Art & Object Fall Fair 2024

BEYOND THE BASICS

The Tourist Trap All this being said, it is important to note that not all multiples are creat ed equal. Exhibit A: the sale of graph ic art at commercial galleries found in shopping centers and cruise ships. You’ve likely seen these and have had the following thoughts: Wow, is that a real Miro? An affordable Dalí? A Picasso print, right in front of me and for the tak ing? What’s the deal with these pieces? This is where the term “original” gets thrown around a bit loosely. Many of these graphic works are giclées, which are essentially high-quality inkjet prints, or else serigraphs, a kind of screen print. These works are mechan ically mass-produced in editions to the tune of multiple thousands. Such huge runs mean that if an artist was involved in the process of their creation—and this is a big “if”—then they might sim ply sign the work after completion, or even just nod in its general direction. In short, a giclée might or might not be considered original, its value is prob ably rather low, and there are likely hundreds of identical works floating around the globe. Investment-worthy? No. Unique? No again. “They don’t have the same esteem, value, and intention in the artist’s practice,” says Califor nia-based multimedia artist Carolyn Janssen. But that does not mean that there isn’t a place for these gussied-up posters. If you like a work of art on a purely aesthetic level and are not using it to boost your investment portfolio, feel free to purchase it. But if you are concerned about the quality of the art work, the proposed sale price, or the sales experience itself, set down that glass of complimentary sparkling wine and walk away. Let’s Talk About New Media If there has been a seismic disruption to the art world in the last decade, it is the emergence of new media, particularly the popularity of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), digital prints, and AI-assisted imagery. These works, created entirely through digital processes, and some times in part by digital entities, chal lenge the art world’s notions of unique-

This is a common, if outdated, assump tion. Try this mindset instead: multi ples are more collectible because they are less expensive. From a financial standpoint, opting for multiples is a way to collect original works of art at lower prices than you would pay for a one-off painting, sculp ture, or even a drawing. It is thus one of the most accessible avenues for bur geoning collectors, enabling a collector who is not stratospherically wealthy to own a Banksy without breaking

the bank. An art enthusiast might not be able to drop anything close to the record-setting amount paid for Jeff Koons’s 1986 stainless steel sculpture, Rabbit ($91 million in 2019, with ver sions at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Broad Art Founda tion in Los Angeles, and the Nation al Museum of Qatar). But Koons’s 11-inch porcelain Balloon Rabbit , pro duced in a limited edition of 999, can be acquired for a relative bargain price of $25,000.

AFFORDABLE ART 101

Fernand Léger, Femme au miroir, lithograph, 1952.

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Art&Object | Fall 2024