The other day, while I and a group of friends were stuck in traffic, we happened to see some guys hawking some artwork. And they were quite beautiful works if I am to be honest.
I have always thought that traders only hawk things that people will be able to buy immediately. Basic necessities like sachet or bottle water, biscuits, phone chargers, and the like. These are things that are quite affordable and people will always have a need for them for one reason or the other when on the road. I never knew that just about anything could be sold in traffic. After all, if clothes and footwear could be sold in traffic jam, then portraits should not be all that hard right?
Well, my friends and I had to find out. We called one of them, to see if we could get one. As I said, the portraits were beautiful. But seeing as they were being hawked, we figured they couldn’t be all that expensive, right?
Well, we got the shock of our lives when we were told the price range of the portraits. The least was no less than twelve thousand naira, and there was one that was twenty-five thousand! He even said there were more beautiful ones that were equally more expensive, but they were at a warehouse because carrying them would turn him into a walking ATM begging to be broken.
I couldn’t help but wonder, if so many people were involved in this form of trade, then there had to be profits right? As in, for them to constantly be hawking the portraits had to mean that there were always people who were buying them. This was not like buying meat-pie along the road because you are hungry, or getting a bottle of soft drink to quench your sudden taste.
For something like this, you have to know that you would be spending some real money. And it can’t be a spur of the moment. But then, I guess some people do have more money than others, and that can explain it.
Although I am not an art person like that, the only type I really know is writing, music, and movies. Any other form of art and I would just be stuttering. But then, artists are usually one of the highly regarded people in society, at least to my knowledge. And their works are usually displayed and auctioned in galleries. One can’t help but wonder, if they are being sold at that price on the road, will having them in a gallery be any different? They may be more expensive there.
I have seen paintings worth over a hundred thousand naira, and that was not the most expensive one at the gallery at the time.
It is just sad that my country presently is not fertile for such creativity, there are no measures in place that will give every artist a platform to air their voice. There are people who do the same painting but sell them at ridiculous prices just so they can make ends meet. Of course, we all know that all fingers are not equal, and some will have it going better for them than others.
So, what am I trying to say here? Not much really, I was just surprised at how expensive these things can be. I guess only lovers of artworks will know the value and be able to pay such enormous prizes for them. After all, if you can afford it, then there is no problem at all.
People always said loving artwork is for the rich, maybe because of the cost of purchasing, and then when you factor in the black market and dollar inflation in the international market. These are not things that you would spend easy money on unless of course, you have a lot of serious money as well.
Who knows, a time might come when I will become an avid lover of art as well. I will purchase the most expensive kinds and hang them all over my properties, using any opportunity I have to show off my collection. That time might come, or I might just remain ignorant of the art world as I have always been. But if I am being honest, either way works perfectly fine for me.
Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below, I would love to know what you are thinking. Till we meet in the next post.
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