Watching episode 4 "A Work of Art" of the BBC's Junior Apprentice programme provided an insight into the difficulties of buying and selling art. The teams were given a shortlist of contemporary artists from which they had to select two to represent and sell their art at a special gallery sale. Easy? No, it was harder than it looked!
The first problem was which two artists to choose for the team to represent. Was the bottom-line, as Kirsty from Team Instinct focused on, money and whether the artist had a range of prices. Or was it, as Zoe from Team Revolution showed, the concepts behind the art backed up with some schmoozing and flattery of the artist. In the end both teams wanted the same artist, Tom Lewis, as he had a range of affordable and expensive prints and originals that would appeal to a range of buyers. The losing team were stuck with the more expensive artists like Sarah Kate Wilson who's pieces were up to £4000. Although both teams drummed up buyers, most of those preferred to pay in the hundreds rather than thousands of pounds.
What could we learn from this? Despite professional artists trying to push the conceptual boundaries, the majority of buyers wanted something attractive and decorative to put on the walls; neon lights spelling out words or phrases didn't cut it for the average buyer. Price is also important. When buying pieces for our walls we've bought originals by unknown artists from charity shops, or bid on eBay for more well known artists and tried to get value for money. In the end art is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.
Vicky,
Love Your Art
The first problem was which two artists to choose for the team to represent. Was the bottom-line, as Kirsty from Team Instinct focused on, money and whether the artist had a range of prices. Or was it, as Zoe from Team Revolution showed, the concepts behind the art backed up with some schmoozing and flattery of the artist. In the end both teams wanted the same artist, Tom Lewis, as he had a range of affordable and expensive prints and originals that would appeal to a range of buyers. The losing team were stuck with the more expensive artists like Sarah Kate Wilson who's pieces were up to £4000. Although both teams drummed up buyers, most of those preferred to pay in the hundreds rather than thousands of pounds.
What could we learn from this? Despite professional artists trying to push the conceptual boundaries, the majority of buyers wanted something attractive and decorative to put on the walls; neon lights spelling out words or phrases didn't cut it for the average buyer. Price is also important. When buying pieces for our walls we've bought originals by unknown artists from charity shops, or bid on eBay for more well known artists and tried to get value for money. In the end art is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.
Vicky,
Love Your Art
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