Airconditioner syndrome !

This evening I was forwarded a letter, which was written in response to an news letter to which I subscribe on the market and marketing, which pertained to art.

The writer of the letter holds the belief that artists who do not sell their art well only have themselves to blame !

He calls the syndrome we are purported to suffer from the “airconditioner syndrome”, which in essence is similar to low self esteem and lack of self worth.

Basically he explains this syndrome as such: An air conditioner is set to keep a room’s temperature at a comfortable level. When the temperature in the room goes above or below that level, the air conditioner kicks in and, by pouring forth hot or cold air, brings the temperature of the room to comfort level again.

Subconsciously, the ‘air conditioner’ settings in that person’s mind sabotages the will power to change, and he blames circumstances and other people for the failure. However, deep in his subconscious mind, he is comfortable because, remaining unattractive to the opposite sex, there will be no rejection. We all suffer from the air conditioner syndrome in one form or another, but artists seem to do it a lot.

The author of the letter then goes on to relate the following story

Walking through Hyde Park shopping centre a while ago, I found an exhibition of miniature paintings.

Most were beautiful, delicate, even sensitive. Some had little gold, red or blue bows on the side to indicate that they were competition winners. The prices for these pieces varied from R300 to R1800. Hyde Park shopping centre accommodates some of the most expensive shops in South Africa. The people who regularly shop there are seriously wealthy. They want, deserve and can afford the best. These miniatures were in that category. I asked the lady in charge of the collection if she had any idea how long it took an artist to produce such an exquisite piece. “About 4 hours” was her reply. Ignoring the cost of the materials and frame, (which is a stupid thing to do) that works out to R450 per hour? My garage mechanic, with standard 8 education, who changes the spark plugs and oil, charges more than that! The artist, who asked R300 for his painting, is obviously happy to earn less than a… (You work it out)

Most of those paintings remained unsold. Why? Because they were too CHEAP. No millionaire wants to put cheap paintings in his house or office. They don’t relate to cheap. I bet the artists believed that the paintings were unsold because they were too expensive.

Our intrepid writer has an easy solution for us !

He recommends we go cold calling on companies and businesses as he believes the largest market for art purchases lies in the corporate world. Every office or reception area needs art , right? If as an artist , you have an adversity to cold calling , simply get a gallery to represent you and market your work for you . If however , you do not have the business acumen to charge a good profit for your time and creativity , you are not entitled to call yourself an artist. According to this knowledgeable gentleman, you are merely what is known as an amdab. (Amateur dabbler) but don’t feel alone dear folk, you are in good company ! Van Gogh, was a complete failure as an artist, (He, probably like you, was a gifted amdab)

The final tip for truly successful sales, is to substantially increase the prices you ask for your art ! Now, please put your prices up, (A lot!) because you are ruining the market for yourself. You are competing with the cheap stuff churned out of Chinese art factories daily by the million. True artists start marketing and selling their own works. If you are proud of your paintings you will charge good prices. If you are ashamed of yourself as an artist, you will charge low prices. Your art does not reflect your self worth, the price you charge for it does.

An interesting topic for discussion no doubt , but I personally feel that people who have no knowledge of or no insight into the art market , should reserve such comment.

None of the artists I know have a lack of belief in themselves and all of them go to great efforts to market both themselves and their work.
Furthermore, it has been my experience that the people with "big money", are the people who part with it least readily and those that do part with their money for art will only do so if the work is an investment or by a well known artist that has a reputation for producing work of good quality.

I also feel it is totally unrealistic to price art according to the hours the piece took to paint. From a personal aspect, often my best works are painted in the least time and I certainly would never be bold enough to disclose the length of time it took me to create the work, lest the client
figured out that I was charging three times as much per hour as any advocate in the Shabir Shaik trial !
Of course one also has to consider the experience of the artist, the length of time they have been painting, previous exhibitions or accolades etc etc , all taken into account during the valuation or appraisal of art.

As a collector of art, I would never pay thousands for a work by an unknown artist. That's just the way it works, whether I am shopping in Hyde Park or not. We all have to walk before we run and lower prices to begin with certainly have very little or nothing to do with being ashamed of one's work !