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You have probably heard the story, Picasso sits in a cafe minding his own business. All of the sudden he is approached by a stranger who asks him to draw on a napkin. Without any hesitation he starts to draw, when finished he hands it to the stranger but only if they pay a lot of money. The stranger refuses, asking why when it took so little time. Which to Picasso replied “It took me 40 years”. What does this story tell us about the art markets, and could this be done by anyone?
The answer is both yes and no, a lesser known artist could do the same thing but if this would be a success or not, is a completely different story. You see, if the artist behind a art piece has a high popularity, it will lead people to add more value to the art. And in a art market this “value” is important. The reason for this, is because art markets are defined by what participants are involved, and what art is being exchanged. If we look at art markets in a “Industrial networks” approach, we will find four markets and look at their differences.
Let us take a look at the “Junk art market”, to see what makes it stand out from the other markets. In this market, prices tend to be low. The reason behind this, is because the goods are viewed as tradeable. Popularity tend to not have a big role in this market, and instead the art will become inferior and more of a decorative piece. This creates a challenge for new artists, many choose to not pursue their dreams about becoming an artist because the risk of falling into this category is too high. They would rather want to be in the “Avant-Garde art market” or “Alternative art market”, because here you could make a profit. However, does exchange necessarily have to be about money?
The answer is no, art does not have to be about money. Art can be non profitable, where the exchange could be culturale. This is what happens in the “Avant-Garde art market”, here is where museums belong and more exclusive art finds place. Apart from the “Alternative market” where the market is in a lower national level and have less exclusive art. These two markets are similar in a way where they can be controlled, where for example the gallerist decides what can be in the “Alternative Market”. This also creates challenge, you may have heard the saying “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”, well what if the art that does not make it to this market is more beautiful than they think?
Throughout history this has been the case, where artists have not been completely discovered before their deaths. However, there is an art market where the market is on a international level and the artists lives in the same time, the “Branded art market”. This is where strong brands are achieved.
Making sense of art and design industries 