Last week Tracy Emin's "Unmade Bed" sold for £2.2m ....
I can't help but think that if you have more sense you would probably want to spend your money on something much more pleasant that you can actually hang on your wall and enjoy. I get that if you're mega rich you might want to demonstrate this by investing in objects with notoriety but you might also want to spread some of your wealth in areas that are more deserving.
Whilst I'm very pleased for Tracy and happy that Saatchi made a profit on his £150k investment I can't help but think that spread around £2.2m could have done a lot more good to hard working artists trying to make a living without the backing of Saatchi or the patronage of the very rich.
I often toy with the idea of producing one piece of work and pricing it so high it seems to the majority to be ridiculously priced but so far I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. The most expensive piece in my gallery - simonsgallery.com - is £3750 and this is a painting of The Great Wave of Kanagawa. taking 5 weeks to complete I think I'm probably under pricing myself too. I like my art to transform a room and yes it can be controvertial but mostly it enhances how you feel about the world and your environment.
I don't resent other artist's success and good fortune and if you're wealthy beyond most peoples comprehension good luck to you, but I think it's a sad comment on society now that there are people so rich, where money means so little to them and they can pay £2.2m for an unmade bed! Surely there are worthier causes, it seems to me to be less about art and more about money and PR..... personally I think it demonstrates bad taste.
I can't help but think that if you have more sense you would probably want to spend your money on something much more pleasant that you can actually hang on your wall and enjoy. I get that if you're mega rich you might want to demonstrate this by investing in objects with notoriety but you might also want to spread some of your wealth in areas that are more deserving.
Whilst I'm very pleased for Tracy and happy that Saatchi made a profit on his £150k investment I can't help but think that spread around £2.2m could have done a lot more good to hard working artists trying to make a living without the backing of Saatchi or the patronage of the very rich.
I often toy with the idea of producing one piece of work and pricing it so high it seems to the majority to be ridiculously priced but so far I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. The most expensive piece in my gallery - simonsgallery.com - is £3750 and this is a painting of The Great Wave of Kanagawa. taking 5 weeks to complete I think I'm probably under pricing myself too. I like my art to transform a room and yes it can be controvertial but mostly it enhances how you feel about the world and your environment.
I don't resent other artist's success and good fortune and if you're wealthy beyond most peoples comprehension good luck to you, but I think it's a sad comment on society now that there are people so rich, where money means so little to them and they can pay £2.2m for an unmade bed! Surely there are worthier causes, it seems to me to be less about art and more about money and PR..... personally I think it demonstrates bad taste.
real art direct from the artist
