economic and arts

Essay by pilymarinUniversity, Master'sA, October 2014

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Maria del Pilar Marin Flores

The Art of the Economy in the Arts

"To attempt an estimate of the money value of the contents of our museums would be an intellectual vulgarismÃ¢ÂÂ¦ A great collection is a service to society as free from the rules of demand and supply as the service of the law". These words were said about more than fifty years ago by T.R. Adams, and are presented in the book "Pricing the Priceless: Arts, Artist and Economics" by William D. Grampp.

Most, if not all, of the artists match with this ideal. Any type of work of art represents the emotions and vision of its creator. Therefore it is unique and priceless. But if this is true, how does artists survive in a world full of economic value? For certain they have goods and needs, other than make art, to satisfy. As an artist, I have been wondering how people can decide what is the price for its work.

In my personal experience, I have never gain any money in the paintings I have done. I just paint as hobby; I am not interested in living of art as work. But not all artists think like this, many of them are painting because they like it and they can gain money of it. So, somehow, there has to be a way to determine how much an artists effort values, to put a price for the priceless.

Here is where the study of economics enters in the picture of arts; there is a branch that studies the economics of creation, distribution, and the consumption of arts. Many economists have centered in studying this new branch, and most of them have realized that the basic economic principles (demand, supply, efficiency, etc.) are the ones that become...