"Great Expectations" and the need to Create Value in one's artwork.

By (and printed here with the permission of) Malik Lloyd, Publisher of the Find Art Information Bank.

Attending a recent seminar, "Starting Your Own Art Collection" at the Smithsonian's Anacostia Museum and watching the film version of Charles Dickens' classic novel "Great Expectations" served as the impetus for this editorial. They got me thinking how the latest buzzword of "creating value" actually translates to an artist.

Serious collectors are spending inconceivable amounts of money on art. In 2003, the late Jean-Michel Basquiat's painting Profit I sold for a hefty $5 million at auction, placing him in an elite cadre of contemporary artists. While it is commonplace for Impressionist paintings to command tens of millions in today's market, the irony is most people did not think that they were worth the canvas on which they were painted during their day. It begs the larger question, how is value determined? In addition, who determines it? Artists? Collectors? How do art critics and curators fit into the equation?

As artists, we must ask ourselves a series of introspective questions: How does creating value affect me? Will the value of my artwork increase over time? How can I make this a reality? Is adding value to my artwork even something worth considering or will it take care of itself? Is adding value to one's artwork and marketing one's artwork one in the same? Does having wonderful artwork ensures you of having value applied to it?

How does an everyday artist create value, which may translate to how can an artist professionally establish themselves with a view to sell their work in today's marketplace?

In true Hollywood fashion, the movie "Great Expectations" shows Ethan Hawke as, an artist named, Finn, being rescued from his life as a fisherman with the promise of an exhibit in an exclusive New York gallery. Robert DeNiro's character, Luftig, is a criminal and thus, Finn's unlikely benefactor, has arranged an exhibition; rented an apartment to serve as his studio; has provided him with a new image-improving wardrobe; and paid for the show's marketing. To top it off, Luftig then purchases all the artwork in the show. Luftig's actions have led to creating value for Finn for he has raised his artistic profile and created a demand for his work. The concluding scene reveals that Finn has built upon this early success and has become an acclaimed artist.

Since most artists are not actors in a Hollywood movie, this notion of creating value is trickier. During the seminar, the speaker emphasized that an artist creates value by developing what the seminar speaker identified as a "solid " career path. The good news is all artists can do this by doing what comes naturally, e.g. becoming formally educated; receiving awards; participating in juried and museum shows; receiving commissions and making actual sales; and ultimately, having gallery representation.

The latter is key because it aids in documenting sales and many of the aforementioned components. Of course, the more prominent or exclusive the gallery, the better. For most artists, discipline, hard work, and time, lots of time, are the ingredients of creating a solid career path and therefore, value. Unfortunately, the expenditure of time and effort does not guarantee successful results. Some artists have raised the value of the their artwork more expeditiously both through their own direct efforts and being the fortunate object of art collectors' desires.

At the seminar's end, the speaker proposed his own Hollywood scenario of how art collectors can create value for a particular artist regardless of the solidness of his/her career path. He simply stated, "If everyone present [at the seminar] purchased a particular artist's work, the value of his/her work would most likely rise."

This very scenario sheds light on the role of individuals, in particular collectors, no matter how serious, can affect an artist's commercial success. Orson Wells once said "people know the price of everything and the value of nothing." Yet, these same "people" could very well determine the value of our artwork. Far be it for me to "say," but perhaps people, price and value share a more intimate relationship than we ever imagined.

Malik M. Lloyd

Opportunity for Photographers in London...

Deadline: August 26, 2004.

Re-Focus Now in the UK is inviting entries for Originate 2004 returning for it's 2nd successive year. Last years winning entries can be viewed online here.

This competition is open to all areas of creative media to interpret the theme 'ORIGINATE' and support the promotion of talent within the fields of digital imaging, photography, painting, sculpture and mixed media. Final deadline 26th August.

The selected winning entries will be showcased in their stall at ON THE WALL at Olympia in London 29th September - 03 October 2004. They are stall A16.

For entry forms and guidelines on this competition e-mail info@refocus-now.co.uk with ORIGINATE 2004 in the subject line

In Baltimore today; will post some good stuff later in the day. Visit again.

I've been asked by Baltimore's Gallery International to jury and select their first ever All-Media Competition and Show, which will run from September 2nd through the 24th, 2004, with an opening reception on Thursday, September 2nd, from 6-8pm.

So I'll be in Baltimore tomorrow looking at around a thousand slides... more on that later.

Dr. Claudia Rousseau, who is an internationally renowed art critic, and who recently moved to our area from Latin America, writes a superb review of David Wallace at Gallery Neptune in Bethesda.

One of the great assets of the Greater DC area visual arts scene is the significant number of alternative spaces that offer up their walls to show artwork.

At any given time in our area, by the time you add up all the independently owned fine arts commercial galleries, all the independently run non-profit art galleries, all the city or county funded non profit art galleries, all the cultural art centers, all the embassy galleries, all the college galleries and all the alternative art spaces, there are well over 200 venues in our area that regularly show visual art.

Considering the size of the area that we describing, that is a large number of spaces, which on a monthly basis offer up artwork for viewing, sale and enjoyment. Mostly ignored by the media - which in our area focuses most of their cultural attention on movies, music and theatre - they nonetheless continue to add to the cultural tapestry of Washington, DC.

You read it here first: Jessica Dawson, who has been writing the Washington Post's "Galleries" column for the last few years, will now only be writing the column every other week due to other writing commitments.

Glenn Dixon, who used to be the Arts Editor at the Washington City Paper until a few years ago, and then became the City Paper's ad hoc art critic will now write the "Galleries" column the rest of the time.

Two reviews a month from Jessica and two reviews a month from Glenn... I hope that Jessica gives Dixon a map to where all the galleries in Washington are located.

P.S. - By the way, Dawson's review last week of Carrie Mae Weems at G Fine Art was excellent. In case you missed it, read it here.