Overheard at the hair salon:
A woman holding a $3400 Gucci purse, proclaiming: “I love art, but I would never spend my money on it.”
I’m not here to judge a person’s financial decisions (nor do I pretend to understand her complete financial situation), but what is it that makes it possible for someone to see the “value” in a designer object (an object whose value, let’s be honest, is mostly derived from the brand name) but not the value in art? (Especially when she proclaims that she “loves” art?)
I can lament this all day long, rail against a culture that values status over creativity orrrrr I can try to learn from it, in order to try and change it.
So— why is it that to some a Gucci purse is more desirable than a painting?
A few reasons:
Accessibility
It is both easy to buy a Gucci purse and very clear how much it costs (in the case of this particular woman’s bag, it’s $3400 for the Gucci 1955 Horsebit bag). People like knowing that the price they’re paying is what an object is “worth.”
Resale
The resale value of a Gucci purse in excellent condition generally stays pretty high (and, again, it’s easy to find out how much other second hand bags have sold for on sites like the Real Real, where the same bag is selling for $2075).
Use
We can’t deny that a purse does have use value, i.e. it serves a purpose, even one as simple as “it carries my keys and phone”
Status
That’s some of what luxury is about— signaling your status… or at least your aspirations to that status.
If we want to get women redirecting their purse budgets towards buying art by women artists, we’ve got to address some of these issues.
Accessibility is an easy one: we make prices more transparent and work to educate women on how to navigate the art world (like what Less Than Half’s Matrons of the Arts membership does).
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