People always ask why I love art so much…why did you move across the world to study it. Why are you so moved by it? Answering this question is rather difficult but I will try my best.
Art for me is priceless. Art makes me feel full, alive, sad, helps me better understand the human condition but most of all encourages me to feel. That may sound completely outrageous and somewhat over exaggerated. The truth is, Art should and can be that experiential for everyone, it should make you feel, make you want and help you gain perspective. Art speaks many languages, it welcomes interpretation and best of all has no distinct definition.
Take a moment and look around your home, each and everything you have chosen to decorate your personal space has been created by an artist. Someone in this world designed that stool, that pencil, that toothbrush, that sculpture, that painting and so on. You have in your home a piece of intelligence that isn’t yours, it’s someone else’s creation that you received as a gift, inherited from a family member or purchased. We are all artists of our own lives; we design, create and surround ourselves with things which help to put our thoughts and personalities in to 3 dimensional objects.
Art is priceless because it is the purest form of creation, like literature it tells a story that is uninterrupted and ever changing. If art is priceless how can it be sold worldwide for millions of dollars a year? How can a self portrait of Andy Warhol sell at Sotheby’s for $20 million USD? I suppose it’s the story behind the work, the history, the evolution of the artist and their struggle to be heard. Maybe it has to do with the fact they were working on pieces which were inspired by a different time. An artist’s instinctual spirit to create and ability to be heard brings the viewing audience back to their roots; it’s humbling. Art is an avenue for discussion, conflict and can even silence the loudest viewer. I think the artists works that sell for millions of dollars all have one thing in common; they created something worth having, displaying and studying; they will continue to tell a story far longer than we are here. Below are some of the most expensive artworks ever sold and then there are the artworks that remain priceless. Ask yourself which artist is more desirable and could you put a price on your favourite painting?
Andy Warhol 8 Elvises - Sold 2008 $ 100 million
