Art Paralysis

An article appeared in yesterday’s New York Times by Joyce Wadler about the anxiety of buying art. Ms. Wadler discusses (in a tongue-in-check albeit painfully true manner) the various reasons why a majority of people feel uncomfortable with the concept of buying original art. She calls it "Art Paralysis." Read the whole article here. Some excerpts:

Art paralysis: It is a widespread and often crippling malady, striking everyone from the new college grad in his or her first apartment to the super-rich banker, lasting anywhere from a few months to a lifetime. How many are affected is not known, perhaps because the victims are often too embarrassed to come forth. Who wants to admit that "I’ve had these posters since college, I know that as one of the American Top 10 Orthodontists I should get some real art, but I don’t know what that means"? Or that "It’s not that I’m trying to make a minimalist statement with these empty white walls, I just don’t know what to buy"? Or "I walk into those snooty galleries in Chelsea and feel like I just don’t belong"?

"If you are in the process of decorating a home, you know what the sofa costs; you have a good idea of what wallpaper costs," he said, but art is different. "People don’t like spending big numbers on things they don’t understand. They understand the boat, the fur, the car, but for lack of homework or lack of taste, they just don’t understand art."

Art paralysis takes many forms. In addition to the would-be buyers who are intimidated by galleries, there are those worried about making an unfashionable choice; those obsessed with investment value; and those who return to a gallery for months, even years, never buying a thing.

One major reason for art paralysis, many experts say, is the feeling that when buying art you are opening yourself to ridicule. "Art has always been a barometer of class," said Jonathan Santlofer, a Chelsea painter and novelist. "If you buy the wrong thing and people come to your house, you’re exposed."

I’d like to believe a visit to Migration would take the fear out of buying original art. I mean, other than getting barked at by Piper, our gallery dog, there should be nothing to fear at the gallery. Laura’s and my primary goal is to give prospective buyers the understanding and trust that what they are buying is both worth the money and right for their tastes.

Comments

[Barbara]

Hello, Rob:

I happened to read that same article in yesterday's New York Times. I was intrigued by several elements of the coverage, particularly the box listing where to find help. Surprisingly it included the value of attending art fairs and mentioned the Affordable Art Fair scheduled for New York June 12-15. Will Migration Gallery be exhibiting there?

Barbara

P.S. NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg reported this morning on the Los Angeles Art Fair. Seems as if art collecting and exhibiting is getting an increasing display in the major media. Now that is good news!