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This is probably one of those loaded questions, but it’s something I’m curious about.
As a disclaimer, this has nothing to do with Windstone at all and is about art in general.
Those of you that are art collectors, or even just buy a piece of art now and then… does knowing the artist or knowing what kind of person they are influence or change your buying decision? Are you more likely to buy from someone you know is a nice person? Are you less likely to buy from someone who is a jerk? Would you buy regardless of who made it, if it’s a piece you really like?
I know a few professional and very popular artists (no one here! And I will not name names) that are real jerks or have done some pretty slimy things in the past. I often wonder, “if people knew this artist was a a real jerk, would they still buy from them?” And the answer seems to be yes. I know an artist, for example, that is widely known to take people’s money and run.. and is a real nasty person in general to their fans- yet they still seem to do -really good- sales. I think that many people would buy something they like regardless of the driving force behind it.
My artist peers and I were discussing this a while ago and I do wonder if our opinion is jaded because as artists, we tend to resent it when other artists are jerks or if they are less ethical in their practice.
So what do you think?
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My art: featherdust.comhmm well if I actually met them and they weren’t nice…..I certainly wouldn’t buy any of their work…..
even if I found something I really liked…because honestly it’s just a thing…..and I don’t really need it…..I have enough things already….
but if I met them and they were really nice….I would want to buy their work….and I would probably feel bad if I couldn’t afford to….
Knowing that an artist is a jerk would definitely influence me. I would much rather have my money go to a nice person. Having now said that, I’m wondering which of the artists that I’ve met at conventions really weren’t as nice as they seemed. 😕
My experience is that I go out of my way to avoid those artists who have been rude or unpleasant to me in the past. I certainly do not buy their work.
One in particular a few years ago did a really beautiful piece of work, it went for an unusually high amount at auction and when I stopped by her table to congratulate her and pick up a print she was insufferably rude and dismissive. Wouldn’t even look at me or respond to my comments. Needless to say, I did not get the print, and I haven’t spoken to her since. Others have said she is really nice, but my experience with her wasn’t.
Most artists I know are nice and few are rude or arrogant, but those that are, rub me the wrong way, and I will not talk to them, nor cater to their ego by buying their work.
One other artist/writer I know cheated on a silent auction, he illegally bid on a piece after time had been called. When I called him on it, he just shrugged and said,”Well I really want it.” Like that justified his actions. I didn’t turn him in, but I should have, but as I was the countering bidder, I figured it would end up making me look bad too.
But I haven’t forgotten, and to this day I don’t read his work or collect his art. His lack of honor offends me.
Kyrin
I would say that knowing more about the artist would definitely have an influence over whether or not I buy their artwork.
Finding out that an artist was an ‘unsavory’ character would definitely turn me against buying their work, even if I really liked it, simply because I’m not about to give my hard earned money to someone, that I feel, doesn’t deserve it.
On the other hand, knowing that an artist is a really cool person, wouldn’t make me buy their artwork if it isn’t something that I would personally be interested in. For instance, I prefer dragons with 4 limbs and 2 wings. If a favorite artist were to draw/paint/create wyverns (2-legged dragons), I wouldn’t buy the artwork ‘just’ because it was done by that artist.
I agree with what everyone else has said so far, and I also wouldn’t buy from someone that I knew was a jerk — especially if that person had been rude to me in person.
But aside from the Windstones that I’ve bought since the forum started, and a few pieces being sold by the actual artist at Ren faires, all of the other artwork that I’ve gotten so far has been from artists that I know nothing about character-wise. I think that would be true for almost all artwork that I’ll buy in the future too, because I usually buy my art from various galleries and I probably wouldn’t have the opportunity to interact with the artists.
That said — after having been able to interact with you and Melody via the forum, I know that I would definitely buy more of an artist’s artwork if I actually have talked to them and think that s/he’s a nice person, compared to the situation where the artist is someone that I’ve never met.
I’m not one to try to find out about an artist/writer/actor’s personality. If I like what they do, great, I buy it/read it/watch it. Since I never really find myself in a situation where I could meet such a person, I can say, no, their personality doesn’t influence me.
But if I do know an artist and he/she is really nice, I will definitely try to support them.
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http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htmNambroth wrote:… does knowing the artist or knowing what kind of person they are influence or change your buying decision?
I don’t think this needs to be limited to “art”. I collect books, and I’ve known authors who are complete jerks, yet they write books I love to read. Indeed, some of my favourite authors are or were jerks. Yet I have friends who hate an author’s work solely because they don’t like the author’s personally.
I regard most art as being, essentially, independent of its creator.
However, the financial success of an artist may very much depend on his or her personality. Real Musgrave, for example, is a warm, friendly, social type, and this helped him tremendously in promoting his artwork and sculptures. He toured regularly (I use the past tense only because he’s retired), met his fans, and made people feel good about owning his work over and above the intrinsic value of that work. His sales soared. But his schedule was grueling.
Other artists can get away with being abrasive characters, by NOT coming into much contact with their audience, and letting their art speak for itself. Most people just think the artist is reclusive, or eccentric.
Anyway, for my money as a consumer it’s the art that counts. For my money as a retailer, the personality of the artist really does weigh in heavily. When we first picked up the Windstone line it was with some trepidation. Melody was clearly a great artist and sculptor, but her potted biography on the catalogs was about all that we could find out about her, and this was worrying.
I’m more likely to buy anything from a friendly person. I don’t have any negative examples, but as a positive one, now that I’ve met John and Melody and the rest of the crew and seen how the factory runs, I’m all the more avid about collecting.
I don’t do research on artists (of any type of art), so mostly I don’t know how they are. But if I know they’re an @$$#073, especially if they were to me in person, then yeah, I’m definitely disinclined to spend a penny on their products, even if I think it’s good. If other people tend not to like them, I question what it is about them they don’t like. I may decide it’s not a good enough reason for me to discontinue my enjoyment of their wares. Or it may be a detestable reason & I choose to boycott them from then on. If they’re friendly and I like their stuff, I buy what I can when I can (though if it’s decorative art, rather than books or something, it does have to fit in with my odd anime/Japanese/fantasy/8-yr-old’s-room sense of decor).
But basically, for my money, it doesn’t pay to be a jerk!
It is not very often that people meet an artist in person. I enjoy meeting them as some of them can be wonderful people. If they turned out to be a complete jerk I doubt I would buy anything from then as my liking of the piece would be disrutpted with my bad memory from meeting a jerk and I would remember that everytime I looked at the art piece. But if I really liked the artist and their work. I will keep an eye on their stuff and come back and get more. Meeting an artist who is a nice person can help make the artwork seem richer to me. Though if I didn’t like the art I probably would not buy it. Though I tend to buy a lot of artwork as I love beautiful things. (I also spend way tooooooo much money, but you only live once!)
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If someone was a jerk to me personally, I would not buy their stuff. If it was just hearsay, I would keep shopping. There are always two sides to every story, and there is the chance the person was asking for it.
I have bought something just because the artist was nice. I bought one of Miss Melodys’ prints even though they are not to my decorating tastes. The art is nice, and I will have it framed and matted, but it will be hung in a spare bedroom or something. 😆
I have to say if an artist is rude or unreliable, I will not go back for a second purchase. The “rude” has only happened to me once, but the “unreliable” has happened to me on a few occasions. I am a very patient person and I understand people get sick, have family problems, etc. An email once in a while giving a status report would be nice, though. People shouldn’t complain that they can’t make money on their art and then turn around and blow off commissions or purchases. Artists need some personality, communication skills and business sense, as well as talent to keep people coming back for more. Just my 2¢…
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