Packing work after my recent saleArtists use stuff to make other stuff and then when people buy the stuff they make, they use more stuff to pack it.
It's a pedestrian view, but remove the esoterics and art is another product to be packed and shipped. Of course if that's all it was, you could go to Bed, Bath & Beyond and get yourself some. Or Target.
I like to imagine that the experience of opening up a carefully wrapped package and unwrapping an original painting, something you saw and responded to for reasons you don't necessarily care to explain, is gratifying in a different way than receiving those Haflinger wool slippers you bought on Amazon or that Motorola headset you scored on eBay; that there's something about buying original art, this unique thing whose sole function is to hang on the wall or sit on a pedestal and be looked at, that separates it from something made to be used as a tool or garment or toy, no matter how beautifully designed.
It comes back to my thoughts about the uselessness of art. Its uselessness is precisely its value.
I'm curious: Is it different? Perhaps they're equally satisfying experiences.
I enjoy packing the work I've made and sending it on to its new owner, especially when I witnessed their initial response to it right here in my studio. It's another reason I love selling my work directly.
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Art is useless