and why does art matter to you?
The art world, and world in general, is rife with corruption. Surely this is great reason to be skeptical of people’s intentions. There’s certainly no shortage of con-artists, work that seems over-valued, and galleries that serve more as tax havens than any real support of local talent. Using intuition we must navigate this volatile terrain to find something of substance. As supporters of the arts you are, in effect, responsible for upholding the kind of world you want to live in, by showing it to others.
Art matters to all consumers and producers
As consumers we need art to beautify society. Otherwise our cities become dull. Our walls look boring and our work life… ain’t much better.
As producers, art is still needed for the same reasons but also as inspiration to feed the art machine inside many of us that demands constant input. All creative entrepreneurs need to support each other and especially the ones they admire. Less our heros stop creating all together in exchange for day jobs that will more sufficiently pay the bills and suck our collective souls dry.
This is an opportunity to lift up the visions you want to see. Your taste in art will reflect your values. You have to think about what you are feeding your heart, mind, and soul. What are you feeding your children? Do you hand that responsibility over to the education system or the government? How good of a job have they done so far?
I’d venture to say our society is suffering a rot from the inside and it is perpetrated via the arts & entertainment. We have to be more conscious of what we’re ingesting. Garbage in = garbage out. We are being molded to like stupid things.
We are always voting with our dollars
and art is an opportunity to make a statement about who you are. Who do you support? Why? Does the artist have a message you resonate with? Or do you simply support great work, despite your similarities or differences with an artist?
I believe in supporting people who’s work is impeccable. I don’t care if they are on the opposite side of the political or religious spectrum. (They often are.) Of course, if I find out that their beliefs align with mine, that’s just icing on the cake.
That said, we are in a time of great societal change and upheaval. Now, artists are being told what to say. Artists who dare to go against the grain are being cancelled and losing their ability to make a living creating art. But being apolitical is not enough either. Artists who do not instill the talking points handed down to them from higher institutions are ignored as well. Is this the world we want to live in? Where artists are forced to fall into line with the “current thing”. I thought art was about free thinking, unrestrained creativity.
Art also can make an interesting investment opportunity
because if you are betting on a serious artist whose work shows real potential, your investment in them can out pace the stock market. The 1000’s of paintings traded every year at Sotheby’s, Christies, and other art auction houses out-grow any other investment by magnitudes that can’t be replicated in stocks and bonds.
Famous artists in the past were created by only the super rich who can afford these outrageous prices. That model is changing now thanks to the internet…
The public now has the ability to create their own stars
We basically have to raise our own capital from private investors who believe in supporting an artist’s dream. The cool thing is, anyone can do this for super cheap now and get lots of cool content and art gifts via the patron model. This enables you to collect art at a discount and provides steady income to the artist.
It works like this:
There are different tiers for your level of financial flexibility. Usually starting at a couple dollars per month, upwards of $50-$100+ a month, you can set the level at which you are comfortable. In exchange, you can get exclusive content such videos, talks, works in progress, deals, physical or digital art gifts, and pre-sales unavailable to non-patrons.
All of this cool stuff you get is often greater in market value to the money, had you simply bought the artwork, but the advantage to the artist is that you are adding to a steady stream of income which is crucial to thrive. Without this, life is filled with uncertainty if the following months will garner enough sales to survive. Your small contribution in addition to numerous others can be the path to an artist’s success.
The cumulative contributions of many results in something resembling an actual advancing artist career.
So don’t take this lightly.
You have immense power, even in the smallest of acts.
If you want to support me on patreon starting at the price of a cup of coffee, please go to:
https://www.patreon.com/vincentfink
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Thank you for your attention to detail!
-Vincent Fink