Artist websites and online art galleries began to appear in the mid 1990’s along
with the beginning of large-scale Internet commerce. Many gallery owners were concerned that
people would not respond to art displayed on a website. In the early years of
Internet commerce the average art patron (like the majority of Internet users at the time)
was generally not comfortable shopping online. During this time websites displaying the work
of individual artists began to spring up. By 1995 over 5,000 artists had posted personal
websites to display their artwork (Rush, p. 192). As Internet commerce boomed in the late
1990’s nearly every major gallery had a website, as did thousands of individual artists who
wished to display and market their creations.
In 1999 Onview.com sold an Edward Steichen photograph for $150,000 and
Circleline.com sold 'Portrait of Mrs. Robert Mayne" (1776) by Sir Joshua Reynolds for $415,000.
In November 1999 Circleline raised over thirteen million dollars in venture capital. The
same year eWolf sold a painting by James Butterworth for $$187,000 and in 2000
eWolf sold a glass sculpture by William
Morris for $156,000. Yet selling art online turned out to be more costly
and complex than many galleries and auctioneers had expected. in the first half of 2000
iCollector.com showed a net loss of $12.37 million.
Artnet.com lost $12.87
million over the first 9 months of 2000 (Thomas, pgs. 123-126).
By the end of the decade online commerce of all types had over expanded.
Unrealistic expectations of the impact of online sales produced a bubble that soon burst.
When online commerce collapsed in 2000 art galleries were not immune. In one year iCollector stock plummeted
from $14.00 a share to sixty-three cents a share. Artnet.com did not fare much better, dropping from $12.00 a
share to $3.45 a share in less than a year (Thomas, p. 126) . Since then it has traded as low as one dollar a share.
Many galleries and auction sites scaled back their websites, and some shut them down all together.
By 2001 the prestegious auctioneers at Sotheby's had completely
quit the online auction business, and used their web presence to market their
conventional auction business. There are currently about 20,000 art sales
sites on the Internet (Starting
to Look Online).
In the writing of
this essay I have viewed dozens of websites that deal in the sale of art.
These websites included large galleries, artist’s personal websites and online
auction sites. One pattern that is apparent on all of these sites is the
continual array of thumbnail size images that display the many works of art on
a particular site. This effect, used in conjunction with a hierarchical
navigation arrangement, is obviously the most efficient way to display images
of artwork for sale. Many large galleries cross reference their inventory so
the patron can search for art by categories such as artist, time period,
subject matter, style or medium. Since this method is widely used I presume it
is a very efficient way to display images, it must also be very effective in
regards to sales. The user can visit the site and view hundreds of images in a
short period of time. With the simple click of a mouse an enlarged version of
an image is available to be viewed if the customer finds an image that
interests him.
As I surfed through
the maze of small rectangles on my computer screen I began to
take note of a variety of different observations and sensations.
One immediate disadvantage I noticed in viewing art online is
the loss of detail. Yet this is no different than seeing a photograph
of a painting or a film of a sculpture. No reproductive medium
is capable of constantly providing the detail that the actual
presence of the item provides. I also noticed the lack of scale
that one feels in viewing art in person. This feeling is always
present when in the presence of an object, and is often discernible
to some extent when then same object is captured on film or in
a photograph. Yet when an image is reduced to a size that is designed
for efficient download time, anything that could give a visual
reference to the size of the object is generally not pictured.
All websites list the size of their wares, such as the dimensions
of a painting or the height of a sculpture. Providing this information
is a necessary part of selling an item. Yet having this knowledge
does not replace the effect of visual references to size and scale.
When viewing
artwork online that is produced on various conventional art mediums I began to
clearly see the difference between art made for the net and art
displayed on the net. As we discussed earlier in this essay every piece
of art has an aura, or a presence, that is unique (see The Original Replica). Reproduction often
dilutes this aura, or dissolves it altogether. While art created to be seen
online tends to maintain its integrity when viewed online, art that was created
to be viewed in a different setting definitely loses much its sense of presence
when viewed on the web. The aura and ambiance of a painting or sculpture seems
nonexistent when displayed on a computer screen. This definitely seems to
detract from the viewer’s enjoyment of the artwork.
Another sensation
I experienced while looking at the rows of small images that are common to many
of the art galleries was that the images started to look alike. This feeling
was especially prevalent when viewing paintings, drawings and various types of
prints. They had the feeling all being very similar, almost as if they all had
to be equal and uniform. In viewing them in thumbnail fashion the individuality
seemed to be removed from each piece. Even original works seemed transposable,
as if they were intended to be interchangeable with each other. I realized that
the experience was very similar to looking through a catalog for a household
appliance such as a toaster or DVD player. The text that accompanied each
painting usually listed its title and dimensions of the painting, and often
offered additional information. In reading this information I found the
experience similar to comparing the different features of a lawnmower or a
mattress. From an artistic point of view this almost seemed to defy the purpose
of creating art.
As I continued gallery
surfing I noticed that many of the galleries have tried various
webpage layouts in an apparent attempt to get away from this effect.
Some of the gallery sites offer lists of categories that, when
clicked, take the viewer to a slide show of images or a series
of web pages with only one or two images per page. This is aesthetically
somewhat more pleasing, it compromises the efficiency of the website
and requires that the viewer spend more time clicking and consequently
less time looking at images. Other visual effects, such as effective
use of colors, interesting backgrounds or image layouts that appear
more random than grid-like, help dilute some of the regimented
feel of these sites. Yet this is only marginally effective and
none of these techniques helps can reproduce the aura of the original.
In considering these
observations it becomes apparent that the typical online gallery
is not particularly interested in displaying art for enjoyment.
They seem content to leave this task to the museums of the world.
Their primary mission is to sell art. Since online art sales is
a successful and growing industry, the current marketing tactics
must be effective. To understand this philosophy we must consider
the reasons people purchase art. The three fundamental reasons
people purchase art are for decoration, for investment and for
status. None of these reasons exist in a vacuum. Usually when
a piece of art is purchased all three of these factors are considered.
Yet any one of these can be the primary reason for purchase. When
art is purchased chiefly for decoration the principal considerations
are generally the personal taste of the buyer and the environment
that the artwork will be displayed in. It seems that this would
require the personal inspection of an original piece, yet it would
be perfectly reasonable to purchase a print online, especially
if the buyer is familiar with the original work or the artist.
When art is purchased for investment the buyer is concerned mainly
with the value of the art and its possibilities for future appreciation.
In this case buying original art online from a reputable dealer
seems a logical choice. It offers the advantages that all online
shopping offers, and it allows the buyer to shop in a global marketplace.
The Internet is also a good place to buy art if the primary reason
for the purchase is to acquire the status that is associated with
owning a particular piece of art. Often this buyer has a specific
artist or work of art in mind when they begin their search. They
are almost always looking for an original piece or for a signed
and numbered limited edition, since there is very little status
associated with owning mass produced print or sculpture, even
if it is aesthetically beautiful. Buying online will work well
for this type of buyer, and often he can buy directly from the
artists personal website.
The Internet is populated with
thousands of website that present the work of a single artist,
or of a small group of artists that are affiliated by location
or by membership in a local art association. These sites are often
used to sell art objects, but they are also used to offer the
artists services for hire or just to display the artwork of the
artists. Some of these websites are professionally constructed
and maintained, but often the artist himself does this work. Many
of these websites do not offer the ability to make a purchase
online. Purchasing art from many of this type of websites frequently
requires contacting the artist directly. This is usually done
by email or telephone. This may seem inconvenient at first, but
it allows direct contact between the buyer and the artist. This
allows the two parties to discuss the art, arrange for payment
and delivery, and to get acquainted with each other. Both the
buyer and seller often consider this a positive part of the transaction.
There are other
advantages to buying art online. Many online galleries offer information
about the artist and the artwork that is not available in a local
gallery. Some galleries offer an email link to the artist. Almost
all reputable galleries offer a money back guarantee and certificates
of authenticity are available for many works. The main advantage
to buying art online is the same as buying anything else online,
price and selection. The Internet offers thousands of online galleries
to shop at that can generally offer lower prices than physical
galleries. Many online auctions often offer bargains to the art
buyer who is willing to do their own research. Many art dealers
buy art online and resell it in trendy local galleries where the
atmosphere will enhance the perceived value of the piece.
The
online art industry appears to be very healthy. Investors and
art patrons have adjusted to the intricacies of Internet shopping
and some are spending large sums of money online. Individual pieces
of art have sold online for over $100,000 (Stallabrass, P. 129)
and prices in the tens of thousands of dollars are not uncommon.
Artnet is
an online art magazine that sells art and links to over 1,000
online galleries Artnet
stock, currently trading at about $2.75 per share, is up over
300% from a year ago. The website icollector.com
is a live online auction site for fine art and collectibles. They
partner with over 60 auctioneers, appraisers and galleries who
supply much of the inventory and expertise, and they use they
use ebay’s Live Auction platform to conduct ongoing live auctions.
The icollector website claims 22 million hits per month and they
claim to have facilitated tens of millions of dollars in art sales.
The world’s largest online auction site, ebay,
continually has an extensive array of art available on their website.
Artnet is an online art
magazine and information archive that claims to have links to over 1,000 online
galleries in 250 cities worldwide. It also claims to links to works by over
25,000 individual artists.
Examples of online art galleries-
·
Benjamin
Art Gallery, LLC
·
RO Gallery
·
Chambers
Gallery
·
Art
Leaders Gallery
Examples of personal artists sites-
·
Artists of
the Great Basin
·
Watercolors
by Eileen
·
Genevieve
Redmond, Artist
·
Stephen
Beveridge Abstract Paintings
·
Links to dozens of
Artist Home Pages
Examples of Online Art Auction Sites-
·
icollector
·
ebay
·
Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers
