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May as well start your art career with business, forget 'artistic desire', business first. Makes cents.
This appeared in my FB feed, as everything does that I shop for or comment on anywhere in the net. (not on the net, but in the net)
Here is Sotheby's solution.
My first photography job was at Christies and you soon realise that there is a lot of money to be made from art...I once dropped a jade brooch smashing into many pieces. I was mortified but the owner, a London dealer, was over the moon, he knew the insurance would pay out more than it was worth and indeed he received sale price and more!
Whilst I was there it was said that art was the fastest appreciating form of investment...beating even property.
If you want to make money in art don't make it, sell it!
Don't sell it smash it!
A Chicago camera dealer told a camera collector friend of mine to obtain replacement value insurance for his cameras.
No I am NOT that guy, but I was there for the discussion.
Thanks for the lesson, Don!
and Andy!
I've always had a fascination with "commercial" art. Whether it be the paintings in a hospital(yes, those drab pastel-colored prints of serene desert scenes, ocean vistas and photographs of idyllic Mediterranean whitewashed villages atop insurmountable hillsides) or the large-scale sculptures that seem(to me) to have ZERO purpose other than to take up space in a lot of foyer's of large office buildings. Even many of "the greats" in all mediums have HAD to take commercial work in order to pay the bills. Even some have painted clients portraits over other would-be masterpieces because they couldn't afford to buy more canvas. Most artists that I've encountered are NOT good at business(selling, investing properly back into their business, etc...). There definitely are exceptions(say Peter Lik, boo...hiss :D!!!) to that rule, however. "Selling" is an art, just like creating an art. However, "selling" in the traditional sense usually involves half-truths, blatant lies, and/or utterances of stories that help improve the sale move into closing the deal at the cash register. I believe in transparency between a seller/consignor, the artist, and the end client who will be purchasing the piece(s) in question. I(as the artist creating such pieces, or acting as both artist AND salesperson) want that client to NOT feel "sold" on a piece, but for them to know that I(as the artist) stand behind my work, and that they are helping be continue to work, and in turn they can fully enjoy one of my creations in their home for years to come. Transparency makes running a business easier, IMO. I see many artists offer "editions" of various sizes, with (IMO) asinine-level price points, almost insurmountable price points... But they can ask what they feel the piece is worth, but for me, I'd rather sell 1,000 pieces for $500 than 10 pieces for $50,000. My name will be in more homes, more collections, and more people's minds than if I try and join the ranks of "the elite" artisans whose works command grandiose prices at sale/auction.
Yes, there definitely is a "business" to art. No doubt about it. For me, it's a double-edged sword. I have a love for business; making deals, haggling. It's in my blood, I'm not going to deny it.
However, if I were to ever start mass-marketing my photographs and other creations(I'm starting to investigate into other mediums now such as metal sculpture and woodworking), I'd have to separate things into two camps: one-offs(such as sculptures and truly hand-crafted installation pieces), and "reproductions" such as photographs(where a "mass market" price point would be set and maintained so "the masses" could afford to enjoy my work).
I believe that for me, photography is about sharing an experience, and conveying what I saw and felt into a two-dimensional representation of the scene laid out before me.
If people want to "invest" into art, I have no problem with that. However, when they take these "investment" pieces and hide them away into private vaults, locked away from other being able to enjoy them, it makes me feel very sad, and to be honest, a bit angry even.