Assigning a value to creative work is like juggling liquid. No matter how you try to handle it, things get messy. Artists often find themselves in the dilemma of doing too much work and getting too little pay. Pricing is a controversial area because people look at the output and often underestimate the value. Rarely will an artist encounter a situation when the customer feels undercharged for the work. The agreement of respectable prices varies from one person to another so the argument remains on how to command a fair price.
Time and time again, I’m faced with clients challenging the price of my work. Never have I been questioned about the quality but more times than I care to remember about the price. I spend hours taking pictures then more time editing and perfecting the pictures. When it’s time to hand over the prints to the client and collect payment, I hear the feedback “$200 for pictures is too much money!” Pricing is a common issue in the photography community and in many other artistic jobs. The challenge is how you as the photographer/artist create an understanding with clients that the value of your time spent on the artwork is worth the value of their precious money. In this essay I will be discussing the problem of getting clients to understand the value of work and time in artistic services along with how to present cost to clients.
There is a quote that says, “Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time” Jim Rohn (brainyquote.com). Time is one of the most valuable things in the world and when you are involved in an artistic project you spend a lot of time making sure the work is perfect. As with any other job, photographers get paid for their time and it’s no...
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...the client to know the upfront cost and they can plan accordingly. There is no surprise on either end. The down side to flat rate pricing is that it may overlook some details and usually don’t account for contingencies.
Talent has value and it is up to the artist to determine how much people value that talent in their pricing. If the artist is confident and knows their work is of great value they know they can charge high reasonable prices. As the artist you can’t underprice your work when you invested your time, resources and creative mind on a project. James Whistler says, “An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision” this means as and artist what I am actually selling is my art because it is one of a kind not the labor required to make. As an artist you can never devalues your own vision, because it’s unique and therefore valuable (gloriamarie.com).
Often, collectors rely on art dealers when deciding whether an art work is 'good or not'. They are not very knowledgeable about how valuable a specific art work is. Valuation of an art work is made by some criterias .How much are the similar art works worth? Are there any artworks that can be bought or is this the final chance to have a Picasso in your home? Does any museum show interest such as MoMA? Or was that artwork owned by Charles Saatchi? Is it going to be auctioned at Sotheby's? All answers of these such questions helps determining the value of an art work. The network of the actors of art worlds should be analyzed for example if we were to study the phenomenon of skyrocketed prices of art works. However, where Becker's approach is not enough is that he believes there are different art worlds. Becker states, 'Art worlds typically have intimate and extensive relations with the worlds from which they try to distinguish themselves.' Even though they share resources, exchange ideas and they are part of a larger social organization, not everything is shared and this is one of the main reasons that generates a curious economics phenomenon of the art markets. We should try to find a balance between researching every aspect of the complex cooperative network of art creation and limiting the research to a specific
According to Tocqueville in aristocratic times the purpose of creating the arts was to produce the best artwork spending a great amount of time on it perfecting it and selling it for a high price. However, in today’s society the way to get rich is to sell your artwork for a cheaper price by manufacturing more quantity but with cheaper materials less in value, reproducing the artwork quicker and cheaper. Today all ranks of people can afford to buy a replicated artwork, which can easily be mistaken for the real thing. They are so highly perfected it is hard to tell apart what is original and what is not. They are many artistes today however; the quality of the production has
Though criticism has taken on a negative connotation in the English language, and artists can fear or reject it, criticism is not inherently bad. In fact, both Wharton and Carrol claim that positive and negative (constructive) criticisms are beneficial to the artist and their audience. According to Wharton, artists use professional criticism to see how others may perceive their work. By obtaining that secondary viewpoint, the artist can use the critic’s educated analysis to improve a specific work or their art in general (Wharton, 42). In addition, a critic’s interpretation of a work of art is perfect for determining how off-centered their intended outcome for the work is, and what to refine in order to convey their message clearer in the next iteration or masterpiece. Regarding the audience, Carrol supports by asserting that, “The common reader expects guidance from the critic concerning what is worthy in an artwork” (Carrol 14). As oftentimes the audien...
Beginning by examining art as the consumer good that it was, Jardine constructs a cultural
As we learned from Chapter 12, price must be carefully determined and match with firm’s product, distribution, and communication strategies. (Hutt & Speh, 2012, p. 300) Therefore, there should be a strong market perspective in pricing. In order to build an effective pricing policy, marketers should focus on the value a customer places on a product or service. One of the most effective ways to do so is differentiating through value creation.
In existential thought it is often questioned who decides what is right and what is wrong. Our everyday beliefs based on the assumption that not everything we are told may be true. This questioning has given light to the subjective perspective. This means that there is a lack of a singular view that is entirely devoid of predetermined values. These predetermined values are instilled upon society by various sources such as family to the media. On a societal level this has given rise to the philosophy of social hype. The idea of hype lies in society as the valuation of something purely off someone or some group of people valuing it. Hype has become one of the main driving forces behind what society considers to be good art and how successful artists can become while being the main component that leads to a wide spread belief, followed by its integration into subjective views. Its presence in the art world propagates trends, fads, and limits what we find to be good art. Our subjective outlook on art is powered by society’s feedback upon itself. The art world, high and low, is exploited by this social construction. Even when objective critique is the goal subjective remnants can still seep through and influence an opinion. Subjective thought in the art world has been self perpetuated through regulated museums, idolization of the author, and general social construction because of hype.
...s. In short, this is an important issue to consider because composers deserve to be financially credited with their work.
money "working as he did rather for the love of his art than for the
The Impact of the System of Patronage Upon Works of Art During the Renaissance, the system of patronage came into being, mainly as a reflection of the increasing capitalist emphasis being placed on life in Renaissance Italy, most notably in Florence. In its very nature as a commercial, capitalist place, Renaissance Italy was a hugely competitive place. It was therefore not surprising that works of art were very often commissioned for competitive reasons. During the Renaissance, art was not just as we think of it today, as an expressive, interesting creation. Art was a focal point of society, and a very powerful tool that powerful people used to gain an advantage.
Selling-out is crucial for artists in how they earn their living even if their main focus is on expressing creativity, money is also a large factor
Furthermore, He considers the dominant of the marketing negotiations between an artist and its client th...
Just as other works that reflect art, pieces in the category of fine arts serve the important message of passing certain messages or portraying a special feeling towards a particular person, function or activity. At times due to the nature of a particular work, it can become so valuable that its viewers cannot place a price on it. It is not the nature or texture of an art that qualifies it, but the appreciation by those who look at it (Lewis & Lewis, 2008).
Louise Horton once summed up the job description of the graphic designer by referring to him or her as the “Architect of the Printed Page” (Horton). Graphic Designers can be credited for the marketing design of every magazine, book, commercial, and poster to ever hit the business world (Horton). However, designers have a bigger goal than to just make pretty artwork for the public to see. The work that a graphic designer does is usually synonymous with propaganda. It is their job to try to make people feel a certain way about an object or topic (Horton). The idea is to put together colors, words, and pictures to represent an idea that can be recognized and remembered by the public easily. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The designer must also be very flexible and willing to take criticism, because when it comes down to it, their design must be what the client wants. Doing research is very important in this field because it must be understood what the goal is and how the client wants their idea portrayed to the public. Nevertheless, this occupation poses a fantastic opportunity to show creativity and originality and that is able to be seen more clearly through the free-lance designer.
Based on this creator-centric definition, one may claim that art is purely a form of individual expression, and therefore creation of art should not be hindered by ethical consideration. Tattoos as pieces of artwork offer a great example of this issue. However, one may take it from the viewer’s perspective and claim that because art heavily involves emotion and the response of a community after viewing it, the message behind what is being presented is what should actually be judged. To what extent do ethical judgements limit the way the arts are created?... ...
Caves, R. E. (2000). Creative industries : contracts between art and commerce / Richard E. Caves. Cambridge, Mass. ; London: Harvard University Press.