Who in the World Would Buy This?!
Published in
7 min readDec 28, 2020
A look at ideal & potential customers of an outlandish work of art
Ok. So now that you know what this piece is, how it came to be, and better understand its pricing, it’s time to examine what kind of person might collect it. First off, of course, is the simplest fact: someone who can afford to buy it. It isn’t the least expensive artwork on the market, and, admittedly, that reduces the number of people who could collect it, but assuming that someone in each of the following sections would be ABLE to buy it, I have thought of folks in a few different situations who would be exciting to have as a part of this work.
I know that some of them are notably unlikely to be interested, but the point here is not practicability, but a good fit.
***SIDE NOTE: if you know someone — who may or may not fit into one of the categories below — whom you think would be genuinely interested in collecting this piece, I’m happy to pay a finder’s fee when they purchase it, as thanks for your help connecting me with someone who cares about my work & ideas.***
Let’s take a look at the individuals and organizations I’ve considered thus far:
- Banksy
“Oh come on, seriously?” I know this sounds crazy, but hear me out.
Banksy is an artist who has built a reputation for questioning the status quo, especially in the art world. You need to look no further than the painting that shredded itself as soon as it was purchased at auction (for $1.4 Million, nonetheless). It pretty clearly showed that the artist doesn’t really feel a need to respect someone just because they have a lot of money, and definitely highlighted the intentionally ephemeral nature of the core of his(?) work.
Such an artist, who regularly questions society’s views on money, power, and art, would be an ideal individual to have as a part of this piece. Maybe Banksy would buy it to make everything I create freely available to the public. Maybe Banksy would destroy every single item without anyone seeing it, as further commentary on how ephemeral and useless wealth is, or about how spending a lot of money on something doesn’t make the thing or the buyer better or more valuable.
But whatever he would or would not do with my creations over the coming decades, just this quote shows that teaming up for this work, in particular, would be a dream come true:
“It doesn’t take much to be a successful artist — all you need to do is dedicate your entire life to it.” - MOCA (or similarly amazing museum featuring contemporary art)
If someone (or a group of people) understood the nature of what I’m creating, wanted the world to see it and understand it, and purchased it to donate to an amazing arts organization open to the public (assuming they’d be willing to accept it), it would mean the opportunity to display/work with a public-facing group, helping more people face the questions this piece raises. Of course, if a museum wanted to buy it themselves, fair play, but the idea of the transaction involving a donation and, to a certain extent, the public, is a pretty enticing idea to me. Perhaps the long-term storage requirements would mean them only accepting a very small number of “receipt” pieces, or perhaps just a single plaque or work to display, with the rest of the pieces I create being documented and stored rather than being on their campus. Or maybe they’d sell or donate works themselves to raise funds for their endowments… there are a lot of ways that this would be an exciting partnership. - Portia de Rossi
Ok, I know she might not be the first name to jump to mind for most people and it may seem oddly specific, but not only have she and her wife proven their love of art with their very impressive private collection, but she recently left the world of acting to found and lead an art startup around a new trademarked technology she developed with Fujifilm. The goal of that technology, called the Synograph, is, in her words, the hope that it “shakes up the antiquated idea that scarcity is how we should value art. It should be valuable because it’s good, not because it’s rare.” In other words, she’s a smart, talented artist who has built a company around the very questions at the heart of this piece — the nature, value, and availability of art, so she clearly understands and appreciates the same issues in the art world that I’m focused on. Add to that the fact that if they wanted, they could use any and/or all of my works for decades to come without needing to pay a dime to me in royalties. Want to charge less for them as a marketing strategy? Can do. Want to charge the same or more, and just have a higher profit margin? No problem. Especially considering the notable marketing push it could be for General Public to set art market records with a controversial piece. Or maybe she would just decide that she wanted to just keep it all to herself, and have some of my work in their home(s). I’d be more than thrilled with that, too — again, having my work in the hands of a talented artist who resonates with the questions I’m asking and the items I create to ask them would be an absolute dream. - A passionate individual collector I don’t know
While the previous three potential purchasers would be interesting partners ideologically, the simple reality of a single collector who cares about conceptual art would be just as exciting for me. Since, as I’ve said in a previous article, I would consider the collector of this piece to be an integral collaborator, working with someone who cares about conceptual art in general — and in my work and ideas in particular — and who wants to be a part of what I’m working on is an exciting thought. In “ordinary” circumstances, collectors often value the chance to get to know the artists whose work they collect. Since this piece inherently means they’ll be the only collector receiving my work for the rest of my life, this relationship would likely be more intimate and important. - A Bitcoin hodler
With a recent (late 2020) notable uptick in Bitcoin price (and ETH, and other cryptocurrencies), someone who has proven that they have adequate vision to understand that something which others considered a frivolous, risky, fringe idea has the potential to be great is exactly the sort of person who could appreciate this piece’s potential (to answer the inevitable question, yes, I would happily accept payment in crypto). There is some precedent for mixing the crypto/blockchain and art worlds, and while this piece is not explicitly about that corner of the tech sector, I used to work in the industry, and I’d be happy to do more work on/in/based on it if it would be interesting for such a visionary art collector. - A group of people
In the link in the Bitcoin section above, you’ll see that the purchase of the piece in question was not by an individual, but by a group of people who all contributed an equal amount to purchase the piece and co-own it. While it could complicate the logistics of delivery some (and there would need to be a good deal of consideration given to how it would all work), if a group of people wanted to all chip in to buy it together, it would bring up new sets of questions in the piece (e.g. a large group sharing/owning art, compared to private ownership, compared to private ownership by a public institution like a museum, compared to public art; and how each type of ownership impacts the works created). So, for example, five thousand people paying $1,000 to own 1/5000th of my career? That’s an interesting idea, to be sure, and something I’d definitely welcome. - Generous gift giver
There are plenty of examples of people giving extraordinary gifts to the people they love, and what could be better than a gift that keeps on giving (especially as a way to celebrate the end of a year that has brought so much difficulty)? Gifting not only a record-setting art transaction event and the first known time a career has been sold, but, then, a lifetime of works for the person who is the object of their affection. I think that the idea of giving someone else’s career as a gift only heightens many of the important tensions in the piece, and beautifully brings weighty questions to the forefront. Also, it’s always just plain nice to be a part of a grand gesture of love. The world can always use more love and grand gestures! - A random person shopping online while drunk
Sure, for a contract to be legally enforceable both parties need to be sober, but I’m not really saying that a person would need to be inebriated to buy this work, it’s just my hyperbolic way to say that I believe this piece is strong enough that even if it isn’t someone I’ve already thought of as being an “ideal” partner for this work, it would still be a solid piece that holds up well. Even if the collector who purchased it didn’t really have a deep passion for conceptual art or my work in general and bought it on a fleeting whim (in fact, in some ways it might be more interesting that way), it wouldn’t lessen the impact that the piece could/would have.
Hopefully, you now have a better sense of this piece, the financial questions, the art history background that has lead me to this work, and what sort of people may choose to collect it. If you have questions, comments, gifts of cash, or want to connect me with someone who is, or whom you believe might be interested in collecting this piece, I’d love to have you comment here or reach out to me via email! What do you think? Did I miss someone or a type of person who would be an ideal collector to partner with? Let me know!
