Value of art

This is Frank Wolfe, local artist and friend. I wonder if most people have at least one friend who identifies themselves as an artist of one kind or another. How many artist do you know? When was the last time you bought some art -or made something creative?




One social scientist proposed the creation of "culture coupons" as a program similar to food stamps. Where the neediest of our society would be eligible for credits that are only redeemable through the purchase of art or the attendance of a cultural event. Now before people start emailing me to say the country doesn't need another assistance program, I'd like to point out that the cultural coupons were part of a satirical essay in the same tradition of Jonathan Swift's Modest Proposal.

I have found in my travels when financial impoverishment is compounded with cultural deprivation, the two have a negative multiplying effect on each other. Now I have been in homes where families had barely enough to survive on but they also did their best to surround themselves with art and literature. The kids that grew up in those homes still had many hurdles in front of them though they seemed happier and better off then their economic peers. I have seen  the opposite too, children who have grown up in privileged households without art. These kids were groomed for success and still lacked something.



Without the arts the world is not only a little duller and grey but people's sense of vision is narrower and their self worth is more closely tied to their net worth. Art is difficult to value because it is not a price per pound commodity. As inspiration I think of Herbert and Dorothy from New York City. Over their lifetimes they befriended dozens of artists and on modest salaries they complied one of the largest and most important art collections ever. They said it made their lives complete.

A home without books or art is really just a budget motel room. Is that the kind of place you want to live in?

Think about buying art today. Get to know an artist.