We’re often asked by friends and customers,  “so what type of art is selling out there today?” And truthfully I tell them, Fart (Fast Art Real Trendy) is what it’s all about in today’s market.
The Merriam Dictionary defines art as “the concious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects” or “a skill acquired by experience, study or observation”. They seem to have left out the word ‘passion’.
Fart on the other hand is defined: “to expel intestinal gas from the anus.”Â
So how do I equate one with the other? Well, even if you go back to the early cave man drawings and throughout art history, art in it’s most simplistic form, was something that a human being did to leave behind a record of their thoughts, experiences, visions and passions. It came from deep within their sometimes tortured souls, something that drove them on, sometimes through incredible personal physical or mental struggles, to recreate an image that would inspire or shock, like a slap in the face, or even compel people to hand over hard earned income to be able to possess a piece of that passion. Amongst those artists, there were always a few who were lucky enough to find that their vision corresponded with the visions of the masses and very fortunately for themselves, they earned a good living from their work.
But to get back to today’s Fart… if you break down the definition of ‘fart’, the dictionary cites expel as meaning ‘to force out’, intestinal as meaning ‘affecting, occuring’ and gaseousness, ‘lacking substance or solidarity’. And herein lies the twist; today, with money being the new god, people who would ordinarily not give a hoot about art but are skilled craftsmen, are producing or forcing out products lacking in substance, but being labeled art and that has affected the art market worldwide.
However, this is not meant to be a bitter observation…merely to point out that times change…when a big televison over the fireplace mantel replaces a fine piece of art; when people want ‘big’ ‘cheap’ and ‘matching the furniture’ things to hang on their walls, the market must serve and true artists must be prepared to take a back seat. But just like any gas, this trend will eventually run its course and we will see if the market will once again come to value that which can’t be mass produced. Â
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