As the weather warms and the first day of spring beckons — er, today — the 70 percent off sales of Holiday 2008 become but a dim memory. Sadly for us suckers, a new season ushers in serious retail lust: whether it’s a fresh coat of paint, cute dress, artwork, lacrosse stick, picnic basket, or paperbacks, if it’s new to us, we clearly need it. To our everlasting chagrin, we’ll never have the scoop on a sale at Lanvin, but accessible artwork and design objects are now on the rise, thanks to a growing number of independent artists and resurgence of private salons.
And why not take advantage? You may think you have the skills, but let’s be honest: the world of crafting extends a bit beyond another Popsicle-stick sculpture. You could also try your hand at recreating famous photography by the likes of Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, but that’s (a) not exactly original and (b) time-consuming, albeit entertaining. So let’s leave it to the up-and-coming creatives, shall we?
When jobs and cash flow wane, spare time and inventive ideas wax, which is one reason that in-home art salons are having such a moment. New York Magazine recently reported on Salon Adelphi, a Fort Greene salon held on the regular that gets packed to the gills, thanks to its heady combo of booze, art installation, musical performances, and hip young things who are friends of writers/founders Porter Fox and Derek Loosvelt. Farther north, the Bronx Blue Bedroom project is an artist-run collective that encourages neighborhood involvement by hosting artist dinners and community art workshops. As for its commercial side, we’re pretty sure the balloon crochet by artist Olek is wacky enough to satisfy symptoms of spring fever all the way through May.
We hit up another salon-style gathering last night at Melanie Flood Projects to report back on affordable art accoutrements. A few notables below:
Jason Polan
One of the original blogged-about affordable art makers, you may have heard of his catalog illustrating “every item” in MoMA ($20). Our personal favorite is the giraffe project: for an initial cost of $25, plus $1 for each animal drawn, the artist will make your own personal page o’ giraffes.
Wong Wong
Former Helmut Lang art director Stephen Wong’s collection of European football-inspired cashmere scarves. They are bright, bold, and irreverent — “Two Man Combo” has several connotations, you know. Scarves sold for $60 apiece.
Abe’s Penny
A micro-magazine started by art/fashion duo Tess and Anna Knoebel (yep, they’re sisters too). Each “issue” of Abe’s Penny pairs a writer with a photographer; the four-part narrative is sent out each week on a postcard until the set is completed. March features photographs by Tod Seelie and a story by Brandon Johnson. A six-month subscription costs $48 and comes with the ultimate satisfaction of receiving mail that isn’t a bill.
Grace Kim
Kim photographs evidence of surreptitious relationships, from love hotels in Seoul to one-night stands between Korean gay men. The images are shot in stark black-and-white, but the overall effect is moody and elegant, not seedy. A set of ten miniature photos from the series “Love Hotel” sells for $40.
Kalina Magazine
A new publication by Internet-famous photographer Noah Kalina, each issue of Kalina is based upon a single theme or concept. The first, Why Won’t You Love Me, ($17) is a series of portraits capturing one girl on film over the span of two-and-a-half years.
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7 Responses
A very interesting topic. However I hope there was more variety in the examples given. Most of them are photography. Good ones though.
I am involved with FRESH PICKS a project that is publishing top, contemporary artists in affordable limited edition prints – prices range from $45+ (for a 10"x12"), $450 (20"x24") and $1450 (40" x 48"). We release two artworks a month, and you can also subscribe to all of the 10×12 editions each year, collected them into a limited edition, artist embellished portfolio case – like the ultimate luxury art book. We cover photography, mixed media work, painting, drawing etc. and our 12 editions to date have been receiving amazing response! Exclusively selected, FRESH PICKS allows you to own a piece of the hottest thing going in contemporary art by rising starts without breaking the bank! Please check us out! http://www.vantageartprojects.com
Yes! There are so many venues to buy art on a budget. Tiny Showcase, Etsy, your friends…
There was an article on artist salons/dinner parties in the Globe and Mail this weekend. I posted about those listed in Kelsey's piece along with the Jamie's Area in Toronto at http://www.lunule.blogspot.
"buy[in] art on a budget" makes it sound a bit cheap.
all the same, though, the idea of making art more financially accessible is great! having just briefly glanced through some of the fresh picks prints on the vantage website, it was nice to see such a variety in styles and media… the quality and range of talent, too, was interesting.
I'm on the mailing list for your pieces. I love that you are trying to make art affordable for young art collectors. They are cool and so affordable…especially in this economy!
I'm a student at Pratt, and live around the corner from Melanie Flood Projects- I stopped by the March Madness event last week, and was impressed with the variety and group of artists that were on display. I was really excited to see Jason Polan selling stuff for $25 when recently he was selling drawings at Glenn Horowitz for $700.
What was great about this particular venue was that you can get art that is otherwise expensive for a good price, and get to hang out in her out of control brownstone. (Not sure how she finances such a place when selling work for $100 and less). I talked to her for a bit that night- she's definitely well connected, with a huge group of talented well known artist friends who create work specifically for her parties. Buying something from her is an investment- these artists are going places. Unlike the other salons I've read about, she has a real gallery schedule, showing new work every month. I've only been to the last two, but if future events are anything like these were, she'll have an over-packed house come the summer months.
This is a great idea. I have an art consulting and tour business that is called Accessible Art. Check out my website at http://www.accessibleartny.com. I am always trying to find quality art for people that is not too outrageously expensive. There are deals to be had during this recession. Bravo to people for doing this!