Choosing a Work of Art

Today it is very easy to access works of art online, in museums and in commercial spaces. And there are many different reasons to appreciate and buy art. When we want to acquire a work, the hard part is trusting that we are making the right choice.

In this article I present some of the reasons that make us want works of art around us. I explain how you can become aware of your reasons and how to manage them.

I also present a method of interpretation I have used to get more out of the works of art we can see.

Finally, I mention some ideas that can help you decide whether a work of art really is of interest to you.

How to Know Your Goal

Art offers many different reasons to take an interest in it. You can combine some of them or choose more objectively. Whether your taste is defined, eclectic, eccentric or conservative, if you are aware of what you are looking for you will be more satisfied with your choice.

When it comes to the visual arts, you can consider that if the goal is:

• to enrich a space, what you want is a good-quality work of art;
• to beautify a space, what you want is a beautiful work that suits the décor;
• to represent memories, what you want is a work that represents or presents a moment in your story;
• to represent ideologies, what you want is a work that represents a concept or doctrine;
• visual pleasure, what you want is a work whose content gives you pleasant sensations;
• collecting, what you want is a work that adds value to and complements the collection you already have;
• investment, what you want is a work that stands the test of time, by an artist who has or may come to have great market value;
• extravagance, what you want is a work easily recognised as a very expensive piece;
• personal enrichment, what you want is to see, analyse and interpret as many works of art as possible.

As most of these reasons are compatible, we tend to combine several at once, and then decisions become more complicated. When you look for a work of art that serves several purposes, the key is to understand which matter most and how they fit together.

A good strategy is to build the hierarchy of values that best matches what you want. Make a list, even a mental one, based on your situation. Remember that deciding how much you want to spend is important and also narrows the search. That way you can search quickly and objectively, minimising effort and increasing satisfaction, and you will have time to compare several options.

If you have moved house and urgently need to decorate an informal space, focus on the decorative goal. Your search will be targeted and quick, and even if you do not look far you will not risk spending more than you need. Enriching your home can wait for another time.

Another example: you have a large wall free and would like a work that beautifies and enriches the space, complements your collection and represents an episode of your life. Perhaps the best solution is to find a renowned artist from whom you can commission a work with all these features. The chance of finding an existing work that tells the buyer's own story is, if not impossible, at least very unlikely.

I have money available and would like to invest in art; what can I do? There are several options, but the most sensible one will take a lot of work. Any seller will present the artists they have access to and say they are the best choices, but this is unlikely to be a good option. You could also use an advisory service that does the research for you and whose competence you can trust; however, if the works do not gain value, you will not recover what you spent on the advisor. You could also join a group of collectors and trust their opinions; this may be the option with the best quality-to-time ratio, and although you are relying on others' opinions, you know from the outset that those who give them also buy, and you can learn from that. Finally, the option I mentioned at the start: researching the artists yourself, studying their CVs and talking to them to try to understand what they will do next. This is the most sensible option because the decision to buy can only be yours. If you enjoy this research, you will be well rewarded when one of your bets gains value.

Interpreting a Work of Art

Throughout history many works have been produced, and the vast majority have been forgotten, damaged or destroyed, regardless of their material and symbolic value. All of them, I believe without exception, served to show that their patron held power and wealth. 

Without belittling this kind of meaning, present in every luxury object, works of art have another level of interpretation. A work of art has its own content, which should be assessed in its own right, without detriment to, or alongside, the quality of its materials or its market value.

Before presenting a method for interpreting works of art, it seems important to remember that how a concept is developed or presented has nothing to do with whether we like or agree with it, or with the way it was presented. This matters for two reasons: being aware that agreeing or disagreeing with the idea conveyed by a work is not a reason to buy it, and that liking or hating the concept is not a judgement on the artist's skill.

As we gain the skills to analyse and interpret a work of art, our taste changes, both because we gain knowledge, and with it what fascinates us changes, and because we become more demanding of the works we appreciate.

Remember that this personal gain is very important today. For all intents and purposes, the only way to defend ourselves against increasingly visual marketing is to know how to interpret what images communicate to us. Several studies show a strong correlation between a good brand image and a competitive advantage (Andrade, Marcelo Aureliano Monteiro de, 2014), and brands know it. Using images to obtain comments (photo elicitation), and from there generate sales, is one of the most successful methods, proven on social media.

The analysis method I present below can be applied to any image. It is also used as the basis for teaching in history, anthropology and visual arts (Ormond, Barbara, 2011).

The four steps of the method are:

                Step 1: Introduction

• Identify the genre: is the work a painting, a cartoon, a comic strip, a poster, an advertisement, a mural, a drawing, a photograph, a map, a magazine cover, a website, etc.?
• Title: does the work have a title?
• Origin: where is the work? Has it been published? Who is the artist?
• Subject: what does the image represent? What is it about?

                Step 2: Describe the image

• Overall impression: what can we see? Who are the main figures? Is the atmosphere dark or light? Is the painting realistic or abstract, organised or confused, simple or complex? Etc.
• Details: how many parts does the image have? How much space, and which space, does each element take up?
• Focus: what is the focus of the work? Where is the viewer's attention drawn?

                Step 3: Analyse and interpret

• Feelings and deductions: what can we easily imagine, and why? What can we deduce from the elements present?
• What is the artist's intention?

                Step 4: Give your opinion

• Describe the image with adjectives and justify them.

This method allows a thorough analysis of images and an in-depth interpretation. In some cases you need to look up the historical context in which the work was produced, in order to understand the symbols used. In the Baroque, for example, candles were used as a symbol of life or transience. Without this information, the object is seen as an ornament rather than fulfilling the role for which it was placed there. You are not obliged to do the research, but the experience is richer if you do.

Using the interpretation method has the advantage of developing critical thinking that gives you confidence to talk about the work and its ideas. Being aware of the visual clues that are actually there, it is rewarding to explore a variety of interpretations.

A good interpretation stays in the memory and builds the ability to understand and absorb knowledge. At the same time, it motivates you to research and learn more. This exercise is therefore good training for every situation in which you have to analyse and give an opinion.

Does the Work Match Your Interest?

Above I presented several reasons why people buy art. As I said, the choices made depend on being clear about how those reasons rank. The work will match your goal more closely the more your reason matches the characteristics of the work.

Searching objectively, using the keywords that define your interest, is important for building a broad knowledge of what is available on the market. The focus should be on the features that matter most to you in each case, without wasting time on other topics. Then, among the works you have found, you will know which you can buy.

Whenever possible, make a list of the works and artists that appealed to you most. Then compare that list with the reasons you defined. If you need to decide between them, contact the seller, gallerist, curator or artist and ask for all the information you need. 

If you are decorating your home or building an art collection, bear in mind that the works you choose will reflect your values, ideologies and beliefs. In other words, the works will tell the story of your thinking.

The more focused and clear your reasons, the more organised, coherent and harmonious your collection will be. Whatever drives you, it is important to reach a point where you look at all the choices you have made and feel that most of them were right.

You will very likely come across a question during your research: why is the price of a work not related to how complex it is to interpret?

Well, I do not have a very objective answer. Perhaps because the primary function of a work of art is decorative. Perhaps because market value is linked to the commercial clout of the artist or of the patrons they answer to. Perhaps because an auctioned work by an unknown artist is not meant to pay the rent, whereas for a living artist that does affect prices. Perhaps interpretation is not the most common deciding factor.

Whatever the premises on which prices are based, the broader your research and the more considered your analysis and interpretation, the more confident you will be in your choice.  

If in doubt, postpone the decision to buy. Do more research, ask for more information, ask whether you can try the piece or return it. And do not let yourself be pressured: buy only when you are sure of what you want.