Mass Produced

Hi all,

The following post is a bit of a rant - consider yourself warned. I do not plan to offend anyone but I may. If you are offended by anything I say here just remember it is only my opinion.

The global economy is here. The human race is no longer forced to purchase and sell goods locally to get what they need. Most of us know that the mega stores sell products that are mass produced in shops that have (or may have) poor working conditions and provide little compensation to the (underage slaves) workers. From shoes, to televisions - everything can and is mass produced these days.

So what about art? The simple answer is, yes. Art is decoration in respect to what the purpose of the art is. As straight forward as that term (decoration) is; many consumers buy their art based on many factors. Price, color, size, subject, etc. The problem is that price is the one factor that kills working artists. Yes, art from the artist can (and often is) quite expensive. In relation, a pretty picture sold in a mega store may be just what the living room needed and the price is always good. Why is it so much cheaper? Because the mass produced art created in countries that only value profit are selling to the big box stores and specialty shops who also value profit.

My point is simple. Profit is a good thing...but at what cost? Do you simply want a colorful, affordable, decoration or do you want a true original piece of art? Artists must profit if they want to feed their families and purchase materials to create more art. Many of the artists I know are not ripping off their customers even though the price is quite a bit more than the lifeless painting found in the mega stores. I have found that income taxes, and health care costs make being price competitive impossible in a global economy. I for one am not willing to starve or live in poverty so that I can compete with mass produced art. After all, my living expenses here are much higher than if I lived in a village in China.

I urge all of you who appreciate art to seek out professional artists and buy work from them. Avoid the urge to simply buy art that is cheap and would look fine in the living room. A few nice paintings from real working artists makes a better collection than several mass produced "pictures" that match the decor. With that said, I also understand that a more expensive piece over the fire place may be out of your budget and that pretty image of the seaside village at "Hobby - Mart" would be fine and it fits the bill so to speak. Fine, buy it...but consider replacing it at a later time with a real painting created by an artist who does not mass produce stolen images and copyright violations. Oh yes...many of the mass produced art is created on the backs of hard working emerging and mid career artists who had a great composition but lack the marketing channels the mass production shops utilize.

- Michael

CLICK HERE if you would like to read what mass produced art is doing to the famed Montmarte section of Paris (a BBC News article by David Chazen)