputation first? Did I need to get some kind of formal training to do this right? My list of questions goes on and on.

In hope of finding some answers I looked to the web. My Google Scholar search turned up several helpful articles that plan on referring to in my final paper. However, the most important piece I found was a book titled High Art Down Home: An Economic Ethnography of a Local Art Market, by Stuart Plattner. This anthropological study seemed to fit my situation perfectly.

The author grew up wanting to be an artist, with talent and support from everyone around him. He even took his interest a step further, going to art school and finding a job in commercial art. However, he found his passion was cheapened when it was directed and sold. Plattner went on to study anthropology and ultimately used this perspective to study artists in his local community. The book investigates the paradox of putting a price-tag on art and the resulting conflicts of artists on psychological and economic levels.

Rough Citation:
Plattner, Stuart. High Art Down Home: An Economic Ethnography of a Local Art Market.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sI-AXDAtsCIC&oi=fnd&pg=PR8&dq=selling+artwork&ots=GQwH9_Ab1U&sig=L1qnX6mP76yaVtnPeOF9GjpVq60