WHY DO PEOPLE BUY ART?

I am not talking of art collectors who buy only masters for investment. Art is becoming a symbol for status.

Each gallery has a language of art it coddles into. To think of it, galleries essentially sell lifestyle. You can zoom out from life-styles, though, to see the broader categories of what galleries are selling. Some galleries are selling prestige. Some exclusivity. Some are selling history. Some are selling opportunities (for cashing in or simply being first). Some are selling simple, sublime distractions from the pressures and anxieties of their clients’ hectic lives. Art is fabulous, because it can be a vehicle for all that. And yet, we expect it to be so much more than that.

Not everyone can shell out millions to buy a lifestyle delineated by their walls.
That’s where affordable art comes in, out of which decorative art is a strong constituent. Decorative art is chiefly prized for its utility, rather than purely for its aesthetic quality. AnYahh!! is a brand that offers varied lifestyles with which a client can choose to adorn his walls. We also maintain a constant high aesthetic criteria.

The author, Mandira Sanghi is an artist and blogger.

Paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures are all types of visual arts. In the conventional sense, these could only be possessed in the field of art.

In the current art scenario, visual art has evolved to a whole new level. There is a whole lot of interesting merchandise floating around. Merchandising is the process of reproducing the art on another surface, e.g. artists specializing in kitsch art on utensils, cushions, mugs, lampshades etc. There are fabrics being printed with art works. Hotels and corporate houses are beginning to have work commissioned from artists whose style adds flavor and imagery to their brand. Homes are beginning to depict more style, accentuating taste with art and merchandise. Even the fashion world is commissioning artists to design a ‘limited edition’ range. The world is becoming more stylized and art sits right alongside fashion in being accessible… and desirable!

Anyahh provides art merchandise such ashtrays, pocket squares, coasters, wall clocks, table mats, cushion covers, tote bags, and a whole lot of more usable items which make your home look more chic and personalized besides being a statement of individual style.

Even the masters’ art is being used on merchandise, starting from Monet to Picasso to the young artists of today. Art merchandise being used in the house or even when gifted,unravels the tone you to want to speak in. The tone of your own mystics, your inner self.

Another array of art is photobooks. At first glance they may look like overpriced coffee-table books, but photobooks are highly collectible works of art. In recent years, a boom in the market has seen prices skyrocket. They attain high prices especially when they have extraordinary attachments such as signatures and inscriptions.

– Mandira Sanghi

Role of Colour in Painting

In keeping with its status as one of the leading “visual” arts, a Painting is heavily dependent upon the use of colour for its impact, mood and depth. The impact of colour on the visual senses of the viewer is extremely potent and even one tiny dab of brightly coloured pigment in an otherwise monochromatic picture can transform the work.

With the invention of oil painting in Europe during the early 15th century, which greatly improved the colour luminosity and richness achievable by both tempera on wood panels and fresco mural painting, the practice of colour painting took a significant leap forward.

Artists choose colors to produce a certain mood or atmosphere; to create space, light, and shadow; or to introduce symbolic associations.

The effects of colour can be purely optical (eg. draws the viewer’s eye), emotional (eg. cool colours like blue or green have a calming effect, while red or yellow are more stimulating to the senses), or aesthetic (eg. the beauty that springs from the juxtaposition of two or more harmonious colours), to name but three. In keeping with the principles of colour theory and the layout of the colour-wheel, all these effects on the viewer will also vary according to the combination of hues (actual colours) present, their luminosity (the degree of light or dark they possess) and chroma (the purity of the hue). In addition, a colour’s impact varies according to its neighbouring colours on the canvas. A grey surrounded by blue will appear cool, while grey surrounded by yellow appears warm. A final influence on how colour is perceived is the overall range of tones present in the painting – known sometimes as the tonal key. A dab of (say) yellow on a canvas with an overall low (dark) tonal key will have different impact than in one with a high tonal key.

India has always been exalted and remembered fondly as the country of colors. To an outsider, its colorful culture, streets, and stories seem like a page out of an ancient folk tale. But color, in essence, has been a large part of the Indian consciousness as also of the Anyahh ethos.

At Anyahh, we celebrate Indian art, which has always been very vibrant in colour. Take a look at Indian miniature art to the contemporary art of today. Colour plays an avid role, mainly depicting bright colours, keeping tones of grey out. Even art merchandise, now becoming increasingly popular, adds a dash of colour to any space and is in vogue.

-Mandira Sanghi

Artist and Art Columnist

Abstract Art

Abstract Art is underpinned by the logic of perspective and an attempt to reproduce an illusion of visible reality. Abstract art, non-figurative art, nonobjective art, and nonrepresentational art are loosely related terms. They are similar, but perhaps not of identical meaning. Abstraction indicates a departure from reality in depiction of imagery in art. This departure from accurate representation can be slight, partial, or complete. Total abstraction bears no trace of any reference to anything recognizable. Therefore, the subject of the work is based on what you see: color, shapes, brushstrokes, size, scale and, in some cases, the process.

Abstract art began in 1911 with such works as Picture with a Circle (1911) by the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944).Kandinsky believed that colors provoke emotions. Red was lively and confident; Green was peaceful with inner strength; Blue was deep and supernatural; Yellow could be warm, exciting, or disturbing; and White seemed silent but full of possibilities. He also assigned instrument tones to go with each color: Red sounded like a trumpet; Green sounded like a middle-position violin; Light Blue sounded like flute; Dark Blue sounded like a cello, Yellow sounded like a fanfare of trumpets; and White sounded like the pause in a harmonious melody.

In popular culture, the term “abstract” has become like a parody of the art world itself, usually applied when “meaningless” or “impossible to understand” is meant. Abstract art doesn’t have to be so unclear. There is a way to “read” an abstract painting, just as there is to understand and interpret a more realistic painting. For eg. Kandinsky made a language of his own using colour. With abstract painting, the piece can be “about” the paint on the canvas, as with Abstract Expressionism; it can be “about” the process of painting for an artist personally; it can even be about the meaning of abstract art itself! Does the painting convey a mood-state or atmosphere? What does it prompt you to think about? Are you confronted with a particular color or shape? How does what you’re looking at make you feel?

The other great thing about abstract art is that it can mean something to you that no one else sees.

-Mandira Sanghi

Artist and Art Columnist

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SPACE

In many basic drawing classes, students learn that there are three basic elements of a composition: the frame, the positive and the negative space.

Negative space is, quite simply, the space that surrounds an object in an image. Just as important as that object itself, negative space helps to define the boundaries of positive space and brings balance to a composition. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape. The use of negative space is a key element of artistic composition.

In addition to being considered in flat visual arts, negative space is also a factor in three dimensional compositions. In Japan, for example, negative space in garden design, with people referring to it as “ma”, a Japanese word for “gap.” Negative space is also considered in dance choreography and the positioning of actors on stage in productions ranging from opera to monologues. Musicians use it as silence between pieces.

In typography, negative space is very important, whether a typographer is composing a magazine article or an art broadside. Depending on how the piece is composed, negative space can change the meaning in a number of ways. When poorly used, it may make a piece hard to read or unpleasant to look at, while well-balanced examples may draw attention to particularly important or notable pieces of the composition. In some instances, it can become as notable as the positive space, especially in the case of some company logos.

Understanding positive and negative space is crucial because it can help an artist understand a key concept all throughout art: The absence of information is still information. Sometimes you can tell just as much about a subject by looking at negative space as positive space.

To give as example of how negative space was also used in art history we can refer to Leonardo’s The Last Supper. Of late, the negative space between Jesus (in the middle of the painting) and the person immediately to his right has caused a fair amount of interest. This “V”-shaped negative space is credited with hiding secrets, by some.

Negative Space can be wisely used to balance a composition as well as to bring in harmony. It has an impact on the viewer sometimes consciously or sub-consciously.

-Mandira Sanghi

Artist and Art Columnist

AFFORDABLE ART

The recession has changed the way art is sold. While the high-end contemporary art market has dipped in recent years, new retailers of affordable art are emerging online.There is a very new culture around of collecting art nowadays that the Internet has opened up. Collecting art is no longer the exclusive domain of the very wealthy. It’s much more accessible with the birth of affordable original art available at the click of a mouse.

The online prices are unintimidating enough to encourage a new generation of collectors. When you think about a collector you think ‘wealthy’, and when you think about an artist you think ‘destitute.’ Anyahh is trying to close that gap. We are making good, original art available to you at affordable rates. We have mature art available at affordable prices. You will find different styles and classification of art with us. Anyahh has successfully made a place for itself in the affordable art market.

Art has the capacity to entirely alter a space. I can’t think of any other alternative investment that relates so directly to the fabric of your home and day-to-day experience. Certainly, people can spend money decorating their homes, building onto them, or altering the structure in some way, but they don’t get to take that investment with them. Hence, directing these funds to the purchase of art is quite savvy from an investment perspective. People are looking beyond that poster on the wall. They’re taking more interest in something unique.

And of course, there’s a “feel good” factor in supporting young artists and buying authentic original art also has an eco-edge to it – for the same price as you might buy a reproduced image you can buy an original piece of art by an emerging artist. There’s something about the authenticity and craftsmanship, the hand-made nature of original art, which fits with the current zeitgeist and the demand for authenticity.

But does this mean that the days of obscene prices for contemporary pieces are behind us? I think there is a segment of the art world that will continue to function like that. But there are very few artists that can maintain that level of pricing.

Mandira Sanghi

Artist and Columnist

Online Platforms for Selling Art

Today, you find many artists, or for that matter, even art students on art blogs and displaying their art on websites that sell art. There is a parallel market being developed online for selling art. Lets look into that more closely.

A change in how art is sold has historically played an important role in the expansion of the art market. The salons helped expand the art market in the 19th century, the commercial galleries in the 20th century and now the Internet has the potential to help expand the art market in the 21^st century.

With an expanding art market, we’re not just seeing changes to how art is sold, but also changes to what art is bought, why it is bought and by whom. Online sales platforms are providing some very exciting answers to these questions. The ability of online art platforms to empower the public as tastemaker is an example of one such change, one which has many positive outcomes: for the public, who will be able to refine their judgments of art; for artists, who desire a level playing field; and for culture, which will become far more representative of all society, not just the curator classes.

Galleries are usually so caught up chasing serious collectors, they miss the real buyers who are potential collectors. After all, a serious collector was also a first time buy at one time!

Galleries do have an advantage of giving the customer an opportunity to feel the texture of the painting. But online platforms make art widely available and inform you of a whole lot more of art available than a gallery can offer.

Anyahh offers a wide range of affordable art, and is the first of its kind to start a concept as such of bringing high quality art with easy access to young buyers.

Mandira Sanghi

Artist and Columnist

Social media has not taken away from the gallery experience but enhanced it!

Artists and dealers know that art must be experienced in person to truly get a sense of its magnitude.

It will be such a pity if you finally take delivery of your newest conversation piece just to find out it doesn’t fit where you wanted it, or the color clashes too much with your chartreuse drapes.

The gallery used to be a place to go to meet up with friends and exchange ideas and build community. Patrons and students alike would come to see a show and then talk about it with their peers the next day. With social media coming up, gallery gatherings are not of the same magnitude, but have enhanced art awareness beyond belief. Social media does a world of good as a marketing tool for galleries, artists and the arts as a whole, and helps build an online community.

Galleries are the place to build a community — a real, true social network — your art ecosystem, and that is important. Keeping art relevant to society and to a diverse audience at any given point in history is one of the main goals of the art exhibition and one of the reasons it is so important to the history of art. Therefore, online platforms cannot replace galleries.

Art exhibitions hold a precarious yet steadfast role; as undefined yet self- sufficient entities, they take on multiple identities. Exhibitions are strategically located at the nexus where artists, their work, the arts institution, and many different publics intersect. Online media enhances marketing and awareness of the very same exhibitions hosted by galleries.

After all that is said and done, online art platforms are here to stay. An ideal situation is for a gallery to have an online portal for display of variety and, of course, for selling and yet to have physical space and host exhibitions regularly.

Mandira Sanghi

Artist and Art Columnist