Posts in Category: Commentary

On the value proposition of art.

Yet again one of the many memes about why you should value an artist more because of all the effort they put into their art.  The one currently floating around is one of the least aggregious of the bunch, and one I mostly agree with.   What I don’t agree with is the underlying premise to all of these memes.  To whit:  effort == value.   Let me speak to that as an artist and a capitalist.

Begin Meme:

When you buy something from an artist, you’re buying more than just an object.  You’re buying hundreds of hours of errors and experimentation.  You’re buying years of frustration and moments of pure joy.  You’re not buying just one thing, you’re buying a piece of a heart, a piece of a soul… a small piece of someone else’s life.

End Meme:

All of those things are the intangible foundations of the drive to create in any artist. How well we communicate that passion, how well we engender a visceral, emotional reaction in the viewer or purchaser is the other half of the value equation. The labor-value theory is an utter fallacy. To the purchaser, the effort that goes into a a creation is irrelevant, in general, in their estimation of it’s value to them. It informs the value for us, the creators, but not the person purchasing the piece.

A successful transaction between artist and viewer or purchaser is one where our value and theirs most closely match. What has our creation given them in exchange for that little bit of their life represented by sheets of dead trees with artistic drawings of dead men on them? When you find that hook, that message, that something intangible that touches the deep heart of your customer the way the effort, the art, the act of creation touches yours, then and only then will there be an equitable exchange of value.

If you’re dismayed by someone undervaluing your time, your effort, your art and your life, look to your creations first and if you find no deficiency there, look to your customers instead and go find different ones whom would find your work of sufficient value for the exchange to be equitable.