What Is Art Worth? Part Three

A few more quick thoughts on this weighty topic, then I will move on, I promise.  I'm sure I will revisit this cost of art quandary in the future.  Much needs to be done by those of us who make things in educating the masses about why a piece of art costs what it does.  The cost is not just materials, but the time it took to put it all together, and something I call "intellectual or skill cost."  This is the time spent learning the technique and perfecting it, often years.

It still surprises and saddens me to encounter many who think that skill in art is sudden and spontaneous.  The skill in art is no different than learning to write, play a musical instrument, etc.  One has to start slowly, with very basic things and build upon those skills.

Samples of techniques from my early days of art quilting

Image copyright RPS

Some questions to consider:
Why does art matter to you? 
What makes artwork “good”?

What makes an artist “good”?

Who is supposed to be satisfied by art – the buyer, the viewer, the artist, or all three?

Is one form of art better than another?

What makes art valuable?

I'm most interested in responses to the first question.  It is something that I struggle to answer for myself, even as one who is trying to make at least part of a living off of art.  It is especially difficult to come up with a plausible answer to justify art to the rural community where I live.

Moving onward, I'm not sure what I'll have on Thursday, I really am trying to get back to two posts a week!

What is Art Worth, Part Two

One short answer to the questions I posed at the end of my last post is marketing.  This is a multi-faceted subject, with no easy solutions.  Frankly, the arts world, whether "high" art in museums and galleries or craft or functional art, has not done well in marketing itself to the general populace.  Huge corporations producing factory made items simply have it in terms of distribution, name recognition through advertising and ability to supply the masses.

Much needs to be done in our education system to encourage the creative arts, instead of cutting funding for the arts programs.  I do understand that a painting, drama performance or orchestra concert does not fulfill basic needs such as food and shelter, but the arts fulfill deeper things within us.

How to address the lack of arts appreciation is not easy, but there are many small things we can start doing.  Creating your craft where others can observe is one good way.  I just secured a copy of the book The Art Abandonment Project: Create and Share Random Acts of Art by Micheal deMeng and Andrea Matus deMeng (North Light Books, 2014), and I'm intrigued by the concept of occasionally giving away small pieces to encourage interest.  If you are really ambitious, see about offering interactive talks or demonstrations to your local schools and youth organizations.  I am planning on doing all of these ideas in the near future.  I will certainly share my adventures here in the months to come.

The "Ribbon Lady" at Cambridge, Ohio's annual Dickens Village public art installation.