2024 04 16

Super neat art piece by E Lee as part of his solo show at All Star Press in Chicago. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck

Art, it’s neat!

I had a weekend full of art and have been spending a lot of time pondering the fine art marketplace. Recently, I’ve come to the conclusion that I have been drawn to commercial photography largely because things are more defined and transactional. I have something a company wants and they pay me a set price to deliver it. It’s relatively straightforward. The fine art world, however, has always been a mysterious and intimidating place to me. Nobody is to say I can’t make a photo of a pile of hot dogs and offer it for sale for $950,000, as was the asking price for a painting of a pile of hot dogs at Expo over the weekend. An insane asking price is part of the appeal and part of art’s value, I suppose. Artist E Lee, I’m sure, has some fascinating viewpoints on art as it relates to commerce considering he features currency in much of his work. This is something I should explore in a future blog post. For now, I offer this quick open-ended pondering as a reminder to myself that it’s worth additional consideration.

-Clayton