This is the question that got me working in this niche of art marketing in the first place. It has also led to more questions than answers. Why is there so much polarity in the value we place on art? Either we see it as very valuable and expensive or we see it as common and not worth much. It seems our perception is more jaded by the presentation than by the art itself.
For example, you walk into a beautiful, expensive-looking gallery. The decor is plush carpet, dark hardwoods, even some marble. Every piece has its own lighting and is presented flawlessly. You expect these paintings to go for hundreds or thousands of dollars each. You know the painting you buy is also a valuable investment that will be worth many more times than what you paid for it. You finally pick one out that goes for only $2500 and you feel like you got a great deal. You hang it proudly on your living room wall.
Next, you are driving to the grocery store and you see a man on the side of the road with several paintings stacked on blankets with a sign that reads, “Starving Artist Sale”. You pull off of the road and check them out. Nice work, but you do not expect to pay any more than $25. You go home and proudly show what you bought and figure it would look good in the basement.
What is the difference between these paintings? Is the first one really 100 times better than the second? What if you compared the two and realized with a shock that they were painted by the same person and were virtually identical?! The only difference between the two is your perceived value based on where you bought it.
You know that this is a truer scenario than we would like to admit. The real question then isn’t “why” for we know that answer. The presentation influenced our perceived value more than the quality of the painting itself. The real question, or at least the more useful question, is “how do I use this knowlege to sell more of my own art?”
That is the question I will answer in the next post.
Chris O’Byrne
OnlineArtsMarketing.com
