Day 424 Everything must go!

5th October 2018

It’s Friday again, Saugatuck, and coffee at Uncommon Grounds. The season’s end is in sight and it’s a lot colder.

It is mark-down time, and from my previous posts, a subject that angers me every time.

The local gallery is offering seventy percent off everything. There should be a sign in the window at the beginning of the season that says ” Prepared to be ripped-off until October ”

Art is difficult to place a value on because it is a matter of taste to the individual and if they are prepared to pay the price that is placed on it. If the cost of the materials, and the time it takes to paint is added up, there is a cost, take it to a gallery and they will double it. I get it, but does it help the artist? It looks good on the wall for five months, but they have starved to death waiting for it to sell.

I know if I were to build a piece of furniture from scratch, I could not sell it at it’s material cost, yet alone with a profit, because no one values the skill or talent behind it, they want a deal.

That is one of the many things that is wrong with America.

Manufacturing companies, like Herman Miller have always used “Design ” as its driver, and have been very successful at it. Today’s market is different, there is more talk about “Appropriate value” so the bloated price tags of the past, are in question now.

Would the gallery sell more paintings if the price tag was more modest, or would it put pressure on the artist to produce more? I can’t say, but it might give more artists and craftsmen greater opportunity, and not have their work consigned to the bargain bin.

I had just put my feet up for the evening, sipping a hot coffee when Kelli announced that a dresser had just come up, and we had to drive to Saugatuck to collect it. Off into the dark we went following the instructions from the GPS. We found the place set back in the trees, and obviously being cleaned out. The dresser was in reasonably condition, so could be a quick restoration. We loaded it up and drove back, I then resumed my position in the chair, drinking my lukewarm coffee, and preparing to finish my relaxation before I was so rudely interrupted.