Art and Creativity: Reconciling Authenticity and Marketability

I firmly believe that it is part and parcel of being creative or artistic that you want to express yourself and create authentically.

Now, whereas "authenticity" may hold different meanings for different people, as artists we try to express that which feels like a true expression of whatever we feel, or whatever visions we have.

Meanwhile, most artists also have "some" to "a lot" of interest in bringing their creations to the greater world, be it through simply selling their work through a web site, or maybe consigning to art galleries.

Sometimes, however, it can be difficult to reconcile the two and make them work together.
Consequently, the creative person might find themselves facing the uncomfortable reality that their authentic creative expression simply isn't marketable.

Of course, a good salesperson would argue that ANYTHING can be sold, if presented properly.

I remember back when I had my gallery in Austin, Texas (1985-99), the whole idea of marketability subtly ended up steering the direction of our entire store, for reasons we had never considered.

At the beginning, we had a large selection of what I would call "fine applied art." Which would include things like textiles, pottery, blown glass, paper art and other objects made by the most skilled artists in their respective fields... as well as many paintings.

Over time, the gallery slowly wandered in the direction of becoming mostly an art glass gallery.

This didn't happen so much because people didn't LIKE pottery, textiles and paper but because on an artistically level playing field, many people perceived that "they could go home and make that" because they had taken a pottery course, or because they were good at painting in high school and so forth. They would then use that as their reason to not purchase.

Pretty much nobody perceived that they had the means and skills to set up glass furnaces and work out how to create blown glass. It's not only a very technical artform, it requires a considerable investment in equipment.

In this case, the marketability was the bi-product of (typically false) perceptions of the level of difficulty involved in creating the art.

In a different example, one of the artists we represented was a lovely painter. The challenge she faced was that she created beautiful work that held lots of appeal, but her "vision" rarely included any pieces less than maybe 6x8 feet in size (180x240 cm), and most were bigger, meaning her work simply didn't physically fit into most spaces.

Another artist considered himself "visionary" and made the depiction of "the horrors of violence and war" his life's work. His expression was definitely authentic, but the market for paintings of people in twisted poses with blood pouring from multiple wounds and loose limbs laying around was pretty small... especially at $5,000 a pop.

Of course, the opposite end of the spectrum also exists: Artists who are basically "production line" creators of work designed expressly to market to a broad spectrum of the public. Sure, sometimes they can be authentic (I know exactly ONE who is), but mostly art is just a job more than authentic expression.

Finding a balance can be challenging, but sometimes it is also a necessity, particularly if you materially depend on your art to buy food, rent, and so on.

Thanks for reading!

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