Recently, a friend remarked that she wanted to buy art, but wanted art that not only looked good but but that would be a good investment. We've all seen the fine print from our investment advisors, "past performance may not be indicative of future results" or "returns on investments are not guaranteed". The same can be said of art.
The Contemporary Art market is often a very speculative market. I found this article of particular interest. http://artmarketblog.com/2008/11/24/the-price-and-value-of-contemporary-art-artmarketblogcom/ This doesn't mean that art won't increase in value, but that like other investments, it is subject to risk. However, unlike typical investments, art has an additional, aesthetic value.
My advice is and always will be to buy art that appeals to you. If it happens to increase in value, that is great. If not, it will always be something you will enjoy. I suggest buying art that invokes a particular emotion or memory. Buy art that causes you to look at the world differently. Get to know the artist so that you can understand and appreciate the technique or the subject matter.
But how do we know what art we like? There really isn't a replacement for getting out and experiencing art. Visit a local art gallery. Ask questions. Take home a catalogue or a brochure. Get on a mailing list. Good art is not always expensive or come from a know artist or even be intended as art. Some of my favorite works are photographs taken by friends on our trips to the mountains.
Or visit an art museum. If you can't make it to the Whitney or MoMA in New York or the Art Institute in Chicago, check out the McColl Center for Visual Art or the Mint Museums. But also check out some of the private collections throughout Charlotte. The Carillon Building has a great collection that rotates frequently. There is also some really cool art in the Bank of America Plaza (including some really cool pieces by Ashley Lathe) and there are the Ben Long frescoes in the Corporate Center. Or drop by the Foundation for the Carolinas and check out the craftwork exhibited in their lobby. For a day trip, visit Seagrove or Penland.
But like everything else, you can now go online to check out art. Just like we troll websites like Amazon or TripAdvisor or Zagat, there are wonderful online resources. All of the major art galleries have websites. The Whitney, the Tate Modern and the High Museum of Art are some of my favorites. But you can also check out artnet.com to see all kinds of art. For prints, I like PacePrints.com.
And don't be embarrassed if your tastes aren't funky or abstract. The beauty of art is that it impacts us each differently. Ten people can view the same art only to have ten different reactions. Whether you like watercolor or no color, abstraction or realism, painting or print, what matters most is that the art speaks to you on some level.
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I am reminded of the patrons of old. Often they were royalty or merchants (business people) who subsidized artists to create art for their castles/residences.
ReplyDeleteIn our culture today, I think most of us view a patron of the arts as someone wealthy-a Rockefeller, or a Gates--who has disposal income to spend on high-priced works of art. What I've found is that much art is affordable, especially if you're buying from first time artists who are trying to get their work and their names out there.
Would supporting a first time artist be a good investment? As you said in your article, there are no guarantees buying art as an investment. I'd like to suggest that there is, however, a different kind of investment involved.
Yes, there is a chance that the artist you support, may become famous and their artwork more valuable as a result. But maybe not. What does that piece of art mean to you? If it is only about the dollar amount, may I suggest that you not spend your money on art? The value of a piece of art goes far beyond its monetary value. My husband, for example, is a photographer. There is a photo he took of a duck, a plain old little duck in a park. It is a beautiful close up of the little bird, and sunlight streams through his bill, creating the most amazing color orange. I look at that photo every day and it causes me to feel something. It is a part of my world, my sacred environment. I love it with all my heart.
I have pieces of art that I have bought from emerging artists that I feel the same way about. The value they bring to my life far surpasses the price tag. It also lets that artist know that they are valued, that someone believes in their vision of the world.
I am not a wealthy person. I do try to buy art that touches me, and yes, that I can afford. It may not be a financial investment, but it certainly is a personally enriching one.