# Do you own artwork?



## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

No, I'm not casing your place. I'm just curious if any among us buy original works of art. I love art, especially 20th century, and beyond, painting. I have never been able to afford what I would call real works of 20th century art, however, the stuff by the famous artists of the century. I'm no collector, and I doubt I could afford it. 

My wife and I want art on the walls, and I like the idea of using nicely matted and framed prints, replications, of famous artwork. I see nothing wrong with it, as everyone knows what it is, and I'm not pretending it's anything it is not. My wife thinks it's a bit tacky and reminds her of college dorm wall posters. 

The alternative is to buy cheap junk at artitsts markets and such and I'd rather have empty walls than do that. 

What do you do?


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

I like to think we own various works of art, but based on your assessment of what constitutes "cheap junk (acquired) at artists markets," fear we may have missed the mark based on your assessment of what constitutes "real works of art!" The wife and I love haunting community art fairs and have picked up a number of pieces over time, perhaps not created by "famous artists", but certainly by some very talented local artists. For what it is worth, several such purchases have been appraised for insured values nicely into the four figure range. To each his own, but I would much rather hang an original work of art created by a local artist on the wall that have a framed print of a famous work, the original of which is to be found in a museum somewhere taking up space on my wall(s). Take your time, avoiding buying "junk" and build a collection of works you love, that include many treasured memories of the hunt! :teacha:


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

^ Fine sentiments expressed by Eagle above. :thumbs-up:

I am a minimalist and so just one framed picture ordains my walls*. I suspect that even a Caravaggio would begin to annoy me after the repeated exposure that hanging in my home would engender.

Art as a commercial industry is much like the stock markets - value is ascribed in a sometimes arbitrary manner - there is a significant quantity of easily affordable work by 'unknowns' that is of equal merit (in fact is superior in certain instances) to pieces hanging in the galleries**.

If you trust your own taste*** you may pick up original items, for very small sums, at flea markets and the like, which will better serve you than any print reproduction.

Hope this helps.

*a comic book heroine poster which I had signed by the artist.

**I wouldn't wipe my behind with a Picasso.

***if you do not trust your own taste then the notion of hanging pictures is obsolete in any event.


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## Dhaller (Jan 20, 2008)

I buy original art.

I grew up in a house crammed with art - my family owned an art gallery, and my father was an artist - and so I knew artists growing up. I studied with a painter friend of theirs for awhile when I was a child, even living with her one summer.

I've never really been interested in reproductions or prints, in large part because of reading "Bridehead Revisited" as a teenager (there's a scene in which Charles realizes he's been living inauthentically and discards his reproductions as "jejune" - this struck me like a bolt of lightning as a youth). I buy a lot overseas - visiting local galleries and leveraging the smaller, local economies - and visit my share of "art festivals" in the USA.

(Don't dismiss these local art markets - the key to building a good collection is identifying good artists early! I have a number of Todd Murphy canvases I bought when he was still selling silkscreen tee shirts in Piedmont Park (Atlanta); his big canvases go for six figures now.)

I mostly like paintings, because like Shaver, I don't care for clutter; paintings are nice because they're on the walls and out of the way. I have some sculpture, and my wife is partial to glass works (we have a lot of Daum... really more objets than art, I suppose). I do support a local painter who's one the rise - he'll probably be unaffordable soon - whom I've known since he was in high school (I sponsored his first gallery showing when he was in 11th grade, and payed to have his stuff framed - he's in his 30s now), and he does the odd commission for me. Once you know a few artists, you can follow their network to find more - I plan on commissioning a mural in my daughter's bedroom from a muralist he knows. And so it goes.

(I have a house in Japan, as well, and it houses a growing collection of Japanese works - most of that is really more "objets d'art" - and a number of paintings I bought in Manila when I lived there. It's useful to have access to varied architecture to expand reach of artistic styles.)

Eventually, I'll inherit my parent's collection, which is heavy in ecclesiastical art (16th-18th century) and far too many English "hunt" paintings - my father jokingly refers to one room as "the death room" since it's hung entirely with English paintings of dogs carrying pheasants or mauled foxes... none of which interests me. That's where estate sales come in, another excellent venue for finding treasures on the cheap!)

I do think it's rather wonderful to live around art; a good collection can be the "soul" of a house. When I was a child, my father had an abstract hanging in his study - about 4' by 6' - and it always intrigued me. One day he revealed that it was a fragment of a larger work: he'd attended a party in San Francisco in the mid 60s, and they'd gotten drunk and laid a big canvas on the floor, splashed paint upon it, and then took turns riding a bicycle around on it... later sectioning the painting for each partygoer to have a piece. Now, my father is a major prankster and teller of imagined stories, but I was completely delighted to have the history of this painting which I saw nearly every day. That's the power of original art over, say, a framed print from Pottery Barn - it has a story and a soul, rather like another inhabitant of the house.

DH


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

^ A thoughtful and illuminating post. :thumbs-up:


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## LordSmoke (Dec 25, 2012)

We have a couple of early pieces of Blue Sky dating back to his starving hippy artist days. The last I checked, he had opened a gallery in California and added a 0 to the price of his work.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Sky_(artist)

And we have a couple very small pieces by my friend's wife who does these insanely detailed paper cuttings. I know one day I will read that she has snapped and my friend will have been killed by a million stab wounds from a tiny pair if scissors.

https://bieler-beerli.com/main/

Hmm, and I just noticed a series of watercolors of Isernia, Italy where I taught once - a gift from a student I helped.

And that reminds me I try to purchase street art of buildings at any University or museum I visit.

So, I guess the answer to the original question is Yes.

I had always intended to buy "nicer" pieces eventually, but now that I can afford them, I have the sense that any significant investment in a durable product is really just a purchase for some younger relative. So, I don't.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

You could, of course, have a stab at painting your own canvasses. It is much easier than you may imagine:


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## LordSmoke (Dec 25, 2012)

Is that an original Shaver? Very nice. I am reminded now that I once dabbled and was even a fine arts major for a while. My brother has some of my work on his walls. I was rather impressed by my own work when I last visited him. Alas, producing art implies an investment in time, which is in extremely limited supply for me. I have, however, considered giving the Pollock style a try someday.



Shaver said:


> You could, of course, have a stab at painting your own canvasses. It is much easier than you may imagine:
> 
> View attachment 15368


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

Sorry, I don't mean to sound like the snob that I am. 

Also, I do live around a lot of great art. The world-renowned school of art on the University of Iowa campus is practically in my back yard. Over the years, I've known students who have come and gone on to become great artists, and some of the profs. I wouldn't say, anyway, that I could really afford to own any of their art, however. 

I just feel like I have particular tastes. Most of what I see for sale at prices I could afford in local art shows and such doesn't strike my fancy. But that doesn't mean I would not buy "unknown" art if I saw something I liked and could afford.


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## orange fury (Dec 8, 2013)

I am not an artist by any stetch of the imagination- however, I have a very fond appreciation for the arts. I personally have no desire to own prints or reproductions of famous pieces. However, Mrs OF and I have been saving up to purchase pieces created by local artists- I have a rule of never paying full price for anything, but art is the one exception (if someone put their time, energy, and soul into creating something, I'm not going to short them). There's a fantastic local coffee shop by my office that I frequent that has pieces for sale on display, we intend to start purchasing some of them. 

Interesting story: I walked out of my office into the atrium of our building last week to find a full multi-floor gallery with the artists displaying and selling their work, in addition to a complimentary wine bar and hors d'oeuvres- walking straight from work into an art gallery was a pretty nice way to end the day.


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## LordSmoke (Dec 25, 2012)

orange fury said:


> ...I personally have no desire to own prints or reproductions of famous pieces...


+1 would rather have pleasing student art.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

LordSmoke said:


> Is that an original Shaver? Very nice. I am reminded now that I once dabbled and was even a fine arts major for a while. My brother has some of my work on his walls. I was rather impressed by my own work when I last visited him. Alas, producing art implies an investment in time, which is in extremely limited supply for me. I have, however, considered giving the Pollock style a try someday.


It is an original Shaver, and thank you for the compliment.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^

Clearly Shaver, you are as adept/gifted with use of the canvas and associated tints as you are with the use of the written word You are very talented on many fronts, my friend! :thumbs-up:


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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

A few years ago my wife and I invested in a Chagall lithograph. That's our only real work of "fine art". 

There are alternatives to having reproductions of works. If you scrounge around, you can find antique architectural renderings that you can frame yourself. We have done this before and found pieces for $5 that could easily sell for $$$ at high end home furnishing galleries. 

Also, antique maps, post cards, etc. All are original and you can avoid the "poster" look on your walls. That assumes, of course, that such things are in keeping with your particular tastes.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

I honestly don't see a thing wrong with prints and reproductions as long as they are mounted and framed nicely, matted if appropriate, and as long as one doesn't pretend they are more than what they are. To me they are art in their own right, and they offer an affordable egalitarian option for displaying art that one enjoys. I frame ours in black, silver, or gold finish metal gallery frames, matted if they're smaller, or alone if larger. No glass or plastic over them. They serve their purpose.

At the same time, I am certainly not opposed to buying student art or local art. Not in the least.

The trouble around here is something that seems a little counter-intuitive (word choice?). The university is full of great faculty artists. Some of the MFA students and even some undergrads are pretty good, in their own right. But access to the really good stuff by these people is limited by the incredibly high prices they ask for their art (they know they're good and that they have a solid reputation through association with our art school, etc.) and even by keeping their work off the market and only for display in galleries. So much of the truly great stuff by these artists is beyond reach.

At the same time, this is the kind of place that inspires everyone and his dog to make art, so the stuff you might see hanging on the local cafe by local non-art school people is pretty bad stuff.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

I missed out on this a few years back: https://www.thegazette.com/2011/02/...on-pollock-mural-to-fund-student-scholarships


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## Dhaller (Jan 20, 2008)

It's true that framing itself is an art, and in many cases, the frame is a major part of the price (a couple of years ago I snapped up a series of twelve lithographs in Takayama, Japan for about ten bucks a piece... and then spent $150 on each one getting them framed! My wife scolded me for that one.)

I'd say by the time a student is in a prestigious MFA program, they know the value of their work, so it's going to go high (not overpriced, just... high). As I hinted at earlier, I tend to get to know the artists I buy personally, and buying outside the gallery system can easily divide a price in half; after that, much depends on how the artist is pricing their work (by size? time?)

I'm actually waiting on an illustration now which is coming via barter - an artist friend came to me with a Japanese camera, asking if I could help him use it (all the menus are in Japanese), so I arranged to have someone translate all the menu screens. The fee (which he suggested - I was going to handle the translation for free) is a decent-sized (11x14?) surrealist illustration which I'll hang in my office.

I will say you certainly can't really go out and "go shopping" for art; it's more personal, like buying a house or looking at a private school. I used to go to gallery openings a lot, and then the afterparties with the gallery people and artists (a friend of mine, Chassie Post, opened a gallery in Atlanta *just to have parties* when she was barely out of her teens... but it got me (still in grad school at the time) plugged in to Atlanta's "network"!)... in other words, you have to position yourself, OR you have to pay the "chump" prices.

Or, again, work the odd gallery visit into travel. If it helps, Kinshasa has a vibrant art scene (as well as their wonderful "La Sape" trend, for the sartorial connection), and is a great way to start a collection! The mighty dollar, as they say (especially now!) I assume South America must be plastered in art, though I never seem to go there.

Finally - an area I haven't really examined yet - maybe look into online art communities? They must exist (sorry I can't recommend one)? If I were a remotely-located artist, I'd certainly leverage EBay, Etsy, etc.

DH


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

Yep, I'm not on any inside track with artists these days, so I'd have to pay chump prices. But yes, I agree, it is personal. At the same time, I really dig having that framed Rothko poster above the stereo system, the Raoul Dufy poster in the dining room, and the like, things that everyone has seen and would recognize, something commonplace and cheap and yet made mine by how I frame it, where I display it, etc.

I saw something a friend has, recently, something that sounds tacky but actually looks nice on her wall. She framed the Beatles photos from the white album (themselves merely cheap reproductions inside reproduced packaging for reproduced music) and had them nicely matted all together under glass and a nice frame. It was pleasant: familiar, yet personalized through choice of matting and frame, and elevated a bit as a separate work of art in itself. 

I may appropriate the idea.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^

If something hanging on our wall(s) catches our attention and engages/stimulates our senses to the point we experience a sense of pleasure, to my mind it is art. That threshold is different for each of us and so it should be, making life more interesting for all of us.



Dhaller said:


> It's true that framing itself is an art, and in many cases, the frame is a major part of the price (a couple of years ago I snapped up a series of twelve lithographs in Takayama, Japan for about ten bucks a piece... and then spent $150 on each one getting them framed! My wife scolded me for that one.)
> .........
> 
> 
> > Frankly I think many framing shops have gone somewhat nuts with their pricing. A while back I had our grandson's Black Belt Certificate in Karate and a picture of him receiving it framed for him. The most competitive price we could find to get the work done was just under $350...that's a little crazy in my book!


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## Dhaller (Jan 20, 2008)

A fun thing I saw recently (speaking of appropriating ideas) in a friend's "man cave" (here in the USA, that's a splendidly finished basement with game tables, an improbably large television, a bar, overstuffed leather furniture, and no women) was vintage game boards (Monopoly, Scrabble, etc) which had been framed and hung on the wall. He has a penchant for board games (he's an executive in the video game industry), so it's very fitting. Personal, clever, and cheap: the magical trifecta of decorating.

I actually have an equation I "discovered" many years ago hung on the wall of my office - my wife had the derivation and resultant equation written out in calligraphy, and surprised me with it a few years ago. I was moved, delighted, and impressed. I normally am not a fan of having a bunch of framed credentials hung on the wall (a la physicians and attorneys), but the fact that my fully-innumerate wife could pull it off, well... how can I refuse!

Now that I have a three year old daughter, I expect a fair amount of "early work" to start migrating onto the walls as well; I already have a framed crayon drawing of a (mostly pink) castle at hand. More to follow, I'm sure!

DH


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

Became a supporting Walker Art Center member this week. We go up there enough that we'll get some perks, but I also feel good about supporting this wonderful place. It used to be a routine day-off hangout for me back in the time I lived in Minneapolis.


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