ART BASEL MIAMI

ART BASEL MIAMI 2015

I attended the show early in the day and walked through in a rather short period of time. The show was pretty much reserved for re-sale art dealers and collectors.

  

Prices went up to the millions at this Art Fair; Galleries displayed works from modern and contemporary artists. Investing was at the center of this show with prices escalating from last year's show. A friend Artist voiced concerns of a collapse of the art market, similar to the housing industry ten years ago; but art sales have been reported this year in the billions of dollars by auction houses like Christie’s.

  

Money is of no concern when it comes to art; it has been proven over a long period of time that art only increases in value regardless of the actual value of money. Money in this sense is irrelevant; artworks are tangibles owned for periods of time and resold at prices that reflect the value of money at the time of sale; it is safe to say that changes in our economy affect the value of art.

 

Friends have also expressed concern about the commercial aspects of the art world today and I mirror their concerns; but as an artist I explain that all works we see today have an individual contribution that comes from each artist and that those contributions are of value; they have an effect on the viewers and collectors pay for what they like as long as they feel affinity to the works. Collectors ultimately control value.

 

Today all artists’ contributions are important within the art market and prices are set by demand. This commercialization tells a lot about why we tend to become critical of art value and we question the integrity of art dealers, but art dealers are only doing what they have always done: providing an intermediary service between artist and buyers. This is possibly the most important job in the art market and possibly why it pays so well; in my opinion a well-deserved remuneration regardless of the riches it might provide; again we need to remember that everything is relative and that money means very little to someone that has a lot of it and is willing to pay  for something they want. In this aspect ‘the art market’ is just another game people play.

  

  

It is also important to remember that art establishes a record of societies at any time in history and that we value the historical significance of art; we can also think of art as the message from artists to future generations, ‘mirrors’ so that people can evaluate at any time where they stand as societies, and what their values are; how they can contribute to the improvement or to the deterioration of their communities.  All of these aspects contribute to the value of a work of art.

Art Basel in this manner, and other art shows happening around the world today give us a window into the past and an opportunity to evaluate our own thinking; and to decide what is right and wrong in our present living standards, values and social participation.

  

Relating trends, one of the aspects most prominent at Art Basel and all the other peripheral shows in Miami during this art weekend in the city was the influx of photography and digitally generated figure images as a substitute for original painting techniques; there were mostly printed photographic images on paper and on canvas substituting 'drawing' as the origination for works of oil on canvas. There were also a larger than usual presentation of photography pieces as ‘art of its own’ where photographs of high resolution and beauty shared wall space with a few traditional works of art; still, the few traditional paintings I run into at the shows in Miami left me with a sense of hope for the traditional fine-arts; that they were still alive.

  

I did photograph the people at Art Basel this year in celebration of their participation and their mission on the continuation of culture through the voices of past artists; voices with messages for us so that we too can figure out where we are today as a society and where we might be heading. I viewed each piece of art at the shows as a screaming voice asking us to be cautious; to review our values and to be conscious of our actions and positive participation in our communities.

 

This seemed important to me at a time when we are witnessing devastating acts of terror around the world; this destructive acts are not new but we are now able to witness them due to our present venues of communication. I saw several pieces of art around the city where artists voiced the concept of ‘terror’ in their work reminding us that we can participate in 'peace' by being peaceful individuals ourselves; that peace is a practice that comes only from within.

 

Overall I was happy to be at Art Basel and to attend all the other shows happening in Miami; the message was in general the same: a sense of search and exploration that reflects our present search and exploration for spiritual values that can bring us closer to a more inclusive society. 

We yearn for kinder and more loving societies similar to those we experience regularly in small groups all over our cities today; where healing, yoga and meditation are normal practices and where 'peace' is the central concept.

This is the message that we artists are sending today to future generations. History repeats itself; let’s let art be a peaceful guidance for people to head in the right direction and a reminder that we can loudly or quietly participate in a peaceful demonstration for inclusiveness and peace around the world.

 

 

AQUA 2015 

   

  

   

   

DESIGN MIAMI 2015

Functional Art

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

 

 

SCOPE 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ART MIAMI EXHIBIT 2015

 

 

 

 

 

Jaime Izquierdo, Artist-Editor

ART BASEL 2015 - Images by Jaime Izquierdo

ART BASEL MIAMI 2011

ART BASEL 2011 B - Images by Jaime Izquierdo

ART BASEL 2011 MIAMI

Art Basel has become one of the most celebrated events in Miami. The entire city is involved with art venues during the Art Basel event, offering visitors, artists, collectors and dealers the opportunity to meet and do business. There is a combination of classic and new in this art convention where Miami residents are regaled with the once a year exposure to valuable pieces of art, that are museum quality. It is refreshing to be able to stand in front of paintings, installations, objects, and sculptures and spend time enjoying them without the formality of a museum setting. In addition, art dealers are very pleasant and one does not sense the stuffiness associated with exclusive galleries. There is a sense of inclusiveness that attracts more and more visitors each year. Art Basel has become one of my favorite places to view what is new in the market, and to revisit pieces of art I have not seen in a long time, some never before.

The energy at Art Basel spells freshness with new works of art displayed along their modern-classic counterparts. Pricing is still in the thousands, hundreds of thousands and more for works of art at this show. It is a once a year opportunity for visitors to feel part of such an important market, even if you attend just to view the works. There is a majority of visitors to the show that come simply to take advantage of this rare opportunity, this includes bus loads of local school students that enjoy the opportunity to participate in this sophisticated and yet welcoming event. Art Basel is definitely a good place to introduce young viewers to the history of modern art, where it is simple to understand what art is today.

Last year we asked some of the art dealers to define art as it is today, but we did not get positive responses, none that they wanted included in an article. It has to be difficult for an art dealer to commit to a statement about what art is since everything is art. This contributes to the sense of inclusion that exists at Art Basel. Whereas art used to be the representation of a person or an object in reality, objects themselves like trees, stones, old furniture, real fruit, and plants are today marketed as works of art. It is the conception of the artist that gives validity to these items as works of art. Whereas painting, sculpture and architecture were the techniques used to represent reality; all crafts are included in the art market as acceptable techniques to create art today. It is normal to see beautiful and imaginative works produced by taxidermists, weavers, iron workers, clothing workers, plastic mold makers, and all other craftsmen. An installation by Brazilian artist Paolo Nazareth that included his old VW Van loaded with bunches of bananas, which he sold at the show for ten dollars apiece to pay for his show expenses, gave the show a charming quality. His booth at the show was one of the best attended, as were galleries presenting classic works, like Galerie Thomas from Berlin that sold works by artists like Calder, Alexander Archipenko, Chagall, and many more modern artists. The combination of new and well established artists makes Art Basel exciting to view and experience as a place where all artist share equal attention from viewers.

We are attracted to specific works of art through the individual reaction of our senses. Some of us are more visual, while others are more auditory, sensorial, or olfactory. It is in this manner that we choose today what type of art best fits our taste, added to our knowledge of a specific technique as is applied to the work of art. In addition it is important to consult with the art dealers who are familiar with going prices for specific artist’s works. This is important for collectors, since you might be investing hundreds of thousands in installations that can be made out of natural products representing no actual value in real money, and that might represent an installation they themselves could easily reproduce at home. The art market is exactly what it implies, a market where objects of art are sold for higher and higher amounts as they are exchanged among collectors and dealers from year to year. I overheard a collector saying that he had counted on spending four hundred thousand on a work of art that had already escalated in price to one million since last year. Art ultimately is an investment for collectors, and dealers act as the gate keepers of value on the works of art. The art market is also a safer investment than the stock market, where value can disappear overnight. Art on the other hand escalates and rarely goes down in price.

Article by Jaime IzquierdoEditor: Sarah Freedman-Izquierdo

ART BASEL MIAMI 2010


ART BASEL 2010 - Images by Jaime Izquierdo


ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH, 2010The ninth annual Miami Beach Art Basel show opened with lower attendance than in previous years. The "First Choice" session, opened only to collectors, seemed poorly attended leaving the Miami Convention Hall rather empty. This worked well for collectors. Art is seen as a safe place to invest, and galleries reported satisfactory sales, especially in resale art sales. Art Basel is an unusual market place where collectors have a chance to purchase hundreds of museum quality works. Among the collectors seen at Art Basel were representatives of the U.C.L.A. Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and private collectors David Tieger, Don Rubell. Over 250 galleries from around the world participated in Art Basel 2010.


WHAT IS ART? AND ‘WHAT IS BAD ART’
The collection of artwork at Art Basel included unusual pieces rarely found outside of museums. A sequence of nude portraits by John Singer Sargent made the entire show worthwhile. Representational painting and sculpture, otherwise, were scarcely present, and mostly found among Latin American artists. Pop Art and other works tending toward decorative arts were widely found, as were more modern works of conceptual nature. Art films, photography, and more esoteric art installations brought together the world of art, as is today. A leading Art Director from New York, when asked what Art is today, responded "I cannot comment on your request about what art is today for the simple reason that art is so pluralistic that there is no definite trend. The best way to appreciate art is to study the Renaissance masters in order to see what makes art great" but the rules of the Renaissance apply only to painting, and figurative works of art where technique is essential. Works of art that are conceptual in nature do not require the technical knowledge or formal artistic training needed to produce painting and figurative sculpture. This can be puzzling to art audiences because the art market has established no other rules to differentiate what is art, and what is not, when addressing conceptual works. Conceptual Art can be defined as anything that can be presented in a conceptual manner, and can be sold in the art market. Pluralistic is the word that best suits art in this sense, because there are no limits to creativity or concepts. In the words of another art dealer, "All you need is eyes to know what art is"

Article by Jaime Izquierdo. Editor Sarah Freedman-Izuierdo