by Jheremie Naval
People are willing to spend multi millions for famous paintings such as The Monalisa, The Starry Night, or Girl with a Pearl Earring. Do you wonder why the prices for these simple art pieces are high?
It was always a strange thought to myself and others as to why these famous art paintings cost so much when they look simple to paint. There are many reasons why these famous art paintings get in such a high price range.
According to The Week Article, “The uniqueness of a particular painting comes from the way that certain artists stroke their brush, how long it took to develop their masterpiece, and the reputation of how people know you by creates the true price of famous art paintings.”
I did a survey with about 50 people around Yerba Buena High school, and the two questions I had for them was, “Do you think people should be paying multi millions for famous art paintings?” and “Would you pay multi millions for famous art pieces?” The results I got from the first survey was 40 out of 50 people said that others shouldn’t be paying that much for paintings and the last 10 people said that they weren’t sure if they should be paying that much for famous paintings. For the second survey, 30 people said they wouldn’t pay multi millions for famous paintings, but rather use that money for something they actually do want/need, the 20 other surveyors said they would because they always wanted to have a famous painting in their possession.
A few responses I got during the survey were, “Why do people have to pay so much for these paintings, when they don’t look that good or are special?” or “I rather spend my money on things that I’ll actually need to get me through life, not some decoration for my wall.”
It was always a strange thought to myself and others as to why these famous art paintings cost so much when they look simple to paint. There are many reasons why these famous art paintings get in such a high price range.
According to The Week Article, “The uniqueness of a particular painting comes from the way that certain artists stroke their brush, how long it took to develop their masterpiece, and the reputation of how people know you by creates the true price of famous art paintings.”
I did a survey with about 50 people around Yerba Buena High school, and the two questions I had for them was, “Do you think people should be paying multi millions for famous art paintings?” and “Would you pay multi millions for famous art pieces?” The results I got from the first survey was 40 out of 50 people said that others shouldn’t be paying that much for paintings and the last 10 people said that they weren’t sure if they should be paying that much for famous paintings. For the second survey, 30 people said they wouldn’t pay multi millions for famous paintings, but rather use that money for something they actually do want/need, the 20 other surveyors said they would because they always wanted to have a famous painting in their possession.
A few responses I got during the survey were, “Why do people have to pay so much for these paintings, when they don’t look that good or are special?” or “I rather spend my money on things that I’ll actually need to get me through life, not some decoration for my wall.”
Another student by the name of Ivan Molina, who likes many kinds of different art, also has an opinion on how he views different kinds of art.
Ivan said, “The amount of effort and time that it takes to make a painting of their own creation should be the only thing that matters with art. I have many opinions and viewpoints of different kinds of pieces of art because they all have a true meaning behind it that could be relatable to what I go through in life.”
An art expert by the name of William Ramirez gives me an insight about what he personally feels the pricing of art should be determined by. When he looks at certain paintings, he tries to visualize the message the artist is trying to send to the people when they look at it.
William said, “When I look at paintings, I usually visualize freedom, paintings are something you can do whatever your heart desires and however you wish it to be.”
William also finds it interesting on how people find it as appealing as the artist who took a lot of time to build it up because they know how hard they’re working to make such a masterpiece and create an image for people to understand.
Personally, I think the value of art goes to certain individuals that are able to convey an insight or feel a certain type of way when they look at art, as if the painting is actually speaking a million words to you. That's my personal opinion that goes to certain art pieces, the value of art should only be determined by how you personally feel when you look at it, regardless of what the original cost of the painting.
My favorite type of art is street art because there are many people who love to make street art that has a great meaning to it. However, many people are bias about people’s creations and see it rather as vandalism than seeing the true meaning behind their work.
Ivan said, “The amount of effort and time that it takes to make a painting of their own creation should be the only thing that matters with art. I have many opinions and viewpoints of different kinds of pieces of art because they all have a true meaning behind it that could be relatable to what I go through in life.”
An art expert by the name of William Ramirez gives me an insight about what he personally feels the pricing of art should be determined by. When he looks at certain paintings, he tries to visualize the message the artist is trying to send to the people when they look at it.
William said, “When I look at paintings, I usually visualize freedom, paintings are something you can do whatever your heart desires and however you wish it to be.”
William also finds it interesting on how people find it as appealing as the artist who took a lot of time to build it up because they know how hard they’re working to make such a masterpiece and create an image for people to understand.
Personally, I think the value of art goes to certain individuals that are able to convey an insight or feel a certain type of way when they look at art, as if the painting is actually speaking a million words to you. That's my personal opinion that goes to certain art pieces, the value of art should only be determined by how you personally feel when you look at it, regardless of what the original cost of the painting.
My favorite type of art is street art because there are many people who love to make street art that has a great meaning to it. However, many people are bias about people’s creations and see it rather as vandalism than seeing the true meaning behind their work.