Why Buy Original Art?
Modern technology permits the mass manufacture of high quality reproductions of two-dimensional artwork in virtually any medium or style at extremely low cost. From a distance of a few feet, a reproduction hanging over the sofa looks quite similar to the original. So who's to know and what's the difference, anyway? Aren't limited edition serigraphs, lithographs, and giclee prints sort of like originals? Aren't they valuable collector editions that will appreciate in value?
Well, perhaps.....but it's not likely. Small limited edition reproductions of the work of certain artists may have some intrinsic collector's value, but most do not. Many so-called limited editions are produced in runs of several thousand images or more, which the artist sits down and signs in great stacks. Only the proofs are reviewed by the artist for a reasonable color match. The artist retains the copyright to the original piece, and is free to contract with the printer to produce future "editions" as the market potential of a particular image warrants. As a practical matter, the actual value of most prints is simply what they are worth to the purchaser.
A piece of original art, on the other hand, is a unique expression of the artist's thoughts and emotions as inspired by his or her subject. The work is crafted by hand of elemental materials, directly reflecting the artist's technical skill in rendering that expression. An original piece is truly a one-of-a-kind object, which could only have been created at a specific time and place by one set of hands. If the work resonates beauty or in some way strikes a chord with a viewer, a very personal kind of communication occurs. Its an interchange that transcends time and even the deaths of the artist and the original purchaser. Just go to any major museum and watch the faces of those who have traveled hundreds of miles to communicate very personally with Monet, Vermeer, Degas, or Rembrandt.
People who buy original art are the same ones who prefer live theater to television, freshly ground coffee to instant, live concerts to CDs, and living gardens to plastic plants. They like their baseball in person, outdoors, and on real grass.
So, when you see a piece of original art you like, buy it, take it home, and enjoy it! In the midst of our increasingly homogenous and mass-produced world, you are in for a real experience!
