- TRAP@NCI - National College of Ireland

National College of Ireland
B.A. in European Business and Languages
2004
The Art Market
An investigation into the value of an elusive essence simply named Art
Gemma Cahill
Declaration
I, Gemma Cahill, declare that this dissertation represents my own work in all respects and
that no part of it has been previously submitted to any college, university or learning
institution in respect of any degree or other academic qualification.
Signed:
i. (Ik,If 7!Ics/<k
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to my dissertation supervisor, Ian McLeod, the librarians in Dun Laoghaire
Institute of Art Design and Technology, The National College of Art and Design and The
National College o f Ireland for all their help in finding research materials. To Martin and
Marian Cahill, Jonathan O’Toole and Gregory Cameron for all the support during the
Introduction
I studied art throughout my secondary school education and in a way, it has always been
with me, through my own paintings. It was truly great to get back to it, in some sense,
through this thesis. Throughout my art education, however, I was never really interested
in artists’ names or movements. But what was it that made me feel so strongly about one
piece or painting and yet nothing for another? It was the aura surrounding the paintings:
the very essence that was missing from my own work.
What was it that made these pieces so great and, therefore, worth so much in both artistic
and financial terms? It was a present of a book that provided me with the portal through
which I could link my two worlds. “The Art of Looking Sideways” gave me my first
introduction to J. S. G. Boggs and the question;4W hat gives art value?”
Although that question is impossible to completely answer, as much as the element of
luck in business negates the possibility of a sure thing. It is possible, however, to
approach this question in a logical and intelligent fashion in hope of gaining further
knowledge of how art achieves value.
To this end I will be approaching the topic from four different angles. The first topic
being; the very notion of value itself from both the financial and artistic aspects. Then to
show that art can lay its origins anywhere and how business has, in its time, served as the
artist’s muse and will continue to do so. Thirdly: is the visual perception equally
important in both the artist viewing the world and the people viewing the art? The
psychology of perception would, of course, be void if one did not mention briefly how
1
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
1
Methodology
5
1
6
Value
1.1.
2
3
Karl Marx and Exchange Value
6
1.1.1
Use Value
6
1.1.2
Labour
7
1.2.
Classical Theory
7
1.3.
The Affect of Value on Art
8
1.4.
Essentialism
8
11
Business as an Art form.
2.1 The Art of Currency
11
2
11
.2 The art of the Transaction
2.3 The Currency of Paintings
12
2.4 Choosing Your Target Audience
13
2.5 J.S.G. Boggs
13
2.5.1
The B eginning
14
2.5.2
The Concept
14
2.5.3
The Rules
15
2.5.4
The Legal Battles
16
The Psychology ofPerception in relation to Art.
18
3.1
Observing the Observed
18
3.1.1
Intelligence
19
3.1.1.1 Placement
19
3.1.1.2 Sequence
20
3.1.1.3 Description
21
3.2
3.3
3.4
3 .5
4
21
3.2.1 Point of view
22
3.2.2 The Structural Skeleton
22
3
23
.2.3
Center Point
3.2.4 Horizons
23
3.2.5 The Vanishing Point
23
Gestalt Theory
23
3.3.1 The Principle of Simplicity
24
3.3.1.1 Shape
24
3.3.1.2 Balance
25
3.3.1.2.1
Height
25
3.3.1.2.2
Colour
26
3.3.1.2.3
Size
26
3.3.1.2.4
Direction
26
The Principle of Dynamics
26
3.4.1 Properties of Dynamics
27
Abstract Art
28
The Visual Process
4.1
4.2
5
Imposing Upon the Image
29
The Eye
29
4.1.1 The Dominant Eye
30
The Brain
30
4.2.1 Perspective
31
4.2.2 Foreshortening
31
The Art Market
32
5.1
The Artist
32
5.2
The Dealer
33
5.3
The Curator
33
5.4
The Critic
34
5.4.1 The Artist as a Critic
34
5.5 The Collector
34
5.6 Collaboration in the Creation of a Movement
35
5.7 The Established Artist Market
35
5.7.1 Finds of the Established Artist’s works
36
5.7.2 Provenance
36
5.7.3 Forgery
37
Conclusion
References
List of Appendices
38
Preface
It has always astounded me the things that can be sold these days. From the purely simple
with clearly defined purpose, such as a piece of fruit, to the somewhat bizarre; human
organs. Everything, no matter how obscure, has a value these days.
In this thesis I’ll be dealing with the question of how “nothing4*can have a value. By this
I mean, an abstraction, something that simply does not exist, can have value. What else
would explain the value in Art? It is impossible to absolutely define what Art is.
No sooner than someone thinks they have pegged it than another Artist pushes the
boundaries that little bit further. Currently anything can be, and often is, considered Art.
It has become a conceptual, provocative, intangible essence. Therefore how can there be
a monetary value?
In business, the concept is all, innovation can change the future of how things are done.
In Art, however, the concept has no such effect. The world is the same after a piece is
completed and viewed as it was before. Take for example the work of Richard Long who
turned walking into his art form; moving a stone carefully around the base of a mountain
then replacing it exactly as it was found. But by exhibiting the documentation of the act,
although physically affecting nothing, generating value.
Art has most definitely moved on from pretty representations of people and scenery.
What is now considered Art can assault the senses in the most upsetting ways; the case of
Damien Hurst with his unforgettable, bisected sheep preserved in formaldehyde. One of
Preface
his lesser-known pieces, worth six figures, in 2001 was actually mistaken by cleaners as
rubbish and thrown out as such Beauty must truly be in the eye of the beholder.
This long coined phrase, however, no longer applies to art. Art is not about beauty. It’s
not even about aesthetics. Some would say it’s not about, well, anything really! I have
read books, with very promising titles, such as ‘W hat is Art?” and “But is It Art?” yet
they didn’t manage to devise some manner of formula to evaluate the Artness of a piece. I
highly doubt that there ever will be fixed definition of this medium
It would appear, however, that value is most definitely in the eye of the beholder. But is
this the true value? As long as the seller has a buyer willing to pay that price it would
appear so.
There can be, and often is, a false economy surrounding the art world. During economic
downturns there is a tendency among /me- art-collectors (collectors of the masters;
Michelangelo, Picasso, Monet etc) to bid high on other pieces ensuring the stability of
their own pieces.
Introduction
the visual process works and its bearing on perception. This is covered in chapter four.
Finally I aim to explain the art market, some of its workings and possible weaknesses
within it.
Hopefully, by the end of reading this, the reader will appreciate the beautiful complexity
of this medium No one can be told what to like when it comes to art. In other areas of
taste, food, decoration and fashion it is possible, but not with art. The art world is one
where advertising cannot invade. Developing interest, support and getting people to look
at it is possible. Making people like it and buy it, no; which in today’s world is rather
refreshing. Although admittedly advertising is in itself a form of art.
The very idea of advertising is to sell, by impressing on the public a need for, an
unnecessary item or certain brand. This cannot be done in art. No one can further
influence your perception of the piece once the artist has completed it. This is the last
frontier for marketing and I hope it is never breached.
It remains the only true medium of communication left without censorship. Even in
speech one must be politically correct. Obscenity, however, is overlooked in the name of
art.
The title of this thesis calls art an undefined essence. This is mentioned again throughout
the work and refers to the indescribable “X Factor” that occurs at some point during the
creation of the piece. From its conception through to the audiences perception of the
work the “X Factor” can magically appear, at any point, or remain elusive.
2
Introduction
The Art market is further complicated by the fact that “the perceived image, and not the
paint, is the work o f a rt ” (Arnheim, 1974: 17) This means that not only can art take any
form but, essentially, does not exist in any physical sense at all.
This does not pose a threat to other non-physical commodities such as those found in the
service industries. A service will work in the same way for everyone. Art, due to its
reliance on perception does not. This is why some people can believe a piece to be both
highly important and therefore valuable while others will believe the same piece to be
worthless even though both will be looking at the one piece. It remains unchanged by
anything at all apart from the human mind.
I have never had a real interest in the artists themselves or the movements that they are
involved in, to the point where I find the creator of the piece of little interest, often
leaving me unaware of their names. If a piece, however, achieves that higher level where
it transcends time, space and, most importantly, verbal expression; the image, Le. my
perception of the work, remains embedded in my mind. There to be revisited, further
enjoyed and contemplated. Possibly emerging years later among others in a painting that
appears to have been conceived out of thin air.
Art is a wonderful, never-ending entity that brings us back to our most basic elements of
thought without neglecting our intelligence. This intelligence can, in some cases, hinder
our ability to appreciate art. Some believe that living in a world dominated by language
has impaired the human sense of perception. We spend more time listening to what
people are telling us than seeing what they our showing us. Body language is important
but its subtleties are often overlooked.
3
Introduction
Therefore, when looking at art, the person is predominantly concerned with describing
the experience and not only overlooks but can’t actually see that which makes it art. Just
as limiting what one sees to description of hue, shape and size destroys its very nature, so
too can the price placed on it. This also, however, has the ability to sustain the artist and,
therefore, the art. Which makes value in art very important indeed.
How this value is achieved is subjective, as we have seen, but there are certain rules and
politics that, if played along with, can increase the chances of success.
Art is a personal thing; both for the artist, who has a great involvement in the piece, and
the observer in their reaction to it. Although uninterested in artists, there is one name that
recurs so frequently among the pieces that I hold dearest that it is impossible to forget.
An artist that conveys simplicity and ease on the same canvas as complexity and skill;
whose work is sometimes disturbing, shocking, soothing and intriguing; leading the
observer into a whole new world.
The artist is, the surrealist, Salvador Dali. In some of his works he manages to convey al
of these emotions on the one canvas. As in the work “The Face of Ants”(Appendix 1). He
also holds the sentiment in his final passages of ‘The Secret Life”.
“ Le Ciel ne se trouve ni en haut, ni en b a s , ni & droite, ni d gauche le Ciel est
exactement au centre de la poitrine de Vhomme qui a la Foi. ” Salvador Dali (Neret,
2001: 348)
This means: the sky is not found high up nor low down, nor on neither the right nor the let, the
sky is exactly in the centre of the chest of the man with faith. I feel art is the same. There is little
point looking for it. It either exists or it doesn’t. What can be searched for, however, is value to
sustain the artist and enable their work to continue.
4
Methodology
I pursue this subject though solely secondary research. I felt, and my supervisor agreed,
that I could find sufficient evidence to support my work in this fashion. There are also no
books or works that I have found to take this particular view. It, therefore, fulfils the
requirement for original work without the need for additional primary research. There
was no research that I would have had sufficient time or resources to conduct this year
that would have added to this thesis in a positive way. I believe, therefore, this time to
have been better spent on further secondary sources.
5
1.Value
I will be approaching the idea of value from the two opposing sides: the financial, and the
artistic. Discussing Marxism, classic market theory and Essentialism, in order to achieve
an appreciation o f both what value is and how pieces of Art obtain it.
1.1 Karl Marx and Exchange Value
Of course one would assume the financial aspect to be straightforward. Indeed, in regards
to other industries, it can be. The final price being derived from the sum of all expenses
accrued during production and selling; plus the profit maigin of course. Karl Marx refers
to this in his writing, Capital as exchange value. He uses this, however, in relation to
simple commodities such as com and iron in a bartering style of transaction; stating that
the difference between the amounts exchanged is equal to the labour involved in getting
the commodities to this point
1.1.1 Use Value
Marx’s idea of use value is derived from the different qualities of a commodity. When we
consider Money in opposition to this, the difference becomes obvious. If we take into
account solely the use value of money it has absolutely no exchange value. Those notes
we hold so precious in our pockets suddenly become redundant This happened in 1923
in Germany during a period of hyperinflation; waiters would use bunches of 100,000
Deutsche-mark notes as pads for taking orders as the notes were not worth the paper they
were printed on (Weschler, 1999: 41). When one considers money in this way. This
every day essential object suddenly becomes abstract.
6
1 Value
1.1.2Labour
Marx believed the value of a commodity is relative to the labour that was involved in
creating that commodity. As pointed out by Eagleton, (Eagleton, 1999: 29):
“A commodity fo r Marx is a product which can be exchanged with another because it
embodies the same amount o fla b o u f’
In an art transaction the labour involved in creating the piece is proportionate to the
labour involved in amassing the amount of money. I say proportionate instead of equal as
there are two aspects of labour to be considered: time and quality. The former being the
theory of Ricardo, which I read about in Marx’s Theories of Surplus value (McLeelan,
2001: c h 3\). In which he defines real wages as compensation for the labour time, which
it costs to produce. Whereas Marx believes as he writes in Critique o f the Gotha
Programme,
“ ...One man is superior to another physically or mentally and so supplies more labour in
the same time, or can labour fo r a longer time; and labour; to serve as a measure must be
defined by its duration or intensity, otherwise it ceases to be a standard o f
measurement ” (Eagleton, 1999: 51)
This difference in quality and intensity of labour could be the reason for the vast
differences in value in the art world and the huge sums paid out to obtain great pieces of
Art. Thus also explaining the difference in the time spent working to obtain the piece of
art in relation to the time spent creating it.
1.2 Classical Theory
This brings us to the classical theory of economics. Supply and Demand, found in any
economics book one finds, and the idea of Elasticity in relation to either of these elements
of the market. The value of something is therefore derived by a compromise between the
demand and supply within a market. If there is an infinitely adjustable supply or demand
then it is said to be completely elastic. In the art world the supply of original, ground-
7
1 Value
breaking pieces of work by either known or unknown artists is limited therefore creating
an almost inelastic supply of these pieces. In contrast, however, there is an over
abundance of the run-of-the-mill, boring paintings creating an extremely elastic supply.
Countering this is an almost completely elastic demand for these ground-breaking pieces,
once they have been recognised by those of the Art world. Quite an inelastic demand
exists for the latter. There are only so many oil paintings of ballerinas for which people
are willing to pay a couple of thousand Euro. The auction room is probably the best
example of this theory in practice. Here the value of the piece is ultimately decided from
the demand for it within the room with the aid of a reserve price.
1.3 The Affect of Value on Art
Are we, therefore, doing Art a disservice by pinning a value to it? By giving it exchange
value perhaps this media, which starts out with the sole purpose of having no use value
apart from that of bringing joy or making one think, suddenly loses all value by being
deemed priceless. To the point where, the people who have access to it only care about
the exchange value of the piece, art has become an investment rather than a form of
expression.
1.4 Essentialism
Essentialism is the idea, or Form as Plato calls it in his writing (later in this thesis form
will refer to shapes within compositions), that by the simple act of being replicated in the
physical world even the intangible sense of speech loses it’s essence. One must look
through the physical shape to achieve understanding of the essence. Plato, however,
regards Art to be the worst form of this imitation of the pure.
8
1 Value
“His painting is a copy o f a copy and therefore doubly false. It is unconnected to
anything in reality. ” (Robinson, 2000: 107)
Of course in Platonic times all art was representative. Plato believed art to be useless and
wrong as it was too far removed from the truth.
‘7 think the most suitable thing to call him. would be a representer o f the others'
creations... using the term “representer” fo r someone who deals with things which are,
in fact, two generations away reality” (Plato, 1993: 348)
More recently, though, artists have been commended instead of condemned for their
ability to do this. Attempting to enable others to experience this enlightenment,
ironically, by placing a further physical form upon the idea. Thus the very thing that
originally disregards art now gives it value. While discussing beauty Plato defines it
purposely as to alienate art. Throughout the rest of the thesis aesthetics will refer to the
visual influence of art but in Plato’s writings they referred to the beauty of Form. This is
now used by string theorists to prove their theory, which they currently cannot physically
test due to lack of suitable technology, correct through the aesthetic of the logic behind
the thought.
From a platonic view the ability to recognise beauty comes from the souls previous
experience before it is condemned to the physical world. It will therefore catch glimpses
of true beauty through confused memory.
“ We love beauty because our soul remembers having seen it when before birth it saw the
form s unveiled: “perfect and simple and happy visions which we saw in the pure light,
being ourselves pure ”. But when the soul becomes incarnate it partially forgets, and is
but confusedly reminded when it sees the earthly copies o f the Forms. ” (Murdoc, 1977:
35)
9
1 Value
Perhaps in our fast paced and modern world the majority of people, as in the days of
Plato, are so ensconced within their immediate world that they have no time for
philosophical thought. They disregard true beauty and appreciate the imitation of beauty.
This is art that is valued. It gives a short glimpse into beauty that we accept through our
ignorance as a glimpse of true beauty.
10
2.Business as an Art Form
Many, when they think of Art, will think of the business side of this medium and why
not? There is much money to be made from those squiggles of paint arranged so
delicately on canvas.
There have also, however, been those that have thought of this in an inverted fashion and
seen the Art in Business. They, of course, were the artists themselves. This began in the
late eighteen hundreds with artists using that which lies pivotal to business, currency or
paper money, as their subject matter. This lead to imitation and the great Art of Forgery is
taken extremely seriously in all countries, as I will later discuss.
2.1 The Art of currency
There were those so intrigued by the beauty of these chits that they became a muse not
only to be inspired by but also to use in their works. Karl Valentin, in 1923, used 100 000
deutsche-mark notes to cover a bench in his work Deutsche Bank. Die Bank in German
meaning both bench and bank. Thus showing the irony that the bench covered in German
notes was of more use, at that time of hyperinflation, than those same notes being in the
bank. A more recent artist to use real money in art is Barton Benes who uses shredded
bills, straight from the Federal Reserve, in his pieces claiming that:
“Money is cheaper than art supplies” (Welscher, 1999:45)
as seen in his paintbrush piece. (Appendix 2)
2.2The Art of the Transaction
There have been many more interesting uses of business in the art world. In the late
1960’s the transaction of business became the muse and was itself turned into an Art
11
2 Business as an Art Form
foim. Les Levine turned a transaction involving shares on the stock exchange stating in a
press release that
“After a period o f one year, or any time which is deemed profitable prior to that, the
Cassette Cartridge shares will be resold. The profit or loss o f the transaction will become
the work o f art. ” (Welscher, 1999:43)
Robert Morris, another artist of like mind, in the same year turned a loan from the
Whitney museum into his art fonn. Again using the profit accrued as the essence of the
work. These cases lead to documentation being not only central to the piece, but the
entire piece itself.
2.3 The Currency of Paintings
Finally there was Edward Kienholz, who after achieving some fame and notoriety in the
art world, began to live off his art in a new and intriguing way. He used his pieces as a
type of currency. I say currency but this is hardly accurate as currency by its very nature
circulates. These pieces, once acquired, were rarely parted with and if so for much greater
than their original value. They consisted of two bands of watercolour and stenciled
between them in words was what he was buying i.e. “ For ONNASH’S MERCEDES”
over a smudged thumbprint and, of course, his signature. The artist himself was
astonished to find that people would accept this as a form of payment. Then he arrived at
the idea of producing these pieces for cash starting at one dollar and producing
consecutive pieces up to and including the value of ten thousand dollars, then selling
them for their face value. The first few he sold to family and friends. People were
extremely willing to buy these. As soon as one was bought it immediately went up in
value by ninety-nine cent. By buying a fifty-eight dollar piece, all previously bought
pieces become worth $58.99, as the next available piece would cost fifty-nine dollars.
This he displayed as Art by mounting U.S. currency under the banner heading “Brand X ”
then his own pieces under the banner “Better Brand Y ”. An interesting observation as his
“money” instantaneously increased in value where as the actual dollar through inflation
only decreases.
12
2 Business as an Art Form
2.4 Choosing Your Target Audience
Not all monetary artists have had happy stories. Ralph Albeit Blakelock, an American
landscape artist in the eighteen hundreds, dissuaded by his small earnings as an artist took
to producing his own million dollar bills with miniature landscapes and a self-poitrait in
the middle. Trying to cash them at a New York bank, possibly due to his greed, his
choice of customer or simply being ahead of his time, he was apprehended and remanded
to a mental asylum for his remaining days.
2.5 J.S.G. Boggs
This leads me to the man that originally gave me the idea for this thesis; Mr. James
Stephen George Boggs, more commonly referred to simply as Boggs, who has had mixed
fortunes in his dealings in money and transactions as art. In Chicago, May1984, this
numerically obsessed artist was doodling on a napkin in a coffee shop. When he had
finished his coffee, he ended up with a greasy napkin with the sketch of an abstract
numeral one in each of the comers. Squiggles that created a rectangular frame
encompassing this and a large coffee drip in the middle. Boggs wrote a friend’s phone
number above this, a large human face in the middle, finishing off by signing his name
above the lower left-hand border and the friends name and address above the right. This
is where perception, which I will discuss in a latter chapter, comes in. The waitress, who
had been refilling his cup the whole time, interpreted the randomly composed elements as
an abstract dollar bill. She offered to buy the napkin. Boggs decided that it wasn’t for sale
but that he would pay the ninety cents owed with the napkin. The transaction was
completed including the ten cents change, which he still keeps, and a seed was planted.
13
2 Business as an Art Form
2.5.1 The Beginning
Boggs wondered what had given the napkin such value in the waitress’ eyes. Perhaps the
way it mimicked a dollar bill, the sentiment communicated through it, or the mere fact
that she saw it being made?
Boggs started a life of exchanging his ait for goods. This proved, however, less profitable
than one would imagine. The drawings (this is an important distinction, as the drawings
are only one sided and never attempted to be passed as real notes) took many hours to
create and the people willing to accept them were generally selling things that he did not
need. The first time he actually tried to create a transaction it took many hours of walking
the streets of London just to exchange the drawing. Therefore, at an hourly rate, it was
very unprofitable. But, of course, the Boggs experiment was never in the interest of
money as no art is pursued for financial gain but for the purity of the concept.
2.5.2 The Concept
This leads to the question of what is the concept behind Boggs’ work. Boggs explains in
an internet interview with “egg” that his work is not only a way of bringing art to the
masses whom would not frequent museums and galleries, but also to make them think
about the art in what they see every day, in this case money. Which he describes as;
“(T)his portrait, this landscape, this abstract geometric art on a piece o f paper, a limited
edition print with its own, individual serial number. ”
(http ://www. pbs .org/wnet/e gg/217/&h)
The dollar, therefore, is no longer the IOU chit of its origins but a beautiful piece of art,
which has its own fan base, in the form of coin and currency collectors. If the general
populace would simply see it in this way then currency could actually become the mass
medium of the Art world. In the way that Walter Benjamin saw film contributing to the
world of theatre by allowing the masses to enjoy it. Strangely, most people, when
14
2 Business as an Art Form
confronted with a Boggs drawing do find it beautiful and agree that it is art. Yet they do
not recognise the inspiration of the work as such.
In London, May 1986, Boggs sold a painting; Pined Newt. This had different
denominations of notes in each of the comers from one pound round to twenty. This sold
for only fifteen hundred pounds. But it also brought him to the attention of Hansruedi
Demenga, an art dealer in Basel Switzerland, who invited him to the annual Basel Art
Fair. Boggs found the Swiss more accommodating towards his particular form of Art. He
believes this to be due to a greater confidence in their own evaluation abilities. This is
where his experiment really took off. And he established rules for his art.
2.5.3 The Rules
1. Boggs’ drawings are not for sale by him; they must be transacted in return for a
product or service.
2.Boggs remains quiet about any transaction for twenty- four hours after its
occurrence allowing the new owner time to think about it.
3.
Boggs will not take commissions on his art or create transactions to order.
This brings an element of the hunt to Art for the collectors of Boggs’ work. Twenty-four
hours after a transaction Boggs gets in contact with a collector or dealer and sells them
the change and receipt of the transaction as well as the model for the drawing. (Boggs
uses real notes as models for his drawings, using the serial number from them, to
distinguish them from fakes one of the serial numbers is real and the other is missing a
figure out of its number) This is how he earns his living from his art. It is then up to the
buyer to track down the owner of the drawing and convince them to sell often offering in
the thousands of dollars.
These rules of Boggs’ are an unusual step as most art goes against the rules and in this
respect Boggs Art is no different; he has simply added his own.
15
2 Business as an Art Form
2.5.4 The Legal Battles
Boggs never really sets out to go against the rules. He has, however, been arrested for
counterfeiting several times. Firstly in London in 1986, where a jury acquitted him at trial
the following year. Followed by Sydney in 1989 where he was once again acquitted.
Even though they refused to jointly prosecute him in London, and demanded that seven
U.S. dollar drawings were to be returned to the artist as they went against no law, the
place where he has come against the most resistance is in the United States. He has been
most open with them and even had a meeting with Roy Nedrow, the then director of the
U.S. Secret Service counterfeiting division, to inform him of the developments in his
work. Namely his moving into the use of printing techniques learnt under the tuition of
the artist Stephan Holm to ensure that there would be no further conflicts arising from his
work in this area. In the early 1990’s, however, this all changed .The U.S. Secret Service
hold 1,300 pieces of Boggs’ possessions including drawings, sketches, prints and
personal items including the seven they deemed lawful in 1986. These were seized over
the course of many raids of his studios, exhibitions and residences, between 1990 and „
1992. These articles are still being held to this day while the state refuses to prosecute the
artist and allow him a jury trail. Boggs has launched many appeals to redeem his
possessions and has yet been unsuccessful. Fortunately for him his lawyers do accept the
odd Boggs bill in payment for their services.
Leading me to the thing that interests me most about this case which is not the injustice
of it but the fact that both parties of the case will be able to continue fighting through the
courts simply by printing their own money. The law now, in effect, forcing the artist to
continue the practices it was trying to stop in the first place. Boggs, having been an artist
of this nature since 1984, is naturally now bored of drawing U.S.currency and now wants
to move onto something else. He would have years ago but he couldn’t afford to stop.
Needing to fund his court case through his drawings.
16
2 Business as an Art Form
Boggs’ ait has been described in many ways from the less flattering, forgery and
counterfeiting, to the more pleasing descriptions of ingenious, inspiring and thought
provoking. Ira Glass wrote what is my favourite description that I have read;
“ ...(I)t’s a con game, in reverse. ” (http://www.ozwei.net/boggs/et glass.htmO
This con leads to the unwitting participant increasing their wealth if they simply play
along with the game. At no time during the transaction does Boggs mention the fact that
there are people in the world trying to hunt down these drawings. So their acceptance is
based on their own perception of value in the drawing.
Another reason why I enjoy the concept of Boggs’ Art is that it allows normal people,
who would normally not have the time or money for art, not only to see it but to also own
a small piece of it. Even if this is only for a short while. Examples of Boggs work are
shown in Appendix 3. How the transaction is displayed as art is in Appendix 4 along with
an enlargement of the receipt used.
17
3 The Psychology of Perception in Relation to Art
Art is personal and subjective and this, of course, affects its value. The reason why art is
personal is that each person perceives it in a different way. It is this perception and not
the canvas and paint which is really being sold. It is very important, therefore, to have
even a basic understanding of the psychology behind visual perception.
Questions regarding the nature of representation in art have provided a common meeting
ground for art historians, psychologists and philosophers which are rarely encountered
elsewhere. Lying pivotal to this argument are the ideas of perception and interpretation.
When considering the topic of the psychology of perception in relation to art it is
important to first establish that perception and interpretation are not the same things.
Perception takes place, some would say, subconsciously or automatically during the
experience of sight. Where as interpretation is the intellectual process applied to the
perception process in order to allow this perception to be communicated and better
understood.
3.1 Observing the Observed
The very idea, which is central to the notion of perception, is that there is both something
to perceive and the innate ability to do so. Consequently I must involve both the observer
and the observed in order to explain perception to the fullest extent possible. In Art this is
further complicated by there being both two observers and two things being observed. In
the first instance the artist is the observer and their subject matter the observed. In the
second the artist’s work is the observed and the audience the observer. To simplify this
matter I will deal primarily with the latter instance and in the more conventional twodimensional works as this allows us to understand how it is possible to perceive
something that is not there, namely depth or motion on a flat surface.
18
3 The Psychology o f Perception in Relation to Art
Both parties, the observer and the observed, bring something to the process of perception.
The observer brings experience; this allows the shapes and colours on the canvas to mean
something to the audience. This is why people perceive things differently and this will be
further discussed later on in this chapter. There are also, however, certain aspects of the
observed which lend to automatic comprehension of parts of the concept. This, mainly, is
what is of interest to me as it affects the marketability of the work and the artist has some
control over this. Yet they have absolutely no control over the audience’s previous
experiences. Although the title of a piece can have some influence in this matter; the
more a person knows about what the aitist was trying to achieve, the more their
perception of the work will coincide with the artist’s concept.
3.1.1 Intelligence
“Perceiving accomplishes at a sensory level what in the realm o f reasoning is known as
understanding. ”(Amheim, 1954: 46)
It is only logical, therefore, that the intellect and former experience of the observer affect
the perceptual process. The spatial and temporal contexts and the description of the piece
similarly affect this process. The spatial and temporal contexts of certain objects can
influence greatly the way we perceive them; their location in relation to other objects and
the sequence in which they are seen may have bearing on the perception of a piece. The
intellect of the observer tends to dictate how much of an effect they have.
3.1.1.1 Placement
If a piece of art is placed too closely to another the proximity of the paintings may have a
negative or unbalancing effect over the internal composition. Alternatively, due to this
proximity, they may be seen as related when they in fact have nothing to do with each
19
3 The Psychology o f Perception in Relation to Art
other thus affecting the perception of both. The shapes below turn into a diamond
superimposed on a rectangle in figure B because they are placed in this fashion. Usually,
however, the brain is able to filter out these affects so they have little influence.
3.1.1.2 Sequence
The sequence in which ait is seen is also important. The visual experience of the audience
increases with each piece viewed. This leads to a more informed audience but also to
different perceptions of the art or image. Look at figure (d) illustrated below. On its own
it looks like a triangle attached to a vertical line. Yet, when one sees it in sequence after
the other three patterns, it becomes a square disappearing behind a line.
20
3 The Psychology o f Perception in Relation to Art
3.1.1.3 Description
Verbal description also holds bearing on the visual perception. The title of a piece, as
previously mentioned, or what a fellow observer says about the piece can call to act as a
past visual memory, therefore influencing perception.
The time at which these verbal stimuli occur also affects perception. The title, if read
before the piece is seen, holds a greater force over the final perception due to the visual
imagery developed by the verbal stimuli. But if the title is read after the initial viewing
and the observer reviews the object the initial perception still holds some force. A third
perception is then derived through comparison of what was initially perceived and what
the artist is actually representing. The image above is a giraffe viewed through a window.
3.2 Imposing Upon the Image
There are more things in the field of vision than strike the retina. This is referred to as
“induced structure
During the process of seeing an object or picture the brain imposes
certain attributes upon the object to allow it to be seen in a way that it can understand.
These are a combination of structural skeleton and central point. When viewing a
composition with the aid of “induced structure ” the observer imposes a third dimension,
such as horizons and vanishing points, onto the two dimensional canvas. All these act
21
3 The Psychology o f Perception in Relation to Art
along the vertical and horizontal axes of the piece. Thus enabling the observer to divide
and organise the image into a more comprehensible pattern. This has a great effect on the
perceived image.
3.2.1Point of View
Thusly the point of view of the observer is highly important. Nicephore Niepce defined
this in 1820:
“The point o f view is a collection o f objects to which the eye is directed and on which it
rests, within a certain distance. ” (Virilio, 1994:19)
It is highly important, therefore, that the work of an artist is displayed exactly as they
intend the piece to be seen by the audience; this will affect the perception of the piece.
Most paintings are displayed at eye level. If a painting were to be hung a few inches
higher this would lower the centre point of the painting; if hung a few inches lower the
central point would be raised. This would distort the focus of the piece and lead to
difficulty in perceiving the work or possibly a different perception altogether
3.2.2 The Structural Skeleton
There are certain forces that stimulate the eye while acting from within a form. In the
process of vision perception this stimulus pattern creates a structural skeleton. This
skeleton helps determine the role of each pictorial element within the composition. While
allowing the mind to establish what is and is not natural and possible for that form.
22
3 The Psychology o f Perception in Relation to Art
3.2.3 Center point
The same perceptual forces that construct the Structural Skeleton also determine the
central point of a form or composition. This is where these forces balance each other out
and create a place of rest for the eye. The eye will tend to return to the central point
frequently while looking at a piece.
3.2.4 Horizons
Horizons within a painting are along the horizontal axis and in more conventional
paintings differentiate, most commonly, between the earth and the sky.
3.2.5 The Vanishing Point
In any art class one might take; you will hear of this elusive point that only partially
exists within the actual composition. The best way of describing it is to think of a long
street with high buildings either side. Now imagine looking down it while standing in the
centre. You will notice that all the lines seen are converging in one place. This is the
vanishing point and it occurs on the horizon. This allows for perspective within the
painting and therefore reaffirms this third dimension.
3.3 Gestalt Theory
Gestalt theory, from which is derived the principle of simplicity, was the main theory I
came across during researching this part of my thesis. Gestalt is the common German
23
3 The Psychology o f Perception in Relation to Art
noun for shape or form and has been applied since the beginning of the twentieth century
to a body of scientific principles derived mainly from experiments in sensory perception.
It laid the basis for our present knowledge of this field. Under this theory it is believed
that, although the observer does in fact bring previous experience with them, it is clear
that more often than not the situations we face have their own characteristics which
demand that we perceive them appropriately.
3.3.1 The Principle of Simplicity
“Any stimulus pattern tends to be seen in such a way that the resulting structure is as
simple as the given conditions permit ” {Gestalt Theory, Amhiem, 1954: 53)
Under gestalt theory this is the basic law of visual perception. This is facilitated in, and
facilitates in many ways, the artists work; namely in the areas of shape, colour,
brightness, and balance.
3.3.1.1 Shape
Seeing means grasping some outstanding features of objects. This is the reason why
shape is so important to perception. This in no way undermines the detail within the
visual experience but is the primary function. Perception starts with the grasping of
outstanding structural features; namely shapes. The influence of shape is evident in
Appendix 5 where the picture while devoid of detail is clearly comprehensive.
The circle or sphere are the simplest shapes due to their uniformity around the central
point of the shape. They reduce, therefore, the tension as well as giving a feeling of
solidness. When young children first start drawing they use circular shapes to represent
all shapes including teeth on a saw, houses and cars; adults would represent these objects
with squares or triangles. If one was to look at the stick man of an adult in comparison to
that of a child one would find that the adult uses lines to represent the body whereas the
child will use circles.
24
3 The Psychology o f Perception in Relation to Art
In regards to simplicity; in shape, it usually reflects how easy the shape is to remember.
When considering shapes other than the perfect circle angles must be considered. The
simplest angle is the aptly named right angle. This perpendicular relation perfectly
represents the vertical and horizontal axes.
3.3.1.2Balance
Balance is pivotal to simplicity in art. Everything having an equal and opposite reaction,
as taught in physics, develops a feeling of harmony and in the world of art. This lends a
sense of completeness to the finished work. When contemplating balance symmetry is the
first thing I think of. Possibly due to the memory of the old fashioned weighing scales
from baking with my grandmother. When the scales were symmetrical, as is measured by
the eye, they are also balanced. This goes in part to explaining the importance of balance
in a painting. There is something unsettling and wrong about the scales when
overweighed on one side and this too can happen in relation to pictures and compositions.
There are certain levels at which things must be placed to insure a visually balanced
composition. Visual balance occurs in the same way as physical. It’s a combination of
factors. The factors, however, are different. These are, instead of a combination of
density and gravity, one of the visual weights of size, colour and direction. For this to be
of use to the artist they must understand the way a picture is viewed; the way height,
among others, is perceived.
3.3.1.2.1 Height
There is more weight in the higher portion of the canvas than the lower. This can be
observed when asking people to mark the center of a vertical line by eye. It will result in
a line that appears to be equally bisected into lower and upper halves. However, on
measuring the two parts, one will discover that the line is marked higher than the center.
Artists exploit this in their compositions and in mounting their works. Art is usually
25
3 The Psychology o f Perception in Relation to Art
mounted with a larger border on the bottom as perception will automatically lower the
image and it will then look balanced.
3.3.1.2.2 Colour
Intensity of colour also bears weight; pastels carrying less than bold, strong colours. The
lighter colours give perspective to the painting and give the feeling of distance. Where as
the more vibrant colours appear more solid, attract more attention and feel nearer.
3.3.1.2.3 Size
The larger an object the heavier it is within the composition. In converse to these is
“intrinsic interest” (Amheim, 1954: 24) where an object bears weight due to its formal
complexity, intricacy or other peculiarity. This can be seen in Dali’s Apparition of Face
and Fruit Bowl on Beach 1938 (appendix 6). In which the city, which lies in the upper
central plain, holds the interest of the observer with its intricacy.
3.3.1.2.4 Direction
Right to left is the stronger direction. It is uncertain if this is due to the way western
society reads and writes as it holds true almost uniformly. This is why, if the artist is
trying to convey slow motion or stillness, they will position animals facing left as the
brain perceives more force against them in this direction.
3.4
The Principle of Dynamics
Simplicity is obviously not enough. If it were then art would be nothing but evenly covered
circular canvases in solid hues. This, while it has been the muse for some artists, tends to leave
the observer bored and with a feeling of lacking. Here is where the principle of dynamics takes
over and breathes life into paintings. The human mind wishes to be challenged. If we consider the
mind as a constant interplay of tension-heightening
26
3 The Psychology o f Perception in Relation to Art
and tension-reducing strivings then the artist can use this to create movement within their
works. The very thing that evokes a sense of movement or dynamics in an object is
directed tension. This is inherent in shapes colours or locomotion and not added by the
observer’s imagination. Thus if the properties conveying dynamism on the object are not
found in the physical stimulus object it will not exist in the perceptual image either.
3.4.1 Properties of Dynamics
Allowing the motion involved in the creation of art show through, i.e. the brush stoke in a
painting or fingerprints in a sculpture, brings tension to the piece by letting the energy
intrinsic in the motion to influence the psyche of the observer and is a highly effective
way of instilling dynamism in a piece. This is most evident in Japanese painting where a
distinguishing feature is the strength of brush stroke called fude no chikara or Jude no
ikioi. This becomes most evident by its notable absence in reproductions where the
strength of stroke cannot be conveyed through the printed copy. Thus showing that this
form of instilling dynamism must also be reflected in other ways within the art to insure
movement is perceived.
Within the actual composition of the piece there are also some aspects that facilitate
dynamics. The use of oblique positioning lends motion due to the subject being perceived
as in a state of unrest. This is when the structural skeleton does not relate to the
vertical/horizontal axes in the piece. The more variance there is the greater the tension
created. There is, however, the possibility of over emphasising this; leading not only to
the form becoming static but also deformed. This is usually shown in paintings of
dancers.
The process of developing a scene that is representative of an event is impossible to do if
one is limited to the confines of time. The most important fact to remember is, that in a
successful work, the artist synthesizes the represented action as a whole in a way that
27
3 The Psychology o f Perception in Relation to Art
translates the temporal sequence into a timeless pose. The work must, therefore, exist
outside the dimension of time. Consequently artists, who are trying to instil motion in
motionless pictures, generally paint different parts of the subject in different time frames
thus developing a sense of transience within the composition. This is why Donatello’s
David is holding the rock even though the head of the slain Goliath lays at his feet. This
allows the observer to experience the movement of time as the eyes travel down the body.
3.5 Abstract Art
Since the early 1900s Abstract Art claimed to have taken over from representational ait.
This has lead the way for many new art forms. It was brought about by the development
of the photographic process, which took over from the representational image, freeing the
artist to explore new techniques within their work. This lead to the works of Wassily
Kandinsky and Alexander Rodchenko, among others, who concentrated their works
towards primary colours in simple shapes; the original abstract movement.
“This is the end o f painting. These are the primary colours. Every plane is a discrete
plane and there will be no more representation. ” Alexander Rodchenko 1921 (Colpitt,
2002: xv)
Since these pioneering days there have been other artists, such as Jackson Pollock, who
have moved away from the simple shapes. The main importance is that the art created
has no subject. There is no representation as there is nothing to represent. It is simply a
study in colour or movement or expression and at times all three. This highlights the fact
that art is perception; there is no intrinsic beauty. The value of a piece of art exists
between the retina and the brain of the observer.
28
4,The Visual Process
We have previously established that people perceive things differently. This is due in
part to past experience but also to the way in which they see them. This is the result of
the visual image in the brain being as subjective and false as those portrayed on
canvas. The visual process itself puts the image through so many changes that it could
very well be defined as a complete fabrication.
4.1 The Eve
Beams of light reflect off an object and enter the eye through the cornea where they
hit the lens, are inverted and projected onto the retina. This creates the sense of sight.
The retina then converts this light into electronic pulses that travel to the brain. The
image is then inverted again, to give an image resembling that of an object, which is
recognised by the brain.
The lens of the eye is concave providing the brain with peripheral vision. Light travels
in straight lines. This is why it is impossible to see around comers. The curvature of
the lens allows for the light rays from objects not in the direct line of vision to be
projected on to the retina. The focus in the periphery however is not as good. This can
result in showing straight lines in the periphery as being bent rather than straight or
the converse of this. An example of this can be seen in appendix 7. When holding the
image the length of line A in front of the eyes it appears as a checkerboard, straight
lines. However on moving these lines out of peripheral vision and into direct line it
becomes apparent that these lines are curved. This creates an image that is impossible
to recreate on a 2-D surface. And allows the brain to situate itself within its
surroundings.
When discussing art we refer to the eye almost forgetting, the most obvious thing,
there are two. This creates a double image as both eyes produce an image. The two
semi-complete images are then reconciled into a whole by the brain. This is why
when you close one eye that which you see changes. The images are also never static.
29
4 The Visual Process
Even the most relaxed observer is constantly scanning the environment with their
eyes; the smallest of movement creating a wavering image that is stabilised in the
brain.
4.1.1 The Dominant Eve
Most people have a dominant eye. In the same way as most people are either left or
right handed. This can affect greatly the way things are seen by us. The image in
Appendix 8 will appear to be a duck if the observer is right-eyed and as a rabbit if
left-eyed. This shows just how much the perception can be changed by this factor.
Although with the aid of a verbal description the observer can see both images in turn.
4.2 The Brain
Image recognition in the brain is highly important. It relates what is being seen with
what has been seen before; as was discussed in the previous chapter on intelligence.
This explains the need and use of perspective and foreshortening in artist’s
compositions. We relate forms seen in the composition to forms as they are seen in
our every day lives; as seen earlier with the square and cubes. Although objects in
reality remain the same size colour and shape at all times they appear different to us
as we view them from different angles and distances. This is why the hands in
appendix 9 appear normal while the one in appendix 10 appears deformed. In regards
to the principle of simplicity, however, the more symmetrical form of the latter should
be more appealing to the eye. When considering the three images separately, the third
is no more deformed than the other two which both have parts missing, the element
that makes the third disturbing is the fact that something has been replaced with
something that shouldn’t be there; namely the second thumb. The two other images
are also often seen by the brain, which assumes that the missing parts are simply out
of view.
The human does not simply see objects but in an unconscious way automatically sets
limitations and prejudices, some of which were already discussed in the previous
30
4 The Visual Process
chapter, to the image. Therefore creating a totally separate image in the mind from
that on the canvas.
4.2.1 Perspective
Perspective allows the brain to realise distance and differentiate between those things
that are near and those that are far away. This is most noticeably done with size and
has fascinated young children in cars watching objects on the side of the road getting
ever larger as they come closer only to shrink away into the background. This,
however, is also evident in the intensity of the colours of the objects; as the distance
increases the colours become fainter.
4.2.2 Foreshortening
Foreshortening is the process by which the respective lengths of different parts of an
object are varied to allow for the angle of view. This can be seen in a person sitting
with their legs crossed; when facing the viewer the upper leg will be shortened
considerably. The brain recognises the fact that the angle of the leg justifies this
editing of the image.
31
5 The Art Market
“ I d o n ’t know o f any artist whose career I ’ve broken. I suppose I've contributed to some
reputations. ”Hilton Kramer N.Y. Times critic. (Chaplin, 1998: 336)
The ait world is a complex shifting set of networks and contacts. There are five different
elements that affect the artist’s reputation within the art market and thus affect the
marketability of their work. Starting with the artist, the dealer, the curator, the critic, and
finally the collector. They function in much the same way as the five elements of the
marketing mix. They work in a different way for each artist but they are always there to
some degree.
5.1 The Artist
The artist, the creative element in the mix, creates a unique product. Even if the piece is a
reproduction it is still unique as it is created by hand and, therefore, two pieces can never
be identical. This fact also creates a limitation of the amount of work created by the artist
Even the most prolific artist has a limit to what they can produce. Which leads me to the
slightly morbid fact that their death increases the value of their work even more due to
the certainty that the line of work is finished. There will be no more; we must, therefore,
protect what there is.
There are many different ways for an artist to regard their work but there are two that
mainly interest me. Firstly there are the artists who see what is popular in the market and
join in to make a living off the current trend. This tends, however, to limit the artist’s
creativity as the commissioned piece comes with rules imposed upon the artist by the
inartistic. This can, however, live in harmony with the second. Those artists who tiy to
create a new style, a new market and a new atmosphere within the art world. Take the
case o f Matisse who originally painted landscapes to earn a living and in his spare time
experimented with cubism which he became known for. The latter if they succeed are the
artists that become renowned and whose work can become priceless. In the past this
acknowledgement often came posthumously but with the speed that information and
32
<
5 The Art Market
humans now travel artists arc more likely to be recognised within their lifetime, which
has also become longer, leading to a greater chance of this happening.
5.2 The Dealer
“ Great dealers are always made by great artists. However the inverse o f that sta tement
is not true. No matter how great a dealer is you cannot make an artist. ” Mary Boone.
(Chaplin, 1998: 332)
The dealer acts as the agent of the artist and generally therefore only take on artists they
believe have the ability to become stars. They act as the link between the artist, the
galleries and the public. By buying their work and selling it on in this way an artist may
have a relationship with more than one dealer. They are responsible for insuring that the
paintings are sold ... to the right people. It is highly important for the artist’s reputation
that their work goes to either museums or major collectors i.e. those that have other
substantial art. Thus affiliating this artist with other great artists. The last thing that
dealers want is for their artist’s work to be bought hidden away for a couple of years and
then sold on. The dealer brings to the artist the contacts, which no matter how good the
work is, the artist needs to ensure success.
5.3 The Curator
The term curator has changed over the years. Originally referring to those responsible for
permanent collections in museums, it now relates to those that take artistic responsibility
for anything from a one off exhibition to a whole programme. They conceive the
exhibition and make aesthetic decisions about content. They have the power, therefore, to
decide which artist the patrons of the museum or exhibition, in which they are working,
will see. Due to the art world having become so big, it is impossible to cover it all,
curators rely in part on word of mouth. If they hear of someone doing something
interesting then they will go see it. This is why networking in the art world is important.
As a form of communication the artwork is only complete when it is seen; in relation to
marketability the art has to be seen to generate interest in the artist.
33
5 The Art Market
5.4 The Critic
“But the search fo r meaning and pleasure is not the only function o f art criticism: we
have a real desire to share what we have found ” (Burke Feldman, 1992: 469)
The definition of a critic is anyone who sees a work and voices an opinion about it
whether it is negative or positive. The ones that are of interest to this thesis, of course, are
the professional critics who have some influence over the market; even if it only raises
interest in the artist and not directly their value; as can be seen in the quote at the
beginning of this chapter. Artists and dealers want critics to write about the work and a
bad review is almost as good as a brilliant one; a terrible one can be wonderful as this can
tend to get more people interested. The only failure, as far as being the subject critiques
go, is none at all or a small mention that says nothing really; as long as the writer feels
compelled to write something, and it is read, interest will be raised. After all “no
Publicity is Bad Publicity” as we so commonly hear. It is all about getting the name out
there.
5.4.1 The Artist as a Critic
Slightly more influential critics within the art world are the artists themselves. This is due
to the fact that no artist will be overly enthusiastic about another’s work unless it has a
great effect on him or her. Dealers, Curators and Collectors will, therefore, heed to this
more than the writers. It is also important to the Artist’s work as the inspiration drawn
from the piece lives on the other artists’ work.
“ It's the way artists respond to what other artists are doing that really creates taste,
creates value, creates reputations, and gives us a sense o f hierarchy o f values in art. ”
Hilton Krammer the New York Times. (Chaplin, 1998: 340)
5.5 The Collector
In business terms the consumer of the product, but in relation to art this idea really can’t
apply after all art is not a consumable. The Business minded among us, therefore, would
34
5 The Art Market
view it as a non-perishable investment. Those of an artist mind, however, view it as
appreciation for work that moves them in some way ; the observer sees something within
the paint or the concept which appeals to him in a way that makes him want to own part
of it; no one can own the whole concept. The artist has the original concept and the
development of the piece while each observer, including the collector, owns his or her
own perception and interpretation of the work
5.6 Collaboration in the Creation of a Movement
When one hears of art or goes to a museum, we tend to hear the word movement quite
frequently and there have been many in the recent years of art history. Expressionism,
Surrealism, Cubism; rule of thumb on hearing an unfamiliar word ending in “ism” it
tends to be an ait movement. These movements, in a business sense, are usually the
products of the dealers and curators that link artists together in this fashion to create
interest in the lesser-known artists. This is generally due to the same influences in the
different artists’ work or the direct influence of one artist on others. Dealers create
movements by working together to establish links by showing works of different artists
together in an exhibition or creating private or public collections containing these artists.
5.7 The Established Artist Market
So far I have only covered one side of the art market; the living artist trying establish
their reputation. There is, however, a more commonly known market; already established
artists and the resale of their works. In one respect this is simpler than the unknown artist.
If the piece is well known, with good provenance, it is auctioned with a reserve of the
purchase price amended by inflation over the period since its purchase and other factors
such as jumps in value of other pieces by that same artist; after that demand within the
room determines the final price.
35
5 The Art Market
5.7.1 Finds of the Established Artist’s Works
In the case of a previously unknown piece by a famous and usually dead aitist being
discovered; a period of investigation into the painting follows the discovery starting with
the style of painting. Associations, dedicated to individual artists authenticate this,
certifying the piece as genuine. There is also forensic and age testing done on the canvas
and paint. They also check for any fingerprints that might be matched to those found in
authentic paintings by the artist. There have been some amazing finds such as the
Caravaggio found in Dublin. But, as forgers are becoming more and more proficient,
there are always doubts that surround them.
5.7.2 Provenance
This is history of ownership of the piece; its origin and location since its creation; it is
derived from documentation of the sales of the piece throughout its history. These include
invoices and gallery and sales catalogues. These catalogues contain pictures and
descriptions of the works; size, medium and materials etc. There is a danger, however, of
becoming too reliant on these. John Drew, in the early 1990s, masterminded a fraud that
lead to 200 forgeries being sold as original paintings of early 20th century artists in the
most reputable of auctioneers. To add insult to injury the fakes were painted not with oil
paint; but with matt emulsion thinned out with KY jelly, as the forger John Myatt didn’t
like the smell of oil paint, and aged with the contents of a Hoover bag. If these paintings
had even spent a small amount of time being examined they would have been found out.
How they got away with it was by further deception. John Drew altered the catalogues
held at the Tate Gallery to show the fake paintings. They did not forge existing paintings
only the style of the paintings. A dealer authenticating the piece would, therefore, see the
relevant provenance was in order and be satisfied with the painting's authenticity. Drew
also hired many people to pose as both researchers, going into the Tate to alter the
catalogues, and sellers of the pieces as to not arouse suspicion. In the end a dealer sent a
piece to an expert, to get it authenticated, as he was unsure. The expert immediately
spotted the different flow to the paint compared to that of the original painter. This lead
36
5 The Art Market
to a lengthy investigation and some of the paintings were never discovered. There is also
no proof that all the catalogues are now returned in their original state.
5.7.3 Forgery
This example, of course, raises the question as to whether any form of verification of ait
is foolproof. As the techniques for identifying fakes have improved so have the
techniques for creating them. Forensic tests have developed alongside artificial ageing
techniques. Forgers use paints made from ingredients available at the time of the original
painting to avoid detection and this is only one of many tricks in use. Of course, in the
case of well-known paintings, there are x-rays of what lies beneath the visible layer,
showing previous work done on the canvas. There are also markings on the frame on
which the canvas is stretched that are known by galleries and insurers. In the case of less
well-known artists, or lesser-known works by well-known artists, catalogues are used and
as shown above these are vulnerable to modification. Bringing the buyer back to relying
on perceived value. Leaving this intangible as the only basis on which to value art.
37
r .
Conclusion
Art is undefined. Many people have tried to define it without success. It was never my
intention in this thesis to attempt the impossible. To me, from the ideas found during
research, art is the confidence of the creator of a piece to call it such. Whether others
agree or disagree is irrelevant; that only comes into play when one considers value in
art.
Art as pointed out many times throughout this writing is personal and subjective. No
two people view the world in exactly the same way. Why would art be any different?
Artists use their art to communicate their views; even those of landscapes and people.
It’s how they see the world at that particular moment. Time affects their knowledge,
their perception and through that, therefore, their work. This is true also of the
observer of the artist’s work. No two people will have exactly the same reaction to the
work; time passes and their reactions will change as the person develops firmer ideas
and opinions. In this way no observer can view the work in the exact same way as the
artist. But the artist, also, can never truly understand the effect his art has over his
audience.
The Dali painting that I used in Appendix one; I find intriguing as it’s disturbing and
relaxing at the same time; achieved through the subject and the colour. The simple
shape o f the head is offset by the intricate weaving of lines that create the form. This
is my view o f the work, however, anyone else on seeing it might dismiss it out of
hand or hate it As far as art is concerned all opinions are equal. My opinion as a
penniless student is as relevant as a millionaire’s or a dealer’s. When it comes to value
this is o f course not the case. Any businessman looking for a target market first
considers which markets is the most financially viable for their product. This is the
same in the art world thus it falls into the lap of the dealers, etc, who make up the art
market. Not only must they insure a good price for a piece but also a good purchase
by a reputable collector who will enhance the reputation of the artist by associating
their work with other great artists
38
Conclusion
In the first chapter I wrote of value from a Marxist point of view and this could
explain how people justify spending such huge amounts of money on art. $104
million is the new world record for the sale of a single painting. This took place on
Wednesday the 5th of May this year in the sale of, one of Picasso’s early works,
Gar£on a la Pipe (appendix! 1).
Classical market theory shows how through the
demand within the market, for that particular painting, the price was driven into orbit
that day in Sotheby’s New York. The essentialist view has its merits but only tells half
the story. The idea of an intrinsic beauty for all to see does not exist in art; otherwise
everyone would view all art, and indeed everything, in the same way. This does not
happen, however, as perception takes over and changes the image behind the very
eye. This explains why some people can dislike a painting but still appreciate it. The
very idea of intrinsic beauty is further denied by the value in abstract art.
Value in art is the perception of one person looking at a concept, relating to it in a
way that encourages a desire to keep the piece and thus pay a price to take possession
of the thing that will reenact that reaction again and again. This is the financial value
of art. Artistic value is derived from the “right” people (curators, dealers and
professional critics) appreciating the work enough to place value on it and show it to
that one person; bringing us back to financial value. True artistic value must,
therefore, be derived from other artists appreciating the work and allowing it to
consciously or unconsciously influence their own work.
“I f other artists don’t consider what you do o f value, it can’t be sustained. " Jennifer
Bartlett, Artist {Chaplin, 1998: 343)
Which naturally raises the reputation of the original artist and the desire of that one
person and the financial value. There is of course usually not only one person. There
are many and their competing desire is what ultimately sets the price for a piece. With
this it could be claimed that financial and artistic values are not just simply linked but,
in fact, one and the same thing.
There have been some interesting points that I came across during my research but
could not investigate to their full extent in this thesis. The idea of forgery holds great
interest for me. The faking not only of pieces but also of their provenance. The effect
this has on value in the art world and how some forgers are able to establish their
name so that their forgeries become valuable in their own right. Then there is the fact
39
Conclusion
that art is actually worth more than that which it is exchanged for: money; as was
brilliantly shown in Keinholz’s work. Money becomes less valuable by the year while
art just increases its value. If inflation is taken into account would the Picasso painting
sold recently really be a record holder, the previous record holder was by Van Gogh
(appendixll) and sold for $82.5 million dollars but that was 14 years ago in 1990. A
study into the value of certain masterpieces of art against the value of the dollar for
example throughout their life span of its existence would possibly show the steady
increase in value that would quash any further questions of value in art.
40
References
Alvarado, M. Buscoube, E. Collins, R. (2001) Representation and Photography.
Palgrave Publishers.
Amheim, R. (1974) Art and Visual Perception, a psychology of the creative eye. The
new version. University of California Press.
Berger, J. (1972) Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin
Books
Bryson, N. Holly, M.A. Moxey, K. (1994) Visual Culture, images and interpretations.
Wesleyan University Press and University Press of New England.
Burke Feldman, E. (1992) Varieties of Visual Experience. 4th Ed. Harry N. Abrams,
Inc. Publishers.
Canaday, J. (1980) What is Art? an introduction into painting sculpture and
architecture. Hutchinson and Co. Publishers
Chaplin, L. (1998) The Business of Art. 3rd ed. Prentice Hall Press.
Colpitt, F. (2002) Abstract Art, in the late twentieth century. Cambridge University
Press.
Duffin, D. (1991) Artists Handbooks, investigating Galleries. 2nd ed. A.N.
Publications.
Duffin, D. (1991) Artists Handbooks, organising your own exhibition. 2nd ed. A.N.
Publications.
Eagleton, T. (1999) Marx and Freedom. Phoenix, Orion Publishing Group Ltd.
Eeo, U. (1989) The Open Work. Translated by: Cnaogni, A. Hutchinson Radius.
Elffers, J. Schmyt, M. Hidden Images, Games of Perception, Anamorphic Art,
Illusion, from the renaissance to the present. Translated by: Childs Allison, E.
Kaplan, M. L. Harry N. Abrams Publishers.
Fletcher, A. The Art of Looking Sideways. Phaidon Press.
Freeland, C. (2001) But Is It Art? - An Introduction to Art Theory. Oxford University
Press
Gombrich, E H (1959) Art and Illusion, a study in the psychology of pictorial
representaion. Phaidon Press.
Gombrich, E.H. (1995) The Story of Art. 15th ed. Phaidon Press London.
Gombrich, E.H.; Hochberg, J.; Black, M. (1972) Art, Perception and Reality. The
Johns Hopkins University Press.
Irwin, D. (1969) The Visual Arts, taste and criticism. Blackie, Glasgow and London.
McLcllan, D. (2001) Karl Marx, selected writings. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press.
Murdoch, I. (1977) The Fire and The Sun, why Plato banished the artists. Chatto &
Windus Ltd.
Neret, G. (2002) Dali, l’oeuvre peint. Taschen.
Philips, D. (1997) Exhibiting authenticity. Manchester University Press
Plato. (1993) Republic. Translated by: Waterfield, R. Oxford University Press.
Radnoti, S. (1999) The Fake, forgery and its place in art. Translated by: Dunai, E.
Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Robinson, D. Groves, J (2000) Introducing Plato. Icon Books UK.
Sloman, J. (2001) Essentials o f Economics. 2nd ed. Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Virilio, P. (1994) The Vision Machine. Indiana University Press and British Film
Institute Pulishing
Weschler, L. (1999) Boggs; a comedy of values. The University of Chicago Press.
Woodford, S. (1983) Looking at Pictures. Cambridge University Press.
Wright, L. (1983) Perspective in Perspective. Routledge and Kegan Paul Publishers.
Websites
http://artscenecal.com
http: //daa. amerikanistik.net/daa9/financialtimes/boggs.htm
http://slate.msn.com/id/29923/entiy/30305
www.aesthetic, org
www.arts.ouc .be. ca/fina/glossary/e_list.htm
www.bbc.co.uk
www.jsgboggs.com
www.ku.edu
www.mc.maricopa.edu/~yount/text/plato-beauty.html
www.molloy.edu/academic/philosophy/sophia/plato/plato_epistemology.htm
WAvw.money.org/press/paintbrush.jpeg
www.nytimes.com
www.sterrenstellsel.nl/sterrenstof43/boggs .htm
www. szilage. com
www.ul.ie/~philos/vol4/murdoch. html
3
Television
Wall to Wall Productions. (2003) Art Crime. Shown on BBC2 22/3/04
4
List of Appendices
Appendix 1
Salvador Dali’s
Face of Ants.
Appendix 2
Bamardo Benes’
Paintbrush.
Appendix 3
Boggs Bills.
Appendix 4
Boggs’ Ait
Appendix 5
Patrick Ciranna’s
Salsa
Appendix 6
Salvador Dali’s
Apparition of Face and Fruit Bowl on Beach.
Appendix 7
Peripheral Vision.
Appendix 8
Dominant Eye.
Appendix 9
Hands in Perspective.
Appendix 10
Balanced Hand.
Appendix 11
Pablo Picasso’s
Garpon a la Pipe.
Vincent Van Gogh’s
Portrait of Dr.Gachet.
.v<4..
Appendix 1
Salvador Dali’s
Face of Ants.
Appendix 2
Barnardo Benes’
Paintbrush.
Appendix 3
aUC* £ N/SDQPt* fc JVUR3
Self Portrait on a 100 Swiss Franc Note
Swiss Franc Note Drawings
Printed Work
Boggs Bills.
Appendix 4
Exhibition Layout
12663
NO R E FU H O S
E X C H A N G E S C N I T W IT H IN
5 D A Y S S A lE
'C U S T O M * O
IT E M S
* * * ^
O A g jj
I
*A M f
/
AOOK5&
CITY. STATI.
T9
^
X
CASH
C jQ a ICHAKCt OK ACC
nCCTDDTIAk'
UtbUCrllUN
PAD OUT
MOSt
KiTO
AMOUNT
PRICE
1
2
1| J 6 c _ ( < - L c ? s
3
J
O
e .i ^
M » * if
f
i
K n D n r -f~ O k
i
6
7
A
1
8
-
r
t
:
L
L
v t ^
9
/
Y
10
11
12
i
T
1
T
W
7 <= *
f
1 /
i
r #
h n
.
% i
( stl ^ W
L ^ T M u1
n c iiv iD tv
—
T
w
K E E P T H IS S U P F O R R E F E R E N C E
Receipt of Transaction
Boggs’ Art.
3
'
Appendix 5
Patrick Ciranna’s
Salsa
Appendix 6
Salvador Dali’s
Apparition of Face and Fruit Bowl on Beach.
Appendix 7
Hold picture distance A in front of the eye to experience the affect of
peripheral vision.
Appendix 8
Dominant Eye.
Duck / Rabbit
Right-eyed / Left-eyed
Appendix 9
Hands in Perspective.
Appendix 10
Balanced Hand.
Appendix 11
ifr
'4
fc
\
Pablo Picasso’s
Garmon a la Pipe.
Worth $104,000,000 in 2004?
Vincent Van Gogh’s
Portrait of Dr. Gachet.
Worth $82,500,000 in 1990?