We may have no control over the life our work subsequently leads as interior decoration, but we can train ourselves to think more profitably about what we're sending out into the universe. Email Article Print Article Bookmark RSS     Related Content:       Artist Finances       Websites for Artists       Quit Job for Art       Create Your Blog

"Give every person more in use value than you take from them in cash value. Then, you are adding to the life of the world with every business transaction."

The 1907 example Wattles uses to illustrate his point is a comparison between offering an Eskimo, in exchange for $500 worth of furs, either a painting worth thousands of dollars or a $50 gun. Wattles' point is that the gun, despite its lower cash value, is worth more in use value to a man who hunts his own food than a painting that probably won't hang flat on the wall of his home.

Outdated stereotypes aside, I thought it might be interesting to ask some questions about the use value of art and see if Wattles' maxim might apply to artists as well.

We may have no control over the life our work subsequently leads as interior decoration, but we can train ourselves to think more profitably about what we're sending out into the universe. Here's a start:

What is it you want to provide?

It's clear we're not making ironing boards or light fixtures, but we are making products just the same. In art, what we want to provide with our product can be considered its use.

Do you want to offer food for the soul, timeless beauty, challenging questions? If you don't have an idea of what you provide, you should. Simply striving to meet your own personal standard will raise your art's use value in terms of impact on the viewer. Your work as a whole will be more cohesive, stronger, and ultimately more valuable.

With a clear standard, a collection of diverse writings can coalesce into a strong case against child abuse - one example of better and more useful art resulting from a more unified offer.

Who are you making your art for?

In our society, capital-a Art is thought of almost exclusively in terms of SELF-expression, and the very idea of painting for someone else's use raises hackles. I'm wondering if the balance might not lie in asking ourselves what our work - that irrepressible expression of ourselves - addresses in the lives of other people.

For a widget maker, the utility of his product is clear, and it works or it doesn't. For an artist, the trick is finding the deeper utility for the customer while retaining artistic and individual integrity.

If you tend to think of your work solely as an expression of yourself, it might be enlightening to re-examine that place where you connect with the viewer. Do your intensely revealing self-portraits speak to the viewer's sense of dignity, family, pride? His or her desire for love, joy, acceptance? This shift of focus may give you ideas for enhancing the meeting ground between yourself and the viewer.

How deeply usefully are you working?

At the same time, if we work solely for others, we lose our own heart. Deep work, and hence deep use value, is something I believe we should all be striving for. By this, I mean working in ways that are meaningful to us, not simply in ways that will sell. Even those of us in the crafts can ask ourselves some hard questions about how to work more deeply in fields that are considered traditional handiwork.

The more deeply we work, the more likely we are to touch on the human issues we share with our fellows on this planet—and the more likely someone is to fall in love with our piece, haul it off, and love it for the rest of their life. Deep use value resides in the abiding humanity that marks all great art.

For a good look at working deeply, see Deep Writing by Eric Maisel.

Are you offering your work to the public in useful ways?

You want people to appreciate your work for what it is, of course, and not be distracted by fanfare. But exhibitions or performances presented with sensitivity toward the audience will be much more warmly received by many people who are uneasy in the art world.

Try hooking your show up with another event whereby the result is greater (and more accessible) than the sum of its parts. If your prints tend to be abstract floral motifs, work up a display with a Bach Flower practitioner who'd like to demonstrate her remedies, thereby building a bridge for your audience. They'll connect your work with the larger practical experience and be more open to art they may not immediately understand.

I think all these questions - and there are undoubtedly many more - can lead to both truly creative work and truly creative marketing. How we think of our art while we're making it, how we present it, and how we relate to our customers all contribute not only to the end product, but also to the way we approach the marketplace.

It would seem that exercising use value in art leads to magical moments of reciprocity: ask yourself more questions about how your work can be of greater use to the people who enjoy it and watch the wonderful effect it has on your own life.

More from Jori Lynn (Durga) Keyser:

• Marketing from the creative mind
• Give-to-GIVE Marketing - What a Concept!

Jori Lynn (Durga) Keyser is a creativity and prosperity coach living and working in Corsica. She's a weaver, a writer, and somewhat of a visual artist. You can visit her art in abundance website to learn about coaching, subscribe to her free newsletter, and find writings, tips, and links of all kinds at http://www.artinabundance.com.

Jori Lynn (Durga) Keyser's book OUT OF THE GARRET FOR GOOD: A Guide to Prosperity for Artists, Writers, and Craftspeople is planned to be out next year.