The Paradoxes of the Art World: What is "Cool and Amazing!" vs. what People BUY

Being in the art gallery business in a tourist town offers some interesting insights into the mysteries and strangeness of human nature.

It's a busy holiday weekend here, which means we typically have about 100 people a day come through the gallery.

Some browse fast and move on; some poke in their heads and say something like "Nah, it's an ART shop" and leave without entering, yet others linger and look at everything — a few linger and actually engage for a while.

Observation of the Day:

One of the things I have really noticed in the course of the last couple of days is a strange pattern.

Whereas we are definitely an "art gallery" with original art by some 35 regional artists, we also have quite a few "gifty" items here. For the purpose of this post, however, I'm limiting my consideration exclusively to what I would call "art."

Here it is: With remarkable regularity, the most admired, photographed and declared "WOW! That is AMAZING!" items in the gallery are the absolute slowest to sell.

Conversely, the most... "average"... tend to be what we sell the most of, and the fastest.

It's almost as if people love to be "Wow'ed," just not at home at their house.

Makes me wonder what the psychological background is...

Have a great holiday weekend!

Thank you for reading! Red Dragonfly is a proud member of the @sndbox creative initiative.

The Red Dragonfly is an independent alternative art gallery located in Port Townsend, WA; showcasing edgy and unique contemporary art & handmade crafts by local and worldwide artists. All images are our own, unless otherwise credited. Where applicable, artist images used with permission.