Value Through Values By Shiva Kansagara Cover artwork by Mr. Brainwash
Exit Through the Gift Shop is a documentary film directed by the anonymous street artist Banksy that follows the artistic rise of the Frenchman, Thierry Guetta. Thierry, who became known as Mr. Brainwash, is an avid camera-lover, obsessed with recording everyone and everything. He stumbled upon the world of street art and was persistent in his efforts to tag along on artist-friends’ night missions, filming and learning from every move they made. Eventually he met Banksy, with whom Thierry became an accomplice to multiple strikingly memorable art performances; for one performance, Banksy placed a large inflatable figure inside a ride at Disneyland while Thierry caught the act on camera. Stepping away from this collaboration, Thierry dabbled in creating his own artwork. While many of Thierry’s pieces were physically created by other artists, they were at his direction; one could say Mr. Brainwash was only the “brains” behind the work. Thierry’s art was not entirely unique as he presented pieces that were inspired by and reminiscent of earlier pop art creators, such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. After amassing a collection of hundreds of pieces – most of which followed a simple recipe of a Photoshopped image overlaid with spray paint – Thierry put on his own art show. Banksy, an already famous artist in his own right, lent his influence to Thierry by commenting on Thierry’s work. Because of Banksy’s mention, LA Weekly wrote an article on the up and coming artist, encouraging many art enthusiasts to attend the show. During the show, when asked about the cost of a piece, Thierry impulsively and extemporaneously blurted out numbers that ranged from ten to twenty thousand dollars. Was Thierry just trying to make money? Was this show a performance art critiquing the absurd prices people would pay for an unknown artist? Or, did he genuinely think his pieces were worth that much? Regardless of his personal motivation, he was able to build a positive reputation for his work, eventually making hundreds of thousands of dollars at his opening show. Given the tremendous monetary success for someone who lacks an art background and his own personal art style, I raise the question: how do we value art?
Art is different from other objects. Objects that have utility are valued based on what they cost to make and also the importance of what they do. On the other hand, art does not have a set utility, and there are four general ways art can be valued. First, rarity makes a work valuable because it is one of a kind, and thus more difficult to obtain. Second, craftsmanship increases the value of art because it considers the large amounts of time and extensive skills that are required to create it. Third, hype and popularity generated from positive expert reviews raises value. Finally, a piece of art is valuable because it shifts one’s frame or perspective, evokes an emotional response, and subsequently attaches meaning to the work. Meaning is unique and should be defined by each individual. Given that Thierry was able to create so many pieces of art at one time indicates that his work has a formula. It is easily replicable, allowing many people who are fans of Thierry to recreate his art cheaply. Nevertheless, the rarity of the collection, hype from the community, and Thierry’s connection to other street artists made his work so popular. Thierry defined his art’s value to be immense, and his audience agreed, opting to spend lots of money on the original piece itself. That is why, regardless of the outside opinions and reviews, the spectator ultimately decides whether to give the art meaning.
In contrast to Thierry’s art, Banksy’s work is objectively created at a more elevated and perceptive level. Banksy is an anonymous, English street artist who is famous for his activism. His work, whether graffiti on a wall or a public installation, makes a statement about society. One of Banksy’s most famous politically related works was created on the West Bank barrier in 2005. These works can be viewed on Banksy Explained (banksyexplained.com). Banksy painted seven murals on the Segregation Wall. Many of the murals created an illusion that made it seem like broken wall segments led to a beautiful beach or a majestic mountainscape (Laboureau, par. 4). In another mural, a girl is holding on to a bundle of balloons in an attempt to float over the wall (Laboureau, par. 8). All seven murals have the theme of escaping imprisonment in Palestine. By creating impressionistic art on this wall, Banksy drew attention to the conflict happening on the West Bank. His art made headlines globally, allowing more people to learn about this segregation. Not all work must be as political or as grand in scale as this installation by Banksy in order to be viewed as valuable or important. However, pieces – by Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Space Invader, and other street artists – that are clever, have a unique style, and provide insight into a deeper topic or problem have repeatedly received attention and praise because they forced people to think. This attention is more likely to come from those who value social justice as they might value these works more than those who do not. Additionally, this street art medium prevents people from buying or collecting Banksy’s work, making this art ephemeral and fleeting, which creates allure; such complex work being only momentary forces his audience to be present with his work and appreciate it before it disappears.
Contrary to street art, which is fixed and impermanent, technology has made buying art more accessible and timeless through a digital setting. One example of this is through Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs. NFTs can be digital artworks, audio or video clips, or really anything posted online, and through the Ethereum blockchain, people can buy ownership of the original digital media. Ken Erwin, CEO and creator of PixelMap, was a guest on the podcast This American Life. Erwin explained that his 2016 creation is “a grid…of 4,000 little tiles” where “anybody can buy the tiles, own them, and decorate them how they want;” however, at the time, this project received little attention (This American Life 3:37-3:51). PixelMap is now considered one of the earliest forms of NFTs that existed. Therefore, when NFTs rose to popularity in 2021, so did PixelMap. After relaunching, Erwin earned $3.5 million within two days and six hours due to the absurd amounts of money people were paying for the remaining tiles on PixelMap (10:42-10:50). Twitter accounts with large followings would “encourage other people to buy, which pushes up the price,” then “in a couple of days when the price is at the highest, they sell, taking a quick and sizeable profit;” so, “without the hype, the NFTs price falls” (26:40-26:56). The PixelMap tiles people were buying were empty and white, and they had not even become any form of art yet – the point being that the owner could create their own design on a sixteen by sixteen pixel sized canvas. Therefore, the buyers are equating a blank tile to three to four thousand dollars because the art itself is inconsequential and only famous for the investment. This modern, technological, and relatively new approach to viewing and appreciating art is not a reflection of the art itself, but a reflection of how people value it. First, since these are NFTs, this art is being used as a certificate of ownership. People, mainly celebrities, buy it as a way of proving their wealth and status, and as a way of hopping on trends and staying relevant. Second, this art is being used as an investment; purely as a means to monetary gain. The art itself does not have to be good or – considering PixelMap – does not even have to be art. Most of the work is done when the NFTs are sold or traded. There may be merit in investing in NFTs; for example, some celebrities have donated the money they made to charity. However, over time, NFTs have become more about the money than about the art.
Thierry and PixelMap both rose to fame and became wealthy in a very short amount of time. Thierry’s art generally stuck to a formula of collaging images of celebrities with spray paint in order to create pop art style pieces, and PixelMap due to the extreme popularity of NFTs and the world of investing. The two art forms are not so groundbreakingly unique in their appearance or craft. Regardless, their respective audiences associated meaning to each, whether because of their beauty or the commerce amplifying it.
Highly reputable sources have a strong impact on influencing peoples’ opinions. Holger Bonus and Dieter Ronte, in their article, “Credibility and Economic Value in the Visual Arts,” published in Journal of Cultural Economics, elaborate on the subjective topic of art value through addressing the impact an artist’s credibility has on their ability to generate economic value. They use a Rembrandt piece as an example of how worth is determined. Man with Golden Helmet used to hold extremely high economic value, attracted crowds, and “was the subject of much professional literature,” until it was revealed that this piece “was not a genuine Rembrandt after all” (p. 103). The artwork lost all its economic value and crowds even though the art itself did not change at all (p. 103). Although the beauty of the piece did not change, critics and art reviewers persuaded the minds of most former admirers to reevaluate the true economic value this piece holds when the Rembrandt name is not connected to the artwork. Herd mentality causes people to follow trends or agree with a crowd without truly developing their own opinion. Having great influence gives the press and well-known critics the power to influence what people think. While Thierry Guetta’s artwork received praise toward the start of his career, much of it did not last. What was once an article in LA Weekly that addressed Thierry’s work in an awe-inspiring tone soon turned into unimpressed reviews by The New York Times, calling the collectors “gullible” for thinking Thierry’s work was ingenious. His lack of consistent positive feedback stunted the process for appraising art at a high value because he lost his admirers in the process. As a result of herd mentality, people might begin thinking too similarly to one another – due to fear of being ridiculed for opposing thoughts – thus leading toward potentially reducing the diversity of opinions in the art conversation.
While it is true that art is valuable for multiple reasons – its rarity, its craftsmanship, its hype, its technological impact, its ability to create emotional connection – art is ultimately valued by the person who views it because they associate a certain meaning to it. The art we admire is a reflection of our personal values. Thierry’s work may have been unoriginal, but it may have resonated with the person that bought it. Because of this, a person can provide meaning to any artwork, regardless of its lack of objective value. For example, Banksy’s street art, while impermanent, communicates important messages about the world’s political climate and is valuable for the communities he is making a statement about in his work. NFTs, although not entirely about the art for some investors, redefined the way digital art is perceived and became a way of raising money for good causes through the artwork. Lastly, despite the fact that expert reviewers will inevitably sway the general audience’s opinion on a piece of art, this hype is only temporary and, once faded, will allow people to form their own conclusions on the piece based on their emotional connection to it. Regardless of the art form or medium, a person depends on the meaning they associate with it in order to give the work its own value. When I visited Paris, France with my family a few years ago, we bought street art along The Seine River: a watercolor landscape of the river with the Eiffel Tower peaking out in the distance. Being a young artist myself, I was initially drawn to the artist’s style and craftsmanship; I found it inspiring that she was able to capture the scenery in just a few colors. Although this art was marketed toward tourists like us, and we later realized it was actually a print, I will never throw it out. It holds an emotional connection to a specific place and to the time I spent with my family. Buying this piece of art illustrates that my family and I value traveling, memories, and supporting local artists. This piece of art became a touchstone of that trip. Ultimately, that is what art is: a touchstone for whatever you, personally, are searching for.
Works Cited
Bonus, H. & Ronte, D. “Credibility and Economic Value in the Visual Arts.” Journal of Cultural
Economics, vol. 21, no. 2, 1997, pp. 103-118.
Catsoulis, Jeannette. “On the Street, at the Corner of Art and Trash.” The New York Times, The
