Value of Art

[KellenVancouver]

It is an interesting term used in the world of advanced electronics: “state of the art.” At first blush it seems an oxymoron, to call a scientifically engineered product “art.” But really audio science is just the means to an end, and the end is to produce something borne of the imagination, and anything borne of the imagination is a work of art. So it does seem accurate to say state of the art. In that vein, I’ve been thinking about Stan21’s post from July of this year regarding aesthetic considerations when it comes to Benchmark products and the larger context of artistic vs. functional qualities when it comes to high-end audio components. How much are audiophiles willing to pay for art vs. functionality? I have a coworker who recently gushed about the fantastic purchase she made of a glass shower door. Out of curiosity, I asked what the ballpark cost was and she said $650. My reaction must have been telling because she proceeded to describe in glowing terms about how beautiful it was, its raindrop pattern, etc. Afterward, I got on the Home Depot website and found any number of glass shower doors under $100. So she was willing to pay more than SIX TIMES the functional cost of a glass shower door just for its artistic qualities. It occurred to me that we do this all the time for perhaps most products, including clothes, cars, home furnishings, and indeed, electronics. If you look at the economy at large, the “bump” in gross national product caused just by artistic considerations must be incredibly huge; even if conservatively we estimate that art accounts for twice the functional value (instead of six times functional value as it was for my coworker). And this steam of thought led me to ask ASR members out of curiosity: how much are you willing to pay for art? Obviously, someone buying Hart Audio D&W Aural Pleasure gold-plated speakers do it for the artistic value, but even for more pedestrian purchases closer to Earth, to what extent are you willing to pay for artistic value beyond functional value?

 

[Newman]

Wikipedia says SOTA refers to technics, not the fine arts, and originated in reference to engineering products about 100 years ago.

In my personal opinion, especially 100 years ago but in some ways today too, once you have done all the engineering calculations and built the known knowns into the development of a product, trying to go that next step means putting down the texts and relying on one's experienced intuition, trial and error experiments (and knowing what to trial), and there is an art to doing that next-step well.

cheers

 

[Kevbaz]

Im happy to pay for solid build quality but not interested to pay significantly more just for artistic value.
For instance, my RME DAC isn’t very pretty but it’s solidly made and performs very well.
I would not want to pay a lot more just so it’s in an artistic aluminium fancy housing.
But my audio equipment isn’t in the living room, so isn’t part of the furniture, so maybe that influences my view.

 

[Killingbeans]

I have a coworker who recently gushed about the fantastic purchase she made of a glass shower door. Out of curiosity, I asked what the ballpark cost was and she said $650. My reaction must have been telling because she proceeded to describe in glowing terms about how beautiful it was, its raindrop pattern, etc. Afterward, I got on the Home Depot website and found any number of glass shower doors under $100. So she was willing to pay more than SIX TIMES the functional cost of a glass shower door just for its artistic qualities.

That shower door must be a nightmare to keep free from lime stains

And this steam of thought led me to ask ASR members out of curiosity: how much are you willing to pay for art? Obviously, someone buying Hart Audio D&W Aural Pleasure gold-plated speakers do it for the artistic value, but even for more pedestrian purchases closer to Earth, to what extent are you willing to pay for artistic value beyond functional value?

I don't want my gear to look like s¤¤t (in my personal optics), and I really appreciate a good piece of industrial design, but if I want art I'll got for a painting or a sculpture. Most of the stuff that tries super hard to stand out from the crowd, ends up being more of a caricature than anything I'd categorize as art.

 

[Newman]

I asked what the ballpark cost was and she said $650. My reaction must have been telling because she proceeded to describe in glowing terms about how beautiful it was, its raindrop pattern, etc. Afterward, I got on the Home Depot website and found any number of glass shower doors under $100. So she was willing to pay more than SIX TIMES the functional cost of a glass shower door just for its artistic qualities.

Hi Kellen,

regarding your reaction, IMHO we audiophiles have forfeited the right to 'react' to what anyone else pays for something they want!

Regarding the premium she was willing to pay, I suspect she probably saw it more as a quantum than a percentage, i.e. $600 not 600%. She is probably willing to pay several hundred for a wall-height visual that she really likes.

And as a quantum, we see amounts routinely added to hifi products to enhance the looks. Especially speakers, that sometimes are offered painted, vinyl wrapped, polished, or wood veneered, at a premium of some hundreds. In extremis, the Focal Grande Utopia EM adds a premium of $70,000 (in Aust) for the colour Ebene Blanc.

 

[JeffS7444]

I have a weakness for well-presented luxury goods, but ultimately, form follows function, because if it doesn't, what the heck am I wasting my money on?

 

[egellings]

A half a million dollars?! Nor for us chickens, bedawk!