Every year, the month of January boasts the all important after-Christmas sales. As advertised, there are exceptional deals after the holiday rush, particularly in the realm of home decor. After the holidays, many of us submit to the opportunity to spruce up the house with a new work of art.
I’ll take Picasso for $50, Alex
Over the years, you.ve seen the TV ads, “Buy a framed, sofa-sized oil painting for only $49.99!” Initially, you think to yourself, “For only $49.99, no wonder the artists are starving.” You temporarily consider a quick trip downtown to check out the art offerings at the hotel or convention center hosting the deep discount sale. You return to your senses, yet you’re still curious.
Assembly Line Art
Your fantasy image of a handsome young artist standing at his easel overlooking a snowy landscape creating a masterpiece just for you is—well, a fantasy. Most of us don’t think that there is a connection between overseas workshop labor and a $49.99 oil painting. On some level, we like the emotional image that artists are starving for the love of art!
With this reality check in mind, here is all you need to know about the starving artist paintings. The $49.99 sofa-sized starving artist paintings are products of outdated printing plants and often times art sweatshops in Asia and other countries. The inexpensive offerings at starving artist sales are either cheap oleographs (fake paintings) or paintings produced in a repetitious assembly line manner.
Imitation Oil
The oleograph or imitation painting is a basically a reproduced print. The oleographic process dates back to the 1800s. Its name refers to any imitation graphic work just as the term “oleo” is used to describe imitation butter.
For instance, an image of a that lovely fruit bowl still life is nothing more than a machine-printed image produced onto a piece of canvas instead of printed onto a piece of paper. After drying, a clear varnish is applied to the print in order to simulate brushstrokes. Not unlike clear nail polish, the varnish is applied over the entire printed image and allowed to dry giving the piece the look of real painted brushstrokes.
While printed oleographs rely on machines rather than artists, the starving artist sales keep the age-old sweatshop in business. These budget paintings are often produced by groups of underpaid and overworked factory laborers.
Machine-Made Masterpieces
Factory workers stand, for hours at a time, in front of machines that support a long roll of blank canvas. With brushes and paint, each worker is responsible for painting one image or portion of a painting’s entire composition. For instance, when producing a landscape painting, Artist #1 will paint a tree, Artist #2 will paint a bird, and so on. At intervals and without warning, the canvas is automatically repositioned by machine to expose the next blank area of canvas to the workers who will paint it. The workers repeat the painting process. During the process, Artist #1 paints that same tree over and over again for the next 14 to 16 hours straight.
Western Myths
Well, just like Artist #1 whose job it is to paint that tree, there is another artist in the starving artist sweatshop who signs paintings. Despite their country of origin, the signed surnames on the majority of the paintings are not Eastern. Marketing dictates that westerners expect to buy paintings signed with western surnames like Smith, Worthington, or Jones, so the producers sign all of the paintings with a few of the most common western surnames. This piecemeal art process continues until hundreds of look-alike paintings are produced. Completed paintings are cut from the end of the canvas roll, stapled to a wooden stretcher, framed, and crated for shipment to a hotel lobby near you.
Now that you know the inside scoop on the starving artists sales, don’t you think that your $50 would be better spent on a good pencil sketch by a student artist from your local art school or academy? I certainly do.
Dr. Lori, star appraiser on Discovery channel’s Auction Kings will appear and offer free antique appraisals as part of the 17th annual FALL Home Show at the Salem Civic Center, September 15-16, 2012. You can meet Dr. Lori, who will appraise attendees’ antiques and collectibles. Two sessions each day: On Saturday – 10 am & 3 pm and Sunday – 12:30 pm & 3 pm. Arrive early for one free appraisal per show attendee. Some guidelines apply. Additional objects can be appraised at $25 per object. Bring an object and attend both days since every show is different! Find out how to sell unwanted stuff for top dollar. Dr. Lori will tell you what people are really paying for antiques and collectibles. She will pull no punches as she evaluates the objects and makes you laugh. “I’ll break some hearts, I’ll make some millionaires. We’ll laugh and learn along the way,” says Dr. Lori.
Contact her at:www.DrLoriV.com or (888) 431-1010.
