Art for Sale

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Art for Sale

• Instructional Theory into Practice
• By Serifatu Alaka

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Introduction

• Your art brokerage firm has been contacted by
  a rich entrepreneur. She made millions of dollars
  developing computer games, but her real interest
  is art. Currently she owns a vast European art
  collection including pieces by the famous artists
  VanGogh, Miro, DaVinci, and Rembrandt. However,
  her recent travels to the Pacific Northwest have
  piqued her interest in the cultures of that area.
  She has decided to add three pieces from that
  region to her collection. It is your job to
  research the art of the Tlingit, Haida,
  Tsimshian, Kwakiutl, and other tribes of the
  Northwest Coast and to select three pieces from
  that culture to add to her collection.

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Task

• Your client makes a habit of spending her money
  wisely and has therefore approached several
  different firms with this task. Select three
  artworks one that reflects the Northwest Coast
  natives' religious beliefs one that communicates
  social status and one that is functional.
  Prepare a presentation that will persuade your
  client to contract with your brokerage firm.
  Include the following in your presentation
• A brief history of the people and art from the
  region
  
• A map of the Northwest Coast region indicating
  where the main tribes live
  
• A chart showing how the artists used the elements
  of art
  
• 4. A spreadsheet indicating pricing trends and
  how your art selections compare

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Background

• Northwest Coast Natives lived in villages in
  plank houses. They used canoes to hunt, fish,
  trade, visit, and make war. Art was not thought
  of as something extra, but as an important part
  of everyday life. The people lived in an
  environment created by the artisans in their
  village. Northwest Coast symbols adorned oil
  bowls, pipes, masks, combs, the outside of their
  houses, and their canoes.
• Their sculpture and graphic arts were the
  "written" record of the people. One purpose for
  creating the art was to make the spiritual world
  visible and present to the people. The Northwest
  coast people believed in animism, an early form
  of religion.
• Another purpose for creating art was to make
  the social system visible. Emblems were used to
  distinguish different social groups and to
  symbolize their history and privileges. They were
  shown on many material possessions, from
  ceremonial robes to totem poles. Often these
  possessions were given away in a ceremony called
  a potlatch.

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Background cont

• A third reason for the Northwest Coast people
  creating art was to decorate functional objects,
  such as food baskets, canoe paddles, eating
  utensils, and wooden boxes to store blankets and
  clothes.
• Northwest Coast artists distort figures in
  nature by using only essential parts (i.e., eyes,
  joints, ears, and feathers) and rearranging
  (splitting) these parts within the design. (Can
  you think of a 20th century artist that is known
  for doing the same thing?) Sometimes the artist
  put faces in body spaces, ovoid joints, or at the
  base of an arm, leg, or tail. They also stylized,
  or simplified shapes as opposed to picturing them
  in a realistic fashion. Animal and human designs
  represented either totems or spirits.

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Some questions to consider about Northwest Coast
Art elements as you progress through this
project

• What main colors do they use?
• How is their use of line unique?
• What shape is most commonly used?
• How do they use space?
• What texture patterns occur most often in their
  art?

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The Process

• Include the following steps in your process
• Establish the roles each of your team members
  will assume historian, graphic designer, and
  broker. Select a name for your brokerage firm and
  design a logo for it.
• Learn about art brokerage by visiting Art Tips
  for Collectors.
  
• What does an art broker need to know?
• How does an art broker determine the "fair market
  value" of an art piece?
  
• What is an acceptable commission for an art
  brokerage firm to charge?
  

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• 3. Keep a team project journal to record your
  thoughts, questions, information you find in your
  search, and where you go to find that
  information.
• 4. Prepare a brief history of the people and the
  art from the Northwest Coast region. First,
  brainstorm in your team everything you know about
  that culture. Next, develop questions that would
  lead you in your search for information, such as
  
• What was the topography of their land like and
  how did that affect their society?
  
• What was their social structure?
• What were some traditions specific to that
  culture?
  
• What were their relations with surrounding
  peoples?
  
• 5. Create a map showing where the main tribes in
  the area lived.
  

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• 6. View examples in the resources listed below.
  Ask yourself the following questions
  
• What was the purpose for creating the art
  religious significance, illustrating social
  status, or functional?
  
• What do you know about the artists who created
  these works?
  
• 7. Create a chart showing how five typical
  artists used the elements of art (line, shape,
  space, form, color, and texture) to create their
  pieces.
• 8. Create a spreadsheet recording the current
  pricing trends of masks, totems, jewelry,
  sculpture, and prints. Based on the data, create
  a graph of these pricing trends. Once you select
  art pieces to recommend to your client, indicate
  where the selections fall on the graph. Provide
  your client an explanation for their relationship
  to the mean price.
• If your selections cost more than the mean, why
  should it be worth more than the mean?
  
• If your selections cost less than the mean, are
  you getting a deal or is it lacking quality in
  some aspect?
  

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• 9. Select the 3 art pieces you recommend for
  your client. Remember to represent each of the
  purposes for art in your final group of pieces -
  religious significance, illustrating social
  status, or functional. Record your reasoning in
  your journal to use later in your presentation.
• 10. Download and print copies of the images you
  chose.
  
• 11. Prepare a presentation persuading the client
  to choose your firm based on your professional
  knowledge and understanding of the Northwest
  Coast culture and art, and your ability to
  critique this art.

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ResourcesVisit these places to get information
about the Northwest Coast natives and their art.

• Galleries
• The Northwest Connection tells the brief history
  of the Northwest Coast people in addition to
  featuring stunning examples of contemporary work.
  Be sure and check out the "symbols" link.
• Northwest Coast Tribal Art features both
  traditional and more "avant" works.
  
• Northwest Page offers a collection of Northwest
  Coast stamps.
  
• Island Art Publishers offers a view of the
  Northwest Coast terrain and wildlife through
  artists' eyes.
  
• Visit the Douglas Reynolds Gallery in Vancouver,
  British Columbia for fine examples of Northwest
  Coast art.
  

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Museums

• The Seattle Art Museum hosts a student tour that
  will give you great background information on the
  Northwest Coast people.
  
• Visit The Royal British Columbia Museum to view
  historic totem poles.
  
• In the Galleries provided by the Alaska State
  Museum includes exhibitions on Alaska's native
  peoples and natural history of the area.
  
• Pacific Northwest Coast Gambling Game features a
  traditional Northwest game with game pieces and
  rules.
  
• The American Museum of National History reveals
  an outstanding example of a Haida Canoe.