Buyers of Art
Lets try and create some starting points about who buys art and why… I’m not saying this is a definitive list by the way, but a way of understanding the buyers basic motivations. There will be much more to this and for the artist wanting to sell their work they may well find the following information useful in connecting with buyers. Feel free to add comments tot he article so I can add more information or details as required if you have another view or three.
Buyer profiles:
I like it - Colours, lines, shapes, tones, subject matter, scale, composition, price,. Any and or all of these (and maybe a few others) become the motivation for buying a piece, this is usually supported by a justification “It will look good where I want to put it.” Mostly it’s about decoration or showing something they believe is beautiful. Long term value as an appreciating artwork, negligible. “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like…”
I like the artist - They probably like the artworks created by the artist, the style etc as well as the person… Perhaps they have not met the artist but have been told about them by a gallery. “You really should look at the work of..” These buyers often connect with the person, then the art, they will then have a story to tell, “We met this artist and wow!) They are not so interested in the longer term value of the work, perhaps wishing it’s value may rise as well as having decoration value. “We met the Artist at the gallery, got to see their studio later on and now we know more about them and their inspiration, we really like the work too!” - “The Artist is a good friend of ours and we love their work as well as them, great to have one of their works in our collection.”
I like the price - An art work is purchased above a certain amount, the gallery is renown for having works which are above a certain value, the buyer knows that, the buyers friends know it too. so to have one from “X Gallery” becomes a status symbol. No mention of the price is made and any interest in the artist is often cursory. This can happen at any level in the art field from decorative works, through to contemporary art and prices though to many thousands of dollars. They say they are informed by the gallery the value of the artists work will rise, but who knows… “The gallery has taught me a lot about this Artist and their work…”
Secondary market buyers - “I like works already with some value to them, the artist is often better known, has a track record of success in some way and their works are valued by others enough to make it to the secondary market.” Auctions of artworks are usually the way these buyers get the works. They could be building an investment portfolio and are linking their budget to the works and the propensity for the art to appreciate in value. “I put into action my knowledge of the Artist and art-world, coupled with information from the catalogue and other sources.”
Institutional - These are Gallerists and Curators buying for larger organistations. They may be looking for works of significance from certain art eras, works and or artists whose value may have had critical acclaim, or their works may hold some deeper cultural or contemporary interest, providing some measure of value, perhaps as an investment and as a culturally valuable piece. “We buy works of broader cultural value first and foremost, the fact many of these may appreciate in financial value is often secondary but a nice bonus.”
Patrons - “We buy works by specific artists sometimes and also because we like the works and or we like the concepts communicated.” Call them rich, eccentric or whatever, these people are great patrons of the arts, often holding large collections revered by the art community at higher levels. It could be a show of status but often in a more demure manner. “We love following the work of Artist X, but we also buy others too, we don’t flaunt the collection to others we just love to support the wider cultural fabric of society.”
Investors - “We want works, which will appreciate in value, yes we buy what we like too so if we get ‘stuck with it’ we can live with it.” Using a broad range of information to make (hopefully) effective buying decisions to collect works which will provide a financial return. Coupling knowledge of works, academic information and investment trends for the works to make informed decisions. The works can be sourced from the primary or secondary markets and sold at auction later on. “It’s an investment first and foremost.”
Copyright © Steve Gray 2010+
Videos - Contemporary Artists
Here are some video links to Contemporary Artists at work. Generally I aim for short sharp videos, which are easy to watch and not just selling you on their website etc. Come back from time to time, I hope to add more.
Del Kathryn Barton - Painter
Diane Savona - Textile Artist
How much is the art in the window?
The Pricing Game
Pricing Secrets Artists Need To Embrace
A message from art publisher Eric Rhoads
Let’s play a couple of games….
Imagine for a moment that you’re fairly wealthy. Not billionaire wealthy, but wealthy enough that you don’t need to think twice about going out and paying cash for a new $80,000 Lexus.
Most artists price themselves too low because they can’t relate to wealth, so it’s important to imagine yourself with wealth for this exercise. Are you there yet?
Now imagine that you go to the flea market on a Saturday. There is a guy at the flea market selling what he claims is a brand-new Mercedes for $13,000. Would you consider it, even for a moment?
No? Why not?
Because something smells rotten. First, we all know you can’t buy a new Mercedes for $13,000. Second, would you buy a new Mercedes at the flea market from someone you don’t know? Even at a full Mercedes price? Probably not. Your brain won’t let you buy when a sale doesn’t pass the smell test.
Next game.
You’re still wealthy. Now imagine that you walk into a very stylish blue chip art gallery in Manhattan. You see two paintings you love equally. One painting is $65,000 and the other one is $2,500. You can only buy one. You can afford either. Which will you buy?
Why did you pick the $65,000 painting? There must be a reason.
The reason is that your smell test tells you there must be something wrong with the $2,500 painting. If I like them both equally, why aren’t they both expensive? Your brain tells you it must be better because it’s more expensive, since it’s from a quality source.
Our last game.
You’re still wealthy, and you see a screaming commercial on television for an art sale at the Holiday Inn. Though you know it’s going to be schlock art, you go for amusement, and maybe to pick up something cheap to hang in the basement. Most of the paintings are $125 framed. One painting is $50,000. Would you buy the $50,000 painting?
Why not? The price doesn’t match the environment. You’re probably thinking it’s a fraud from a company that will be on the road with your money by midnight. It doesn’t pass the smell test.
The Psychology of Price and Environment
In game one, your brain told you the price for a new Mercedes was too low. It also told you that it’s probably stolen, because lots of things at a flea market might be stolen. Any time your brain faces something that doesn’t equate, it rejects it to protect you. If you had seen a new $13,000 Mercedes at a credible dealer, you still would have asked yourself, “What’s wrong with it?” But you would probably trust the dealer and their reasoning a little more, because of the trusted environment.
More artworks don’t sell because they are priced too low, and are not priced for environment.
Wait, Eric. How can this be true? People always want a bargain. So a lower price is always better than a higher price, right?
Nope.
Case in point? I’m more likely to pay $80,000 for a new Lexus than the same model at $40,000. The discount is too deep, so something must be wrong. It must have been wrecked. Yet a price of, say, $68,000 seems like a legitimate discount. My “BS Meter” tells me something is wrong when the discount is too deep.
A Famous Painter’s Story
I swore I wouldn’t use this man’s name, but he is a household name among living painters today. One day at lunch I asked, “How did you get your prices so high?”
“Eric, in the 1950s I had a painting sit in a gallery for two years unsold. It was a great little painting. I was young, but my work was already very strong. I wasn’t very confident, so it had a $1,000 price on it. So after two years I pulled it out and put it in another gallery. I figured what the heck, and I put a price of $3,000 on it. It sat for a year unsold so I moved it to another gallery and put a price of $6,000 on it. A year later it still hadn’t sold. Out of frustration, I sent it to another gallery, put an $18,000 price on it, and it sold within three weeks.”
True story.
When you pick up this painter’s Rembrandt-like works, they look like they should sell for a lot of money. If you’re a person with taste and money, there must be something wrong with a painting that’s too cheap. A price of a painting must feel right. If it’s too cheap or too expensive, it won’t sell. Which is why my artist friend’s painting didn’t sell at the first two prices.
Environment Impacts Price
Why can a 5th Avenue boutique with a name brand get $10,000 for an item you can buy in the garment district for $500? It’s all about the strength of the environment (which equates to a strong brand to trust). It’s a combination of neighborhood, quality decor, and reputation (which is brand and trust).
It’s not unusual to see someone walk into a beautifully decorated gallery and drop $200,000. That same person may walk down the street and feel reluctant to spend $5,000 in a shabby gallery. That’s why Lexus dealers and blue chip New York art galleries spend a fortune decorating their showrooms. Environment commands higher prices.
I know a New York dealer in an elegant setting, with French marble stairways and beautiful fabric walls. They can command a considerably higher price for a painting because of their reputation, which has been built on environment and brand trust. Even telling a knowing friend you bought a painting from that gallery sends a signal that you must have spent a fortune. That’s important in some circles.
Frames Are Like Environment
One dealer friend told me he had a $14,000 painting that sat unsold for a year. Before sending it back to the artist, he put the painting in a $5,000 frame and put a $40,000 price on it. It sold within a week. He increased his profit with the quality of the frame.
Quality art buyers often judge an artwork by its frame. If it’s in a low-quality frame, how good can the painting really be? High-quality frames make a huge difference in perception and the ability to get a high price. It’s why there are frame dealers who create million-dollar custom frames and can’t keep them in stock.
What does this mean to you, the artist?
1. It’s a lot easier to make a living on high prices. You don’t have to produce as much work.
2. Most prices set by artists are rooted in their own insecurity.
3. Your gallery partner has to have their mind wrapped around your pricing. If they don’t believe they can sell it, they won’t. Make sure you have a gallery willing to ask high prices.
4. Some galleries won’t even consider representing you if your prices are too low. Why bother? It’s too hard to make money on inexpensive paintings.
5. Yes, price matters in a bad economy more than it normally would. BUT in a bad economy there are more wealthy buyers than lower-end buyers. Wealthy people usually want quality, and, to them, price equates with quality.
6. Your prices cannot be inconsistent. You cannot have low prices in one gallery and high in another or online. Be consistent.
7. Pricing takes guts and the right environment.
Should You Raise Your Prices?
I cannot tell you to raise your prices. Most (not all) the artists I know could be getting 100%-500% higher prices without much resistance. Yes, your work has to be quality, but most of the artists I know are underselling themselves because they fear what will happen if they increase their prices. Are you worth it? It’s worth strong consideration.
Eric Rhoads
Artist - Meet and greet…
Apart from catching up with the Artists for a “quick natter” at an opening, you might want to have a longer chat with them one to one, or hear them explore their work with a small group. Well now you can…
The guys over at www.regionalis.com.au and their corresponding exhibition at red gallery 157 St Georges Rd North Fitzroy (Aug 19 - Sept 5th - Wed - Sat 11am - 5pm)
Aug 22 the Artists involved in Regionalis will be in the gallery from 1pm to 4pm ready to chat to you about their work.
So join them for a while and find out about art from the inside.
Art Investors and Collectors, what do they want?
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.
Art is knowing which ones to keep.
Scott Adams
I did some thinking about this topic today, and then followed it with some research via the web and coupled this with my own experience as well as what I was “taught” at Art School.
I think we should take this type of material into account when we decide, the “business of Visual Art” is important to us and we wish to encourage Investors and Collectors to purchase our works. These two groups would have to be the main target markets Artists would aim for.
Investors and Collectors of Contemporary Visual Art, look to the following pointers to assist them in the purchase of art works which will appreciate in value. By looking at what’s out in the marketplace a new comer to the idea of investing in Visual Art might soon become confused by the quantity of artists, the diversity of styles and media, not to mention decorative works, leisure art and reproductions. My hope is the list below will provide a basis to start from.
Basic Points
- Imagery and or composition - Relevant, perhaps topical “subject” and arrangement of objects and or motifs which somehow “suit” the image and the way it is composed.
- Concept - Or notion of a concept, being conveyed, providing some communication value, perceived or actual, which meant the work was able to convey something to the viewer, (visually or otherwise) beyond the artwork being a purely “decorative” device.
- Craftsmanship - The work is built to last, so when purchased by a collector they know it will stand the test of time and on a basic level ensures the work will not “depreciate” in value. On a higher level the ability of the artist to use lines, colours, tones, form, shape, texture is well handled, for example the work shows the use of “intelligent mark making” where the brushstrokes (in a painting for instance) are clearly intended as opposed to marks which appear poorly handled (or depict a lack confidence in some way.)
- Scale - The artwork “fits” or dimensionally “works well” to communicate the intended notion, or concept. In a corporate setting, or commission, the works “fit” the space as envisaged by the client.
- Likeable - The collector knows they have to “live” with the work in their collection for some time (even if it is in storage) and as such will probably select works they like, first and foremost. They then would look to the “Deeper points” to assess it’s potential “value” as an investment. On another level the collector may have met the Artist and find them likeable, this connectedness can mean a great deal to future sales for the Artist as the collector spreads the word on the Artist, maybe they just like the Artist as a person, or as a quirky being, an eccentric. Whatever the connection, the Collector has a “Like” for the artist and not just their works. At a corporate collection level this may mean they invite the artist to chat about the works in the office, so their staff can connect with them as well.
Deeper Points
- Fiscal value - Dollar value as proven by previous or other sales. Or perhaps by the artist being able to be matched up to other artists works which have sold for similar values at similar career levels.
- Credibility - Previous sales to other collectors, peer support from other artists, “critics”, art consultants and gallerists perceiving the aesthetic, cultural, intrinsic and extrinsic value of the work. If you are represented by an agent or Gallery this can also go some way towards building your credibility, it indicates you have “jumped thorough some hoops.” Although some collectors may still buy direct from the artist. Also the connectedness to the art “process and or product” by the artist (passion perhaps) or possible longevity (time in the market, ability or “perception” of being able to “keep on keeping on”).
- Academic status - Your qualification/s, and possibly critical acclaim, or critical discourse exploring your output, concepts and or aesthetic notion/s in a journal or other media. If the works are contemporary, they come from some level of ethical stance, where the supporting or historical basis for the work is sound and the artist has acted with some level of integrity in creating the works.
- Notoriety and or daring - PR, media attention or perhaps the Artist is known or becoming known for doing or being “something” or someone, which sets them apart from other Artists. This could be some measure of “eccentricity”, or making a stance from a philosophical, metaphysical, physical, spiritual and or emotional viewpoint.
To add to this the collector may have in mind the level of work they want.
- Emerging - A new entrant into the art field, usually younger and considered to have a long career ahead of them, perhaps the collector is looking for a bargain… and willing to risk the investment in a relative newcomer.
- Maturing - An Artist who’s work has been seen in a number of exhibitions, is probably well represented by a gallery of “good standing” and has been developing a positive track record. This Artist seeks out awards or their agent puts them forward for awards to build their standing in “art circles.”
- Mature - An artist with a solid history of positive performance, awarded, consistent performance, solid conceptual base and possibly sought after for representation by galleries.
- Secondary Market - Generally works for sale at auction where the artists are often well known and many having passed away. The works have been in collections and are now being liquidated (for a variety of reasons). These are often considered “Blue Chip” works where the reputation of the Artist is clearly known and respected. Some of the works of maturing Artists show up at auctions and this can boost their credibility for collectors looking to source blue chip artists, or at least the perception they are “blue chip”.
There are no absolute guidelines as to which points are better or stronger which a collector or investor might use but these are points for discussion or contemplation at least. Perhaps the big thing about all this is how the Artist communicates all this to the prospective buyer.
Compiled and edited by Steve Gray Contemporary Visual Artist © 2009+ If you want to see more articles like this as they are published subscribe!
Valuing artworks…
By Robert Bear
Let’s assume you’re an artist and want to sell a painting. How do you set a sales price? This should be a helpful guide to those wanting to know how initial prices of a work are determined.
To start with, you have to consider legitimate expenses: outlay of materials, approximate rate of utilities while producing the work, expenses for research and photography, travel, fees for models, studio space rental, copyright use, framing, storage, etc. These are all things you can document with a paper trail and receipts. Next, you have to consider a wage for your time in production. How much is your time worth and dependent on your skill? Should you reasonably expect to get more if you have a master’s degree in painting, or are a beginner? (It may be interesting to note that most artists in the U.S. do not even make minimum wage on the sales of their work.) Which brings up another issue, how do you recoup your expenses for classes and education or training in art? If you have limited edition signed and numbered reproductions of a painting made, how much should the price of the painting be raised?
These are just some considerations. Some artists simplify this by using a formula, like $6 per square inch plus the cost of framing.
So, you have a price in mind and want to be represented by a gallery. You go to a few galleries and find out their commissions vary from 30 to 50 percent of the sales price. After evaluating gallery requirements and expectations you decide that in order to get the price you had in mind, for example $850, now must become $1,140 with a 40% gallery take included. Other issues involved are not limited to whether or not the gallery can expect to sell it at that price in its market and the galleries’ insurance liabilities and limitations.
Here are some other questions regarding artist’s pricing. Suppose you have some paintings in galleries and try to liquidate some others yourself. From an ethical standpoint, can you sell a similar work for $850 (knowing it would sell easier at that price), or should you charge the same as the gallery, $1,140? Can a similar painting sell for more in a different location of the country? Watercolors typically sell for less than oils of comparable size, therefore, how do you adjust prices? What do you charge in adjustment for a vignette of the same dimensions as a full composition piece? Additionally, suppose you have participated in some juried exhibitions and some of your works have won awards. Do you now raise the prices of these, and if so, how much (I’ve known some who double the price.)?
The artist also sees value in their art as a possible source of residual income. This comes in two forms. One is through royalty payments with the paid use of their copyrighted and licensed materials. The second and more obscure to most, is through percentages of repeated sales of the same art work. This is accomplished in a contract purchase where the artist or their estate is guaranteed a certain amount of the purchase each time the work is bought by a different patron. Both of these require the use of a good attorney that specializes in art sales contracts.
Since I mentioned insurance before, let’s look at value from under that hat. Dollar amounts may reflect differently from the insurer and the insured. What you think a piece is worth may need to be documented with a certified appraiser’s estimate and even appraisers amounts will vary. Another method is to verify a “track record” of sales amounts. An owner of an art purchase will need to show a receipt. Since values of art vary over the years, one should get updated estimates that reflect inflation. On the other hand, an insurer of a gallery may just take a gallery owner’s document on total amounts of consignment contracts.
Suppose you own art and want to donate it to a non-profit organization. Now the federal government has stepped in. If you want to claim an amount for tax purposes you have to verify a claim with a receipt. Unless you are the artist, then it’s a whole other ball game. Uncle Sam now says you can only claim the actual value of the tangible materials that make up the piece. Your time and other expenses are null and void. So, your piece basically becomes worthless, which brings us to the next three berets of value I can relate to under the voice of experience, 1) estate of the deceased, 2) bankruptcy , and 3) loan value.
In the event of settling an estate, unless one has receipts to verify worth, you can expect to get, or list, garage sale prices (GSP). Here you also have the option of using a professional appraiser to assign a value. In the unfortunate case of a bankruptcy, you can expect to keep art listed as “wall coverings” also valued at “garage sale prices”, to sell it at the GSP level, or at minimum, much lower values than your track record of sales. Banks have their own capricious policies in terms of the value of art as collateral. Some won’t accept it, some require a certified appraised estimate, which will be in a range from “X” dollars to “X” dollars and as you can rightly guess, the lower amount will be used. Furthermore, you can expect the bank to allow no more than 75% of that number as collateral value. Some will have their own value of several art pieces (note the plural here) by stating that they will accept the art for a $500 loan, this is, in effect, actually a signature loan and the art has no collateral value.
Take the stance of an investor now. Several years ago “Money” magazine published their best long term investments for 15 and 30 year periods. Ranked at numbers 2 and 3 over these periods was original, contemporary art. If you are looking at long term strategies, then a serious glance at art values is important. As an investor, unless you purchase art at auction, you can generally negotiate a purchase price with a gallery or an artist. This demonstrates there can be a difference between perceived and real value for a work. If you buy art just because you like it, it may not be a monetary investment. Prior to investing in art, you need to consider all of the topics mentioned above in deciding what to look for as “value” in buying art. Two things here that also affect the value of art is the notoriety of artist in combination with market supply and demand.
With all this said, the ultimate monetary value of any art work is only the highest amount at any given time that someone is willing to pay.
Up to now we have taken a cursory look at art in terms of tangible market values. Here are a few non-monetary assessments of art work worth: cultural significance, educational and instructional relevance, historical documentation and study, therapeutic value (which can also be seen as an investment), and aesthetic attachment. Each one of these deserves their own treatise at another time.
The “value of art” to each person is a rough diamond. Increasing its worth will depend on the skill of the cutter to weld a working philosophical construct of value with practical applications to be employed as a tool to expose its many exquisite faces. Undoubtedly, theoretical physicists will prove a string theory for the universe before there is any global “value of art” recognized throughout all societies and cultures.
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Robert E. Bear is a professional educator and national award winning wildlife artist. He has been recognized in Who’s Who In America, Who’s Who In American Education, and National Honor Society Outstanding American Teachers. He has created the Star Poster Program, the game of Gig’l(TM), and the team sport of Bearball(TM). His additional writings and paintings may be viewed at http://www.ursidaeenterprises.com |
What is Abstract Art?
By Annette Labedzki
Abstract Art refers to all those works of art, which are carried out in compliance with the principle that Lines, Forms, and Colors have aesthetic value. An Abstract Artist is like a poet arranging compositions and colors, which are devoid of normal subject matter. Abstract Art does not try to imitate or express any external reality and is non-objective.
Abstract Art was introduced into serious art sometime in early Eighteenth Century. It started with a movement called Impressionism, which produced art, which was devoid of any realistic, defined images. Impressionism talked about depicting nature in its truest form. The artists of this art form were mostly interested in capturing changes in light throughout the day, from one season to another. Abstract Art is generally divided into two groups, the Action Painting and the Color Field.
In the Twentieth Century, several other movements such as, Fauvism & Cubism contributed in breaking new grounds. Fauvist used colors in non-realist ways and Cubism brought in the idea of painting an object from more than one standpoint. In addition, Abstract Expressionism, which surfaced in the 1940s, is all about spontaneous, automatic, or subconscious creation. In Abstract Art, the artists express themselves through an aggregation of the emotional strength and self-denial. This expression is coupled with the anti-figurative feels of the European Abstract Doctrine, specified as Futurism, the Bauhaus, and Synthetic Cubism. European Movement was the predecessor of Surrealism. Some of the most famous Cubists were Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. The Leaders of Fauvism were Henri Matisse and André Derain. Two of the most famous examples of Abstract Expressionism were Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock.
Many artists believe that the true work of art is an esoteric, incomprehensible, and mystical creation. Abstract Art distinguishes itself from the artist and acquires an identity of its own with an independent life. In effect, we can say that an Abstract Artwork in itself becomes a living personality having a real existence of being. Abstract Art speaks for itself and points to the social, cultural, and the intellectual hoo-ha of the times.
In the 21st Century, there is a wide array of ideas available for the artists as the new schools of thoughts have emerged, for e.g., Figurative Art, which comprises of Neo-Dada, Fluxus, Conceptual Art, Neo-expressionism, Installation Art, Performance Art, Video Art, and Pop Art. All this has made it hard to distinguish between Figurative Art and Abstract Art, still abstraction remains very much in view.
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Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Is is also a venue for artists to display and sell their art . Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited. Please visit the website at http://www.labedzki-art.com |
What is art?
While out jogging one afternoon it came to me, an epiphany; ” There is a simple, comprehensive definition of “art”, it’s an acronym for itself”.
The Aesthetic Rendering of Thought.
In order for Art to exist, the following three (3) criteria must be met. First of all, there must be some sensory manifestation (Rendering), fugitive or permanent, which is based upon a creative, intellectual process (Thought) with the intention of a beautiful or pleasurable (Aesthetic or Anti-aesthetic) action, or reaction, in one or more of the senses and/or psyche.
Encircled within this definition are more than the traditional concepts of “art”: painting, sculpture, ceramics, writing, architecture, drama, music, dance, and photography. It’s now easier to understand why cooking can be included as an “art” and more than just a craft.
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Robert E. Bear is a professional educator and national award winning wildlife artist. He has been recognized in Who’s Who In America, Who’s Who In American Education, and National Honor Soceity Outstanding American Teachers. He has created the Star Poster Progra, the game of Gig’l(TM), and the team sport of Bearball(TM). His additional writings on art and eduation, as well as, paintings may be seen at http://www.ursidaeenterprises.com |
Matrix concept
Coming to terms with the wide array of works and styles in the art world is a challenge at times, this “matrix” MAY provide some useful starting points for us to explore with. Where do you “fit” as an Artist? Using the comments facility at the end of the post, feel free to add information I can use to improve this.
Note it is intended to provide a guide to appreciating various “categories” of art in the market place rather than a device to indicate if a style “better than another”. Perhaps it’s “best” use may be for a beginning investor or collector wanting to appreciate what they are looking at and if it may have a possibility of increasing in value due to critical and or peer review.
This “matrix” has been through several versions starting at No: 7 (the previous 6 were for my eyes only and took a while to gain a format which I felt worked for a wider public audience.) this one is currently version 9.1.
12/2/10
Analytical Frameworks
I have just been introduced to the Visual Art Analytical Frameworks which is a device utilised to analyse artworks for students studying Visual Art at VCE (Australia) levels. This framework device looks at four areas to analyse works buy and it can offer readers of the matrix another way of exploring artworks, I would like to think the two could be utilised together to enable a faster understanding and greater depth of analysis could happen.
1. The Formal Framework - Visual analysis - Technique - Style - Symbolism and metaphor.
2. The Personal Framework - Reflects the artists life - Links to other aspects which may relate to the artists life.
3. The Cultural Framework - The influences of time and place - Connections to contexts and cultural purposes.
4. The Contemporary Framework - Exploring contemporary issues.
If you were to follow these frameworks for analysing artworks I guess it would be possible to negate various aspects of hobby and simple decorative work and find yourself wanting more from an art piece when you realise there is more to be had than just the formal framework. A viewer could do well to use these four points in discussing works with artists and soon be able to asses the merit or otherwise of the artist and their works.
I would love to hear from students, artists and general readers about the four points listed, the matrix and or the whole lot! (check out the comments section at the bottom of the page, its a simple link.)
Copyright © Steve Gray 2009+