Have you ever come across some meme on Instagram that displays a large painting with minimalistic design and colors often tagged as being overpriced? Or have you ever wondered how these abstract paintings with random shades of colors become so popular?
Background & Development of Modern Art
Well to understand the same, let's look at the modern art form and what makes it so valuable.
Just as the world has been advancing in almost all fields, art has also been transforming at a similar pace. Art is no longer about representing the world with skill, it has become more diverse.
From the time cameras were invented and they were able to capture the world in its complete essence and beauty, artists no longer felt the need for art to be restricted to capturing the figurative world. They no longer felt it to be the primary reason for making art. In fact, it never was.
Gradually art became more conceptual, philosophical, and even more challenging. The artforms diversified, however, the opinion didn't get that much popularity. Many people found it hard to accept this change and never really understood this modernization of art.
Art & Its Value
Humans often have a tendency to associate objects with their price. Art should never be looked at just from a monetary point of view. Even a simple piece of artwork is an amalgamation of an artist's lifetime of work.
For starters, take the Black Square, painted by Kazimir Malevich, an avant-garde artist of the turn-of-the-century. This easy painting in black didn’t come out of anywhere. It is the product of simplification and growth over 20 years. The Black Square was a groundbreaking sign when it was revealed, placed in the top corner of the room, a location reserved for orthodox religious symbols.
Exuberant Prices
These often thus reach very high prices as it has the work of a lifetime of an artist. And by the economic law, these prices are there because there is someone there in the market willing to pay this much money for that piece of work. Almost all such art pieces are kept in some of the other museums as these are rare artworks and have a varied perspective of the artist.
Abstract paintings have a deeper meaning which isn’t understood by most people. You need to look into the deeper aspect of the painting to understand it. Often stories of grief or gender inequality are depicted in such paintings which have a lot of varied perceptions. People who appreciate modern art and are truly able to connect with the painter’s emotions are the ones who are able to understand the true value behind these paintings.
Art as an Investment and Its Financial Aspects
Nowadays, these artwork have become more of an investment for people solely for financial gains. You can often find paintings being auctioned or bought just as a matter of rich superiority. People don’t really care to see the true meaning behind the art and have made it more of a business rather than a craft. It’s similar to the market mechanism of luxury goods where the price of the good is expected to increase drastically in the future.
There's a selling dimension, in all areas, involved in the price of contemporary art. Dealers, designers, and auction houses invest vast sums in marketing works of art and providing a sense of the importance of the future. The job gets external validation if the work of an artist is placed in popular magazines or made part of well-known art collections.
Branding often comes into play when purchasing contemporary art, such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci are well-known names of luxury. Tyeb Mehta is an enormous brand, for example. And if one buys a Tyeb Mehta from another famous company such as Christie's or Sotheby's, the buyer's personality speaks volumes. And branding overpowers the artistic or visual appeal of an object, as with all other objects.
So customers are willing to pay a premium for a Louis Vuitton bag or a Rolls Royce car only for the name, regardless of whether or not they are satisfied with it.
But still, for 99% of these artists, their artwork is just the result of lots of love, creativity, and hard work along with a message for the audience. And that’s what makes art such a great thing.
Markets will change, trends may change but it is quite easy to say that the trend for contemporary and modern art isn’t going anywhere.
Read this article to know more about Modern Art.
Know more about the Meaning of Art through this article.
Written By - Bhanu Jain
Edited By - Kashish Chadha
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