what a certain type of "art expert" wont tell you
art is, as it should be, accessible to all. it is by no means an exclusive or elusive gift.
any one can collect it no matter what their budget is (from $20 to $200000 and any where above or in between). iv seen tat sold for $2000 and some fantastic talent selling for only $20
it might be fun but you dont have to fly to far flung places to find fine art, chances are there is probably an artist in your own street.
local collages are also a good place to start.
(preferably before the collage has had a chance to staled the artists unique view of the world and conform it to the norm)
yes im biased, iv seen way to many potential greats go into them only to come out having lost that "spark" that made them unique in the first place. they are great places to learn techniques but do have a tendency towards conformation
the price tag does not validate the quality of the art. the price merely validates how good the artist or their promoter is at public relations,how popular they are or indicate that they know the "right" people.
hell it can even just indicate they have had some extremely lucky breaks.
always remember.. high price does not necessarily mean good art and low price does not mean bad art
(a lot of artists will rather sell low or gift to folk that they know connect to a piece rather than sell high to some pretentious pratt that is just out to impress their friends)
the only person that can tell you what a piece "means" is the artist himself... and even they will tell you that it will "mean" something different to each person. art is interactive what you "see" will depend on your own lifes experiences. the "art experts" are merely interpreting what they themselves see or feel, your own interpretation is just as valid as theirs.
(i was once at a show and an "expert" tried to impress me with his rather shallow "insight" to a piece we were standing in front of. what he didnt realize was it was one of my own, his "interpretation" differed wildly from my own )
and for all you budding artists out there, you dont have to spend a fortune on materials to "create" art.
i was once in a show where i had to have a professional valuation of each piece
(for insurance purposes)
one piece ( Scar ) valued at somewhere around $1500
(yea sounds good but dont get excited shit rarely sells for even a fraction of its valuation price lol)
materials ... newspaper, glue, kitchen roll, childrens foam modeling material, roofing mastic, house paint, varnish.
another ( paradise found ) valued at around $500
materials ... pre stretched canvas, high quality (bloody expensive) artists oil paints.
its the imagination, the vision, the ability to communicate a thought, idea or emotion that creates the value, not the cost of materials
so for all you folk that say
"i would love to create art but i cant afford the supplys"
stop useing that as an excuse
stop being afraid to fail
and start looking around your house for things you can use to express yourself