Part 1: Why You Should Buy Art
Author: Nikita Kosmin
“Life is too dismal and too tragic in the absence of the sublime”.
Jordan Peterson
Perhaps you're an art connoisseur or someone who deals in art, which means you’re a part of a secret club (no worries, you’ll still find relevant and interesting content in this article, or at least have a good laugh at us neophytes trying to figure out what your game is).
Or.. you wonder, as 99.9% of people do, why some art is so expensive. Does it actually have value? If so, why was it that when Banksy's work was displayed on the streets of London without a name tag, it found almost no buyers all day?
Good question.
Below we tried to answer it in the form of a list, and made it laconic as we could. We’re keeping in mind that there are a lot of reasons: we assume that each buyer of an $800,000,000 painting had 800,000,000 of them, and you probably don’t want to read a list that long. So we went with 4 in Part 1, and even fewer in Part 2.
Appreciation of the actual quality
Some works of art don't look like much no matter how much you look at them, but if you look at the Mona Lisa, for example, you’ll discover many layers of paint and many ways to use brushstrokes and to represent light falling on surfaces and reflecting and intertwining. It's actually incredibly difficult to do. It just doesn't look like it at first glance. And it takes a lot of mastery. Which is why the price tag.
Here's an example. How can a sculptor use just a hammer to create immaculate, smooth, and extremely lifelike cascades of scarves and togas flowing in the wind? Does that even seem humanly possible?
Another example is the human brain. Scientists once tried to build a computer that would perform the same number of calculations per second (just to emulate one of its capabilities), and it took six 18-wheel trucks to get it from one place to another. How ingenious did someone have to be to put all that into a box in your brain that's no bigger than your finger and so sensitive that it stops working when you pick it up? And yet everything you've ever done, dreamed, said and done is stored there. Does that seem like a difficult thing to do?
Well, it's the same with art.
Diversification
Another reason that's quite obvious is diversification. The increase in the value of art easily beats inflation, which is a good reason in itself, but what about diversifying?
Wouldn't it make sense to have some of your money in a bank, but also some under the floorboards in case the banks fail, and some in cryptocurrencies in case fiat currency fails, and some in gold in case cash fails, and some in art?
Art is a very good way to plan ahead (as are water and oxygen tanks, but it all depends on what kind of future you envision for yourself and the next generation).
Represent your culture
This is actually 3 in 1: have something to boast about, support conversation at the dinner table, and promote your heritage - so why shouldn't you do it?
Art that represents your culture is always an interesting reason to have a conversation: the truth is that most of us are hopelessly locked into a pretty narrow worldview, and learning about other parts of the world is inexplicably and endlessly interesting. People always find other nationalities interesting. Because they are!
It's wildly interesting to explain who you're as part of your people, and to give your friends something valuable to take away, and good times are had by all in intercultural conversations. And it's all because of a Pollock. Nice.
Earning
Experienced art dealers make a lot of money trading art, from hundreds to millions a day. It's a great way to make a living!
Problem though: trading classic art requires a huge amount of startup capital (ow!), and technology is still the biggest equalizer. NFTs have made it possible to get into the game traditionally reserved for high-rollers by buying cheap NFTs or getting them for free and then profiting from a price spike.
The only catch is: now that panic buying and frantic sales are over, only valuable NFTs based on real substance and value remain. That's why we believe the only way forward is ArtChips. Learn more and secure your crypto art before the next manic phase begins!
You can familiarize yourself with ArtChips here.
Sound interesting? Got some inspiring ideas? Definitely check out part 2!