Breaking Down Art Jargon

So you're just starting to think about how to incorporate some art into your home and you're coming across terms like "fine art", "folk art", "print", and "limited edition". What you may also be noticing is that there is a wide range of prices for art -- anywhere from $20 up to $20 million (and beyond).

Let's delve into what some of this terminology means and how that (loosely) relates to art prices.

Fine Art vs Folk Art vs Decorative Art

We'll start with the distinction between fine art, folk art, and decorative art. The term "fine art" generally refers to an artistic pursuit for the sake of artistic expression, without necessarily any commercial aims. It's the stuff that stereotypical "starving artists" do -- they are, after all, starving because they're not doing it for the money, but for the love of the art and their self expression alone. If they happen to find buyers for their art, they can become financially successful, but by and large this is art created by those who are driven to create for creation sake.

Meanwhile, folk art involves not only artistic expression of an individual, but that of a community or culture. Native American arts are great examples of this where you may have an individual artist that is weaving blankets with their own stylings, but the techniques, materials, and themes and motifs they are using are rooted in their tribe's traditions. Sometimes, folk art is functional like pottery or an amulet, which is a nice perk!

Decorative art is, well, decorative. Generally, this stuff is mass produced and follows interior decor trends. It's the kind of thing that you might buy at a big box retailer like Marshall's or TJ Maxx. As well, many souvenirs that people pick up during their travels to tourist hot spots can fall into this category as they will mimic elements of folk art, but are crudely executed and produced in volume to capitalize on tourists' nostalgia. There can definitely be good quality decorative art, just like there is good quality costume jewellery (versus fine jewellery), but on average, the quality of art in this category is not very good as it's not intended to last beyond the life of a decor trend (or the memories of your recent holiday). And since they were created to capitalize on a trend (or your nostalgia), they don't generally have the timelessness of fine or folk art.

The Myth About Art Reproductions

This might come as a surprise to some, but reproductions of an original don't always have a negative connotation in art as in some other industries. There are incredibly skilled artists who reproduce popular artworks, staying true to the techniques and stylings of the artists whose works they are reproducing.

While high-quality reproductions in the world of painting is reasonably common, it is actually inherent to some other mediums like photography, printmaking, and cast sculpture. In this instance, reproductions still fetch high prices even though they are no longer one-off unique artworks. The works of Auguste Rodin -- famous for bronze statues like The Thinker and The Kiss -- are a great example of this. With cast bronzes, a lot of work went into the creation of the cast itself, and so why only produce one statue with the cast when it can be used again and again if the sculpture proves to be popular? In this scenario, art collectors are keen to know if the statue was created with the original cast by Rodin and whether the statue was created by Rodin himself or another studio hand.

Limited Editions and Series

So when an artist is working in a medium that inherently deals in reproductions, art collectors will place value on pieces that have a low number of editions and series. Like in any market, prices in the art market are often determined by supply and demand. This is also the reason that original artworks generally command higher average prices than reproductions as they are, by definition, one-offs, and collectors will pay for that rarity and scarcity. 

An artist's intention also becomes important here. Sometimes, artists will start out thinking they are going to produce, say 50 copies of a photograph. To indicate their intent, they will number each of the 50 photos to help them to keep count of how many they created, but also to assure the buyer that they are purchasing one of only 50 copies in existence -- a limited edition. After the passage of time, some artists realize that those 50 photos sold a lot faster than anything else in their studio and so they decide they will produce another 50 copies. This becomes a second series and when completed, now means there are twice the number of copies out in the wild as before and therefore it dilutes the value of those from the original series. 

There have also been instances where an artist has passed away and a friend or family member finds the original cast or film negative while cleaning out the studio, and decides that they will create more copies of the work for sale. For this reason, you will also hear of artists who will destroy the original cast or film negative once they have produced the number they wanted.

So how do you know if you have an original or even how many copies were ultimately produced? This is where "provenance" comes in.

Provenance in Art

Think of provenance in art like you would "chain of custody" for evidence in police investigations. We've all seen enough Law and Order to know that evidence should not be tampered with and the only way to ensure that is to meticulously document the chain of custody of that evidence. Who collected the DNA sample and who did they hand it off to for testing at the lab? Was there any chance that someone could have contaminated/switched out the sample in between?

Provenance in art is similar. Can we trace, with reasonable certainty, that the artwork came from the studio and hand of the artist? Who owns the artwork now and who owned it previously? Is there any chance the artwork is a forgery? The further back an artwork dates the harder this is to do, obviously, but art museums and art appraisers know many tricks of the trade to establish an artwork's provenance, but sometimes without 100% certainty.

What Does it All Mean?

So how does understanding this jargon help you with choosing art? In some ways, it doesn't. If you like an artwork then that is often all that matters. However, if you want to know that the artwork is one that no one else owns or that it has an interesting past, then knowing whether you are buying fine or folk art is important as decorative artworks won't typically have unique stories behind them. 

If you're looking to decorate your home on a budget, these terms can become important to understanding how much to pay for an artwork. Generally speaking, an artwork that falls into the fine art or folk art categories, is original, and purchased directly from the artist or a reputable source will always cost more. Depending on your budget, you may consider adding one or two original fine artworks to key areas of your home, while you can decorate the rest with a mix of personal mementos and decorative items, switching things out for more fine or folk art over time, as your budget allows.