Why do people buy art? And what makes us "like" one piece more than another?
I have no idea how to answer these questions, but I might be able to provide a little insight into why I buy certain pieces...
1. Emotional connection
2. It's got to be "right"
3. Will I still love it in the morning?
4. The price
5. The seller
Firstly I tend to buy pieces with which I have an emotional attachment. Indeed, I can probably give you a list of at least ten pieces I've seen over the past few years in Ted Few's gallery that I still feel attached to, even though they might be a) too expensive or b) too big to fit into our little flat. The feeling I get when I see a piece, the feeling I get when I look at it, touch it, feel it... is what drives my purchases. For example, I remember going to Olympia last Spring and seeing a small black shape, almost hidden away in the bottom left corner of a bookcase on Ted's stand. I had no idea what it was. But it interested me immediately, and I knew I had to pick it up.
It turned out to be a 15th C obsidian pendant in the shape of a (shoveller?) duck. It was basicly carved, almost rudimentary in style, but still a fine piece of carving. It obviously had some significance to the carver, and probably to others, and it felt jusr "right" when I picked it up...
To be continued
Categories: Life, Art
