AMAZON.COM
Exit
So why should we care about
the world’s biggest middleman
getting bigger?
Because Amazon — the highest trafficked, and arguably least
glamorous, site to sell original art —
stands to reset our conception of art
creation, collection and valuation to
a dramatic degree. Slick competitors
like Artsy can seem as intimidating
as a Chelsea gallery. Amazon, meanwhile, has a “Diapering” section.
Critics say the vagaries of the art
market won’t support the experiment. But that argument ignores
a crucial slice of the market: the
growing ranks of short-term collectors — or buyers who don’t care
about the value of their art.
Collectors like Maya Wiest.
A mother of four, Wiest lives in
Wenatchee, Wash., where art is
sparse. The few galleries nearby sell
“mainly cowboys on the hill stuff.
Lots of fruit and sunsets.”
Consequently, Wiest is a serial
online art shopper. Her market of
choice is UGallery, one of the participants in Amazon Art. The site
specializes in contemporary work
by artists who generally aren’t
household names. Unlike Artsy,
which liaises with galleries, UGallery posts the work of artists who
apply for a spot. Such pieces may
CULTURE
HUFFINGTON
08.25.13
Norman
Rockwell’s
Willie Gillis:
Package from
Home (1941)
is currently
the most
expensive
piece on
Amazon Art.
The painting
is selling
for $4.85
million.
Slick competitors
like Artsy can seem as
intimidating as a Chelsea
gallery. Amazon, meanwhile,
has a ‘Diapering’ section.”
not increase in value over time, but
Wiest says she doesn’t buy to invest. She compares the process to
adoption. “You watch them from
afar, and it’s really expensive, and
they finally get here and you’re like,
‘oh, you’re part of the family.’”
Amazon’s naysayers tend to
overlook buyers like Wiest, who
wouldn’t have existed before the internet. One of the more compelling
critiques comes from economist Tyler Cowen, who posted an obituary
for Amazon Art on his site the day