Value and Art: The Inseparable Relationship

The Price of Everything (Kahn, 2018) discusses contemporary art as the commercial value of luxury rather than profit. Over time the value of a contemporary art piece reflects the pleasure it brings into the art world. Artwork that increases with its value reflects a proportional relationship between the buyer and the artist. The luxury occupies the beauty because luxury becomes a value of beauty that both the buyer and artist share together. Berger relates this belief by recognizing that “every image embodies a way of seeing.” (Berger, 10). How the artist and the buyer value the art places a luxury that only an appreciation can compromise from one’s perspective.

Art should be ethically accountable for the value of the artist who’s genius becomes a product of bidding and trading. The value of an artwork becomes the goal for any artist and the bidders (i.e. geniuses) recognize their artworks by collecting the artwork of the same metaphors. What I mean by this, is that an artist must value their own individual work that becomes a luxury incomparable to any artwork a “genius” collects. The art world, as mentioned in the documentary, is a capitalist environment, and luxury replaces profit. Profit becomes the idea for bidders, luxury becomes the idea for the artists, but value becomes the idea for both parties.

I think it’s important to remember that capitalism shapes the art world because art, as mentioned by Larry Poons, has become “lobby art.” “Perspective makes the single eye the center of the visible world” (Berger, 16), from this viewpoint there is a separable relation between value and art from the bidder and the artist. The value of an artist establishes a luxury incomparable to the “dirty money” that a bidder considers profit because an artist’s artwork is unique.

Blog Entry 3

“American Autobahn” by Marco Barrera, October 2019

Marco Barrera completed this artwork in 2019 called “American Autobahn.” I selected this piece of art because it reminded me of the earliest periods of human history. I love history and seeing this artwork dating to an age of engravings sparked my interest. I developed an immediate likeness in this painting because it expanded my historical understanding. I learned that as humans, we choose to remember the things that interest us, and we develop a form of understanding that others agree or disagree with.

I find this artwork unique because it relates to Kant’s The Satisfaction in the Good Is Bound Up with Interest (S4., p. 283-284).Kant uses the good as an example of what pleases and brings satisfaction. Namely, Kant believes that the Good exists in the concepts that we gain from understanding for it creates the highest level of interest. Another concept gained from this artwork is the Pleasant, which gratifies the short response rather than the satisfaction of the longer response, which is the Good.

I could not find an immediate response to Kant’s theory from this excerpt, but I believe that the Good in the texture is the form of human thought. When Mr. Barrera created this artwork, it is possible to imagine that he focused on the long-term thought of human reasoning. With a short response, we only gain a small understanding of the form of an object with interest. Kant believes that a person who develops a long response opens different forms of an object. This artwork including the numbers and lines creates different understandings that no other person will ever have with exact meanings. This becomes the Good that Kant expresses when distinguishing something of understanding and appreciation.

Critiques would argue that this painting lacks a purpose without meaning. Some historians display high bias that would place this painting as a blank block of wood with scribbles. These people could use Kant’s argument of the Pleasant vs the Good and place this artwork under a category of the Pleasant. While it may appear good to someone like me, one could depict the artwork as something that gratifies a person’s immediate interest and only appears pleasant rather than having any meaning of the Good. The artwork requires no long-term understanding but a small understanding because the artwork lacks depth. My response would claim that the artist, Marco Barrera, uses the wood as the beginning of anything that requires a long-term thought of the process. This process from my understanding of Kant illustrates the Good that exists from history that has brought us to where we are today in society.

Blog Entry 2: Art Review

I think art critics are among the most fascinating individuals who crave standard over anything else. They do not accept when they are wrong, but instead cultivate a taste of their own knowledge. Excess becomes a vital principle of universal understanding to compromise the beauty that exists within all forms. Michelle Grabner, from what I read, relates description, excess, and interpretation as the key factors lacking from the critics of Vile Days, The Village Voice Art Columns 1985-1988 by Gary Indiana, edited by Bruce Hainley. Ms. Grabner stresses that being right is never the goal, but instead giving art the attention it deserves and recognizing a posteriori that distinguishes beauty from standard. I speak for Kant by agreeing that all critics establish a subjective taste from a relative artwork that has existed since the beginning of art.

https://brooklynrail.org/2019/09/criticspage/Unbuggerable

Blog Entry 1: Art is Defined by the Beauty from Within

Often when people critique Art, the first thing that any critic points their attention to are the details that tell a story. The story becomes clear to the critic by using their creative minds to understand the motive used by the artist. This tactic helps a person understand the artist’s past and how words do not always define an artist’s background.

Humans since the beginning of time have always been artists with the way we appear towards other people. People are quick to assume that our actions define who we are and how we view the world. The question becomes, is this always true? There are plenty of examples of individuals whose actions led to a world panic creating fear amongst all humans. These individuals include Adolf Hitler, Osama Bin laden, and early leaders since the beginning of time. Their examples of beauty from the outside include anger, rage, hatred, and power. Yet, the question of what defined these people from the inside many believe was fear, loneliness, and tragedy. The examples of these individuals define a negative beauty because on the outside they express hate, but on the inside its unclear on what details led these individuals to become what they became.

The best way to define beauty is the way people look and how much money a person has in their lives, right? No, because money is the worst kind of temptation for it changes a person for better or worse. There are plenty of examples of “positive” beauty such as veterans, teachers, first responders, charities, parents, and people of all backgrounds. From the outside, they all illustrate a great deal of art, but the inside defines the greatest details about a person.

The greatest example of beauty is a person’s heart. The great quote of Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” digs into the hearts of a person’s beauty. Humans that are born disabled or lack the resources that other people have find pleasure in the littlest things they have. The smiles of these people illustrate the best kind of beauty any person can achieve. The outside may appear unappealing towards those that are quick to judge, but the beauty from the inside creates everlasting happiness. With all the different types of art that exist in the world, one must never judge from the outside but instead find the beauty that exists from the inside.