A novelist who gets a mediocre advance, a nondescript meal that costs a modest sum, a Plain Jane haircut, an anonyomous-looking hatchback, a white shirt sans frills — none of these makes news because headlines are reserved for things out of the ordinary. Art auctions have been the preserve of the mainstream media only when they command record prices for canvases, or lots sold or, at least, averaged. Anything else slips under the radar and fails to grip popular imagination. Given this environment, will — can — an auction that doesn’t scream “most expensive” grab the newspapers’, or even art collectors’, attention?
A case in point is the series of auctions that Saffronart started some months ago, of prints, drawings and art books and, from next week, of sculptures and installations. These are works of mostly well-enough known artists but at the lower end of the spectrum — a market it has clearly wanted to open with a younger, more timid or less ostentatious group of collectors in mind. It’s difficult to say how well these 24-hour auctions have fared — certainly, the sale of lots has been encouraging, but there have been no extravagant surges in values, and with average prices between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, hype and, therefore, media analysis and new-collector eyeballs have been largely missing.
And yet, clearly there is a market here that needs to be nurtured. The “emerging” artist is someone even galleries, despite avowals to the contrary, are loath to support. At a time when almost everyone wants to ascertain the investment-worthiness of an artist, how do you create future value for someone just a couple of exhibitions old?
In this scenario, it is interesting that Art Konsult’s Siddhartha Tagore has thought to launch Art India Bull, his auction house, aimed at precisely this market — of largely unknown, unheard or unsung artists whom he hopes will sell for Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. It is an interesting niche to occupy in the crowded art retail market — but one that is also debatable.
Take the case of the Nano which made news for being the cheapest automobile in the market. But it is precisely that which became its stumbling block — nobody likes to be recognised for ownership of something that is the cheapest in the market. And certainly, in the snobbish world of art, that cheapest price point could be a hurdle. Investing in the least expensive emerging artists isn’t exactly the kind of conversation that will set the cocktail circuit on fire, even given the unpredictability that an auction brings to the process.
And that is because the lack of awareness of names, and of hype surrounding prices, could impose its own negative collateral on collectors. Would you like to buy art that the world recognises not so much as being inexpensive, as being cheap? The result — you’re unlikely to see a frenzy of escalating bids because the passion to own a work by a known artist isn’t there to goad you on.
On the other hand, if the attempt does succeed — and many newbie collectors with limited budgets will ardently wish it does — then there is every chance that it could result in newer artists on the collecting circuit. That they will mark their entry with a degree of transparency in terms of prices, an acknowledgement of their worth via an open bidding process, is something that could change the rules of the game — for both emerging artists and emerging collectors. Now to wait and see if hope turns into hype…
Kishore Singh is a Delhi-based writer and art critic. These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which he is associated
