The end of post-modernism and why paintings and sculpture are the best art investment.
Economic turmoil
With the world of art and the economic situation in turmoil in 2010 it seems that once more people are turning to artists who use the traditional medium of paint on canvas. Art is not just about money, but people do like something that not only appeals to them visually and emotionally but has a real tangible value.
Conceptual art is no investment
For a long time the world of contemporary art has been dominated by conceptually pieces and ephemeral art that often panders to the throw away culture of the last century. While some concept art gets created into something solid, much of it remains just a idea. With the advent of the 21st centuries dwindling natural resources and wide spread Internet use, it seems many factors are pushing toward taking contemporary painters and sculptors back to the heights they once held.
Digital Art and Downloadable Content?
The Internet and digital distribution has been a double edged sword. For those who were told that digital would be the way forward, many have been surprised by how difficult it is to sell digital work outside the world of advertising and graphic design. The trouble is that in our Internet world digital is so easily copied, reproduced, redistributed and given away. While great for the facebook generation, and highly creative, it allows art to be free to all, but because of this it's value is almost zero. A butterfly of an idea, that lives for its brief moment and dies almost as quickly. A great way to advertise, but the art is always throw away.
The End of Post-Modernism?
Conceptual art, and the art that is only art because of it's location (unmade bed in a gallery), have been the main stay of many real world contemporary art scene, but have often been truly understood by the masses. They cannot own it, they cannot sometimes even see it (empty rooms) and it certainly often has no tangible substance that will last beyond a life time, and sometime till the end of the exhibit. Rotting sharks and unmade beds, don't leave much behind in even 20 years. This art is essentially of the moment, and fit very well with the ethos of the last century when consuming was the goal of the post modernist.. Only concepts that make it to be solid have any chance of having any long term value.
Owning Something Real
In this 21st Century Contemporary painters and sculptors are the ones producing actual tangible original art. Real objects that retain a value in that they are the only ones of their kind in the world. Almost everything in this modern age is built by machines or exists only as streams of data online. Real contemporary painters now create some of the only things of any true value. This contemporary work won't need upgraded to painting 2.0 next year, it won't be lost in the memories of some art space on one evening. Paintings and sculptor have staying power, they remain for many many years.
Money Has Declining Value
In the current climate where keeping money in a bank or stock market no longer seems like a safe bet, buying a contemporary painting suddenly seems like the smart thing to do. You actually get something that no one else owns, you can see what you have and it never stops being a painting. The contemporary artists work suits this age. Most importantly owning a contemporary painting means you get to enjoy your wealth every day. It's a solid investment, in something you can see and show to others. Arguable also far more interesting than gold, a certainly more interesting than numbers on a bank balance that could vanish tomorrow when the bank goes bust or the stock market crashes.
Finally.
When buying art, only buy what you love. If you don't value it for anything more than it potential investment, no one else will either. It's really very simple. A piece of art is worth what its worth because more than one person wants to own it. The less you want to re-sell a painting the more valuable it really is. If you have to own it, because it must be yours, then it becomes more valuable than money anyway.