Five Dollar Art Sale
South End Art Hop, September 2016
South End Art Hop, September 2016
A project about making cheap/accessible art and confronting the issues that arise when an artist considers placing a monetary value on their work. I made as much art as possible over the course of a summer and offered everything for sale for five dollars during the weekend of Art Hop. Some special things happened when I committed to the idea of the five dollar art sale. I felt less judgmental about my art which in turn helped me feel more free and experimental. I stopped thinking so hard about what I was going to make and I just got right to it, reworking old sketches, searching for painting surfaces in free piles and recycle bins, cutting up photos, gluing glitter, scratching colored pencil on colored paper. By the time of the sale I had nearly 80 original artworks, some which took five minutes, some five hours, and I sold about half of them. A lot of the sales were very special, sometimes even spiritual interactions.
Why Have a Five Dollar Art Sale?
To discourage thoughts like:
"How much is this worth?"
"What kind of images, colors, themes sell well?"
"What if I never make anything this good again?"
"I'm so attached to this artwork I made; how can I let it go?"
To encourage thoughts like:
"This might be beautiful of meaningful to someone, who knows?"
"Everyone should be able to own a beautiful object made by a fellow human being."
"Buying and selling art is fun! It's a special kind of transaction."
"I have faith that I will be able to make more good art."
And to Spread Beauty
To discourage thoughts like:
"How much is this worth?"
"What kind of images, colors, themes sell well?"
"What if I never make anything this good again?"
"I'm so attached to this artwork I made; how can I let it go?"
To encourage thoughts like:
"This might be beautiful of meaningful to someone, who knows?"
"Everyone should be able to own a beautiful object made by a fellow human being."
"Buying and selling art is fun! It's a special kind of transaction."
"I have faith that I will be able to make more good art."
And to Spread Beauty