On the market and value of modern ceramic art
Ceramic is one of the earliest art forms in human living space. From the initial purpose of practicality, with the progress of technology, the aesthetic function has been gradually increased, making it a arts and crafts product integrating practicality and appreciation. Finally, ceramics have got rid of the original intention of practicality and become an appreciation product in a complete sense. Modern ceramic art derived from this has more value connotations, including commodity value, decoration value and collection value, but how to affirm these values through the market? This is a subject that our modern ceramic artists have to face.
The art market is the market first, and then the art. When artists are shy, they will struggle on the road of art. Without a certain material foundation, an ambitious artist's career development will often become an illusion. Even if he is brilliant, poverty can make him fend for himself. Most of our artists are in the primary stage of material life, and their current mission is: besides cultivating the art in their hearts, the most important thing is how to become a businessman who makes money. As a ceramic artist, we should make great efforts to understand the modern ceramic art market and study the fundamental laws in this market. Then, we should know and be familiar with it from the following directions.
first, the characteristics and quality of modern ceramic works of art
There are three categories of modern ceramic works of art, the first category is pure sculpture works, the second category is porcelain painting works painted on a flat porcelain plate, and the third category is works combining object modeling and glaze painting. Each ceramic work is an independent object of appreciation and is not affected by environmental conditions. However, at present, most art consumers buy ceramic works for home decoration, so the compatibility and complementarity with the modern architectural environment becomes the buyer's consideration. Looking at some modern ceramic works created at present, they are either too big or too melodramatic to be accepted by the public. To strengthen the decoration of modern ceramic art, we should pay attention to the sense of the times, diversity and lightness.
sense of the times-almost all ceramic works in different times in history are in harmony with the living environment at that time. Modern rooms are full of light, bright colors and simple lines, and those works with old themes, trivial ornamentation and dull glaze colors can no longer adapt.
Diversification-Modern living rooms have detailed functions, and bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens are all decorated differently. In addition to traditional bottles, stoves and pans, porcelain plates, wall decorations, pendants and ornaments should be designed and made, among which bathroom decoration has always been blank, and ceramics are not afraid of moisture, which has inherent advantages. This alone is a great market.
Lightweight-now most family rooms are improved, and the area is enlarged. Due to the refinement of functions, each space will not be very large. Too large a shape will make buyers daunting. Lightweight is a necessary condition to expand the market of ceramic works.
In the 21st century, with the advancement of information technology and the construction of a global village, the world is no longer a scattered plate. But are increasingly closely linked. The mobile and open environment and the fast and convenient Internet have brought about the exchange and collision between eastern and western cultures. Whether active or passive, the traditional lifestyle and way of thinking of Chinese people have been directly or indirectly influenced. Art, post-modernist architecture also stands in our city. Many foreign art forms and styles have been accepted and recognized by some Chinese people, and they have also injected a lot of fresh blood into modern aesthetic needs. Under this historical trend, the open part has become a valuable quality of modern ceramic art to reflect the aesthetic needs of contemporary people.
second, the relationship between modern ceramic art and the market.
Mr. Zhang Xianliang said it well: art has its own rules of the game, and commodity economy also has its own rules of the game, and the two cannot be applied. Many literati do not understand this truth, so they either choke or drown after going into the sea. Creativity comes first in the law of art, you have to go your own way, but the commodity economy is different. His law is the law of value. What you do should cater to the market, please buyers, conform to the commodity trend and make everyone profitable.
in order to let modern ceramic artworks enter the market, it is of course necessary to know what kind of artistic products buyers like first. Lu Xun once said a very vivid sentence: "Jiao Da doesn't love his sister", and those works of pure art, which are high and low, will not have much economic benefits in the current situation. The pursuit of high-quality works of art is only those collectors and museums who are proficient in art. Unfortunately, the proportion of these people in the art market is too small to form a market climate. Can we artists choose a policy of walking on two legs: your goal is still to climb the artistic peak unswervingly, and you might as well create more commercial works that are welcomed by the market in order to get material help to help your pursuit, which complement each other, so it's not a pleasure.
When modern ceramic artworks enter the market, don't forget the packaging. In art products, the author is the trademark, and the celebrity is the famous trademark. With the famous trademark, the works are easy to sell. It is necessary for the market to introduce a group of celebrities, because most customers' appreciation ability of ceramic artworks is not too high, and their identification methods can only be identified from trademarks. Art celebrities are those who stand out from the crowd in the art circle and have a high market reputation. Good products can't be separated from good advertisements. Our propaganda agencies should take various measures to publicize celebrities widely and deeply to the society, especially those young celebrities who are rising stars. Introduce their artistic achievements realistically, publicize their artistic characteristics, and let the society really understand their value.
To market modern ceramic art products, we should be familiar with the laws of the art market, and more importantly, learn to sell ourselves. I think the most effective means is to find a suitable agent. The establishment of the art market is completed by brokers and artists. Brokers are subjective for themselves, objective for artists and society, and clever brokers will find ways to push you to the market. Our artists should be generous and truly benefit brokers, so that they will be motivated. When a team of high-quality brokers is formed, all kinds of galleries and art shops will emerge, and many supporting projects in the art market will be established, such as authoritative art appraisal institutions, art pawn shops and art insurance institutions. At that time, the state will enact another law on the art market to protect the legitimate rights and interests of artists and buyers from infringement, and a series of specific disputes between buyers and sellers in the art transaction will also have laws to follow. The normal operation of ceramic art is just a word for improving the social status of ceramic artists and improving the cultural and artistic quality of the people as soon as possible.
Third, the value of modern ceramic art
The value of modern ceramic art is mainly reflected in three aspects: commodity value; Decorative value; Collection value.
In history, China ceramics, like silk and tea, are important trade goods, and the China culture spread through the Silk Road on land and at sea actually has considerable economic benefits. Therefore, the commodity value of ceramics is clear. However, the pure artistic pursuit of modern ceramic art seems to dilute the inherent economic attribute. The concrete manifestation is the disconnection between creation and market.
One of the disjointments is the difference between artistic form and social appreciation taste. Contemporary ceramists are constantly pursuing novel artistic techniques. Because they are too advanced or deviate from the appreciation level of most people, few people will buy a work of art that they don't understand at all and can't reach the pleasing eye, which has hit the market purchasing power.
the second disconnect is the deviation between the market price and the actual value. There are thousands or even a million pieces of modern ceramic art works. In all fairness, no matter from the artistic value and production cost, it is psychologically unbearable for buyers.
the third disconnect is the disconnect between the number of works and the market demand. The theoretical balance of market demand can never be reached, but it can be adjusted to a more reasonable degree. The overall trend of modern ceramic art works is that the supply exceeds the demand in proportion, showing that there are more spring snow and fewer Liba people in terms of artistic taste, more high-grade products and less popularity in terms of work price, and more pure appreciation and less appreciation and use in terms of use value. The existence of these disjointments restricts the development of ceramic production and is worthy of attention.
Compared with traditional art ceramics, modern ceramic art strengthens the appreciation function of works and has decorative value. The decorative value of ceramics has been gradually recognized by people. China ancient ceramics can be divided into household utensils and furnishings. The display is an ornament in a certain sense, but it still has a "practical" appearance. Porcelain plate paintings dating back to the late Ming Dynasty are purely decorative ceramics. Porcelain board is developing to the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, and there are two kinds of light crimson and new pastel, which make people realize the decorative value of ceramics. The foundation of modern ceramic art is appreciation function, which undoubtedly establishes a future for its decorative value.
China people have always held a conservative attitude towards the collection value of modern ceramic artworks. There are two reasons for this situation. First, China people always think that everything of their ancestors is good, and even the new ones are not good enough. Second, contemporary art, especially handicrafts such as ceramics, are mostly rough and crude, which really can't be compared with ancient curios. Therefore, the channel between modern ceramists and collectors is closed, and only by opening this channel can we provide economic premise for the development of modern ceramic art. In order to achieve this goal, two efforts should be made.
the first is to cultivate the market. Different from collectors in China, foreign art collections are not based on long time. The oil paintings of unknown painters centuries ago were worth only a few hundred dollars. The elaborate masterpieces of contemporary masters are worth millions of dollars. The decisive factor of the price of artworks is artistic value. The physical and chemical properties of glaze color of modern ceramic works far exceed those of ancient times, and both glaze color and underglaze color can be applied freely, showing gorgeous colors. Advanced technical conditions and modern artistic techniques can better meet the modern people's beauty. Due to the limitations of propaganda, most people still know very little about modern ceramic works, do not appreciate them, and do not understand their value, resulting in a lack of interest in ceramic works.
the second is the awareness of fine products. Modern ceramic works are undergoing drastic changes, and their artistic style and expression techniques are not finalized, which has great room for development. Because it will naturally be immature in the exploration, although there are fine works in modern ceramic works, the proportion is very small, and most of them are still rough or even unattractive. For ceramists, it is not only to not deceive consumers, but also to improve their skills to do each work well. It can be said with certainty that there must be a market as long as there are fine products.
In fact, the market and value of modern ceramic artworks are closely linked. Only when there is a market can the value of artworks be reflected, and only when there is the value of artworks can the market prosper and the development of the art market be promoted. If modern ceramic artworks want to survive and develop, they must find and tap their own value in the market, and it is unrealistic to do art for the sake of art without the economic support of the market. It can be expected that the marketization process of modern ceramic art will happen sooner or later, which will also be a sign of the maturity of modern ceramic art.
References:
[1] Liu Weilin, the value connotation of modern ceramic art, China Ceramics, 1994
[2] Feng Lin, Sun Xiaolan, on ceramic art, ceramic science and art under contemporary aesthetic needs, 24
[3] Shu Huixue, thoughts on ceramic art and market, Jingdezhen ceramics.