Art is Smart

So why do I feel so dumb?

If I go to museum and look at a piece that gives me absolutely no thrill, joy or understanding, yet it's worth $2.6 million dollars I do feel a bit dumb. What am I not getting?

This is the thought that goes through many people's minds. They feel that they are too dumb to appreciate art. And sometimes (gasp!) there is art that dumbs itself down so that people will buy it. While one can argue that there are many out there that are simply swapping artwork for profit and gain, the bottom line is that one should be passionate about artwork. Whatever role one plays in today's art market, the purist would hope that artwork has moved a person on an emotional level.

As a marketer who has not been academically trained in art,  but has worked in the art sphere of galleries and museums (Milwaukee Art Museum, The Bronx Museum of the Arts), my instinct with contemporary art is to find things that are easily relatable.  To help bring those that don't understand art to begin discovering good artwork. "Hey that's cool," or "Wow," or "this is interesting," is the response that I seek from consumers when they see artwork created by the artists I collaborate with.

I select artists based on the fact that in one or many of their pieces, there is commercial viability. I want to market artwork that inspires an instinctive response and that gets people excited. Yes, critical accolades plays an imperative role in the market, yet the current trend is to brand the artist/artwork in both the art and business world in a manner that never degrades or lowers the artists standards, rather, lines their pockets and increases the awareness of their viewpoint, talent and brand.

Now that's smart art.

Image: Bow (girl on beach) 2005 Enamel on wood. Arnie Arnold's Dripscape series