WHY exactly IM doing my ART degree???

Hello, my self-reflection, haven’t been paying attention to this blog for a while. My life is so chaotic – consisting of two jobs, uni work, household, there is just never enough time for me to write something here as well.

As I am approaching deadline fast there is so much to do, and I can feel the pressure rising, but in the meantime, I wanted to discuss what happened in the art world just recently and it makes me more questioning – WHY exactly IM doing my ART degree???

Two very different but significant paintings have been sold on auction houses lately~

Nr 1 – An artwork created by Paris-based art collective Obvious using AI (artificial intelligence) - has been sold at Christie's auction house in New York for nearly half a million dollars. Therefore, making Christies the first auction house to put an artwork generated by an algorithm under the hammer.

Nr 2 - "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)"  - an iconic 1972 painting by British artist David Hockney been sold for $90.3million at Christies taking  the highest price ever paid at auction for a work by a living artist. Hockney's previous auction record was $28.4million 

The seller or the successful bidder left unknown…

 

Neither of artworks is to my liking, but if to be honest I would rather spend money for AI project as its first of its kind. I don’t have anything against David Hockney’s work, but common- let’s be honest, it does not worth 90m. This kind a sale can only indicate on sensible cover up in money loundering business. 

It’s not a news flash that art auction might appear to be a glamorous hidden world where highbrow art lovers meet some of the richest collectors in the world. But the truth is the art market is a "hotbed" of corruption- simplify, rich people passing money around and its nothing to do how good or bad painting is. Dealers are known to use the auction system to artificially inflate prices, planting an accomplice to bid against clients and ramp up the final price…. WHERE important works sometimes sold at a private price significantly lower than the sum announced publicly, the headline-catching public price boosting the status of the artist for future sales – in this case living artist.

For me it’s hard to understand how its seems normal to majority of people and why no one objects.

These two sales leave me wondering why exactly I’m doing art degree - is there a future for us arty  individuals … I’m not sure… as to succeed there is price to be paid….

All credits to sources bellow:

https://www.dezeen.com/2018/10/29/christies-ai-artwork-obvious-portrait-edmond-de-belamy-design/
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/david-hockney-painting-90-million-auction-record/index.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/02/art-world-is-hotbed-of-corruption-collector-claims/

Banksy painting self-destructs after selling for over $1 million

 (YouTube, 2018)

“Going, going, gone...” (Sky News, 2018)

I am a bit behind with all my posts, but just wanted to note that I’m learning about Visual communication and all aspects what comes within. 

VISCOM is one of the most important ways for people to communicate and share information or rise an attention, like all favourite here Banksy.

So, I thought - that was the funniest moments in auction history, so would be rude not to share it.

The anonymous street artist posted a video on Instagram showing Girl with a Balloon being sliced into strips at a Sotheby’s auction.

He claimed that the preparations were carried out “a few years ago” and defended the stunt with a quote from Picasso: “The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.” (The Independent, 2018)

Visual Metaphors, at their finest. It can be the most powerful forms of communication. They are made when a subject is portrayed in relation to another unrelated subject or context. These visual metaphors are all around us. They are found in the most memorable and witty advertising campaigns and political cartoons. In the case of Banksy, they are also very effective in street art. (Scott Jensen Design, 2018)

Banksy is an artist that has mastered the use of visual metaphors – visual communication. That alone has pushed him above others in his field. 

There are lot of theories and suggestions, what he really trying to say, but one is for sure his visual communication with people reached another level at Sotheby’s auction.

Source:

Scott Jensen Design. (2018). Banksy & the Visual Metaphor | Scott Jensen Design. [online] Available at: http://scottjensen.design/2010/08/banksy-the-visual-metaphor/ [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].

Sky News. (2018). Going, going, gone... Banksy shows how he did it. [online] Available at: https://news.sky.com/video/16-9-video-banksy-shredded-001mp4-11520423 [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].

The Independent. (2018). Banksy explains why and how he destroyed artwork that had just been sold for £1m. [online] Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/banksy-explains-prank-shredded-girl-with-balloon-sothebys-auction-a8572956.html [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].

YouTube. (2018). Banksy painting self-destructs after selling for over $1 million. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-grdlU12Dw&t=2s [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].