Ivan Patrick Parayno

The Value of Art

Why do people buy art? Why does it matter? Why should we care? Art, especially
contemporary era, is easy to dismiss as a selfish pastime for people who have too much time on
their hands.

Creating an art has value, at the most basic level it is rewarding. Creating art means a lot
to children as they draw joy before they can speak, write and the like; it contributes ideas in
communication and simple it’s fun. However, the question is what makes an art valuable?

Although, technically, the fact that someone is willing to pay for it? And why are people
willing to pay for the prices? Because art is a luxury good. How much paintings are desired,
depends partly on how good they are, and partly on how much in vogue their painters are. That is
why a fake will have no market value, even if it is a very beautiful fake—because people want to
possess a “name”.

Also, the thing that makes an artwork most valuable is probably the history, knowledge
and reputation of its creator.

To arrive at the market value of a work of art, the following five attributes must be
known and weighed carefully:

Provenance attributes to the artwork’s value. In other words, who has owned the painting
in the past. For example, paintings owned by Imelda Marcos, one of most sought family in
Philippine History.

Condition report is a document itemizing the result of the physical examination of a work
of art by a professional in the field, usually someone whose main occupation is the conservation
and restoration of works of art similar in medium, period, and style to the work being
scrutinized. (Findlay, 2012)

Quality it should be apparent that while there are many factors in the creation of the
commercial value of a work of art, few are empirical and most are relative. None more so than
quality.

No two persons looking at the same painting, sculpture, or drawing are having the same
experience. Their eyes may receive the same information, but their brains process it in very
different ways.

Therefore, the value of art can be measured in different perspective. Art is history, and
culture. Art is also an emotion. Art is art.