With Hard Asset Prices Plummeting, What's Next for the OA Market?

[delekkerste]

Curious: do you think Frazetta will get to where Rockwell is? I'm inclined to think his work is already approaching its peak value.

 

Frazetta's popularity probably peaked at some point in the '70s or '80s. There are enough of us 40 and 50-somethings, like the two gentlemen who purchased the 7-figure Frazetta paintings in recent years, to keep the Frazetta market healthy for now, but I really wonder if subsequent generations are going to have the same passion and intensity for his work than ours did. Realistically, I don't think so, but, greatness speaks for itself and I'm sure he will always have some admirers in each generation.

 

I was thinking about this some more, and was wondering: do you think that the younger generations today appreciate sci-fi and fantasy paintings like, say, the Gen Xers did with Frazetta, Boris, Kelly, Rowena, etc.? I have this nagging suspicion that most young people today would not only not appreciate paintings of barbarians and scantily clad damsels in distress, but would consider them to be the height of cheese, even as skillfully executed by Frazetta.

[Bronty]

Boris and Julie's 90s paintings ARE the height of cheese. And I say that as the owner of about a dozen of them. I guess the one thing Boris can't paint is a shirt on a dude

 

As for the rest, they are a bit cheesy today too, yes. Maybe not frazetta. But these things go in cycles and I think they will be appreciated again. Conan is really not that far from Harry Potter in the grand scheme of things.

[Overthetopinc]

Hello Pete,

Bubble speak? Its reality. I am basing my statements on factual history. Your bubble reference is pure speculation. I have been hearing that same bubble jargon since I could have bought twice up romita spiderman covers for 25k and Mcfarlane spiderman covers for 10k.(not to mention the days when they could have been gotten for $500 from the artist themselves which I wasnt around for) Its always the same negative nancies on this list. They always end up eating their own words. But what do I care the world is ending so sell me all your Bisley art =)

Matthew

[suspense39]

Curious: do you think Frazetta will get to where Rockwell is? I'm inclined to think his work is already approaching its peak value.

 

Frazetta's popularity probably peaked at some point in the '70s or '80s. There are enough of us 40 and 50-somethings, like the two gentlemen who purchased the 7-figure Frazetta paintings in recent years, to keep the Frazetta market healthy for now, but I really wonder if subsequent generations are going to have the same passion and intensity for his work than ours did. Realistically, I don't think so, but, greatness speaks for itself and I'm sure he will always have some admirers in each generation.

 

I was thinking about this some more, and was wondering: do you think that the younger generations today appreciate sci-fi and fantasy paintings like, say, the Gen Xers did with Frazetta, Boris, Kelly, Rowena, etc.? I have this nagging suspicion that most young people today would not only not appreciate paintings of barbarians and scantily clad damsels in distress, but would consider them to be the height of cheese, even as skillfully executed by Frazetta.

 

I am a Gen X'r that feels this way

[Pete Marino]

Hello Pete,

Bubble speak? Its reality. I am basing my statements on factual history. Your bubble reference is pure speculation. I have been hearing that same bubble jargon since I could have bought twice up romita spiderman covers for 25k and Mcfarlane spiderman covers for 10k.(not to mention the days when they could have been gotten for $500 from the artist themselves which I wasnt around for) Its always the same negative nancies on this list. They always end up eating their own words. But what do I care the world is ending so sell me all your Bisley art =)

Matthew

 

I am not negative.

 

I was just pointing out what the words sound like.

 

Plus from a very selfish perspective, I'd rather the prices don't go up much more... I don't want to be priced out of my hobby in the near future....

 

i don't want a fine art click coming into OA (not that I think it would happen) I don't need validation from the "cool kids".

 

Well maybe just validation from the coolest kids that wear calculator watches... but that's about it.

[Overthetopinc]

Hello Pete,

I agree with ya on that. I always have said I have no problem with Mcfarlanes and Bisleys losing all appeal and dropping down to hundreds of dollars. I would just buy them all. I wasnt speaking with any kinda of agenda its just what I have experienced throughout my years of aggressively collecting these pieces of paper. Plus I have done research on art and the markets going way back and I am pretty confident in my assessments.

thanks,

Matthew

[drdroom]

Curious: do you think Frazetta will get to where Rockwell is? I'm inclined to think his work is already approaching its peak value.

 

Frazetta's popularity probably peaked at some point in the '70s or '80s. There are enough of us 40 and 50-somethings, like the two gentlemen who purchased the 7-figure Frazetta paintings in recent years, to keep the Frazetta market healthy for now, but I really wonder if subsequent generations are going to have the same passion and intensity for his work than ours did. Realistically, I don't think so, but, greatness speaks for itself and I'm sure he will always have some admirers in each generation.

 

I was thinking about this some more, and was wondering: do you think that the younger generations today appreciate sci-fi and fantasy paintings like, say, the Gen Xers did with Frazetta, Boris, Kelly, Rowena, etc.? I have this nagging suspicion that most young people today would not only not appreciate paintings of barbarians and scantily clad damsels in distress, but would consider them to be the height of cheese, even as skillfully executed by Frazetta.

 

I am a Gen X'r that feels this way

 

Me too. Frazetta has so much verve and real carnality that he makes it work, but even with him, I think his famous funnies covers and some of his comics work may actually end up aging better.

[bocaratondefense]

 

But, y'know what? Even if all of that happened (which is already a huge stretch), the corollary is that OA guys would want the art to be taken as seriously as painting and sculpture. They'd want museums to fight over it at auction. They'd want guys like Eli Broad to start buying it. They'd want prices to soar into the hundreds of thousands for A pieces and millions for A+ pieces.

 

 

Why? That is the last thing I want to see. My guess is the majority of OA collectors who are still trying to collect do not want to see sharp increases in prices either.

 

Of course, if you are a dealer with a large inventory, you would want to see fine art money poured into this hobby. Or if you are a longtime collector who has already amassed all the OA you intend to collect, then you would love to see value of your collection skyrocket as well. For the rest of us though, OA is already expensive, and we don't need Jay-Z or Stevie Cohen buying all the comic art from under us.

 

 

[suspense39]

Curious: do you think Frazetta will get to where Rockwell is? I'm inclined to think his work is already approaching its peak value.

 

Frazetta's popularity probably peaked at some point in the '70s or '80s. There are enough of us 40 and 50-somethings, like the two gentlemen who purchased the 7-figure Frazetta paintings in recent years, to keep the Frazetta market healthy for now, but I really wonder if subsequent generations are going to have the same passion and intensity for his work than ours did. Realistically, I don't think so, but, greatness speaks for itself and I'm sure he will always have some admirers in each generation.

 

I was thinking about this some more, and was wondering: do you think that the younger generations today appreciate sci-fi and fantasy paintings like, say, the Gen Xers did with Frazetta, Boris, Kelly, Rowena, etc.? I have this nagging suspicion that most young people today would not only not appreciate paintings of barbarians and scantily clad damsels in distress, but would consider them to be the height of cheese, even as skillfully executed by Frazetta.

 

I am a Gen X'r that feels this way

 

Me too. Frazetta has so much verve and real carnality that he makes it work, but even with him, I think his famous funnies covers and some of his comics work may actually end up aging better.

 

i actually noticed my post could be taken either way....i am with the don't appreciate damsels and barbarians camp. but yes the famous funnies are nice

[drdroom]

Curious: do you think Frazetta will get to where Rockwell is? I'm inclined to think his work is already approaching its peak value.

 

Frazetta's popularity probably peaked at some point in the '70s or '80s. There are enough of us 40 and 50-somethings, like the two gentlemen who purchased the 7-figure Frazetta paintings in recent years, to keep the Frazetta market healthy for now, but I really wonder if subsequent generations are going to have the same passion and intensity for his work than ours did. Realistically, I don't think so, but, greatness speaks for itself and I'm sure he will always have some admirers in each generation.

 

I was thinking about this some more, and was wondering: do you think that the younger generations today appreciate sci-fi and fantasy paintings like, say, the Gen Xers did with Frazetta, Boris, Kelly, Rowena, etc.? I have this nagging suspicion that most young people today would not only not appreciate paintings of barbarians and scantily clad damsels in distress, but would consider them to be the height of cheese, even as skillfully executed by Frazetta.

 

I am a Gen X'r that feels this way

 

Me too. Frazetta has so much verve and real carnality that he makes it work, but even with him, I think his famous funnies covers and some of his comics work may actually end up aging better.

 

i actually noticed my post could be taken either way....i am with the don't appreciate damsels and barbarians camp. but yes the famous funnies are nice

 

Yes, me too. I think we are in agreement, or maybe I am a shade more forgiving of Frazetta's cheese than you? But certainly none of the others.

[buttock]

I like comics and art. Their status belonging in a museum culture is irrelevant to my desire to own them. That is all.

[Bronty]

that was an old school way of doing it. There's a restaurant out here that still puts pickles on top.

 

As taco bell (?) once said, think outside the bun

[Nexus]

Indeed. Without Oldenburg's genius breaking down barriers, the arts would have never achieved this masterpiece (referenced earlier in this thread):

 

No, without people like Duchamp, Pollock, Warhol, Lichenstein, Oldenburg and everyone else who is getting trashed by people here, the art of the 21st century would be a rehash of things that were done ad nauseum for hundreds of years.

 

Very well, I will amend my statement: Thank you, Mssrs. Duchamp, Pollock, Warhol, Lichenstein, Oldenburg, et al, for your artistic contributions as without them, the world would have never witnessed the glory that is Inflatable Hulk Pushing a Wheelbarrow Full of Flowers.

 

At least an inflatable Hulk with a basket of flowers is trying to say something and elicits a reaction!

 

Excuse me, that's a wheelbarrow, not a basket. You must be confused with that other inflatable avant-garde masterpiece, Easter Bunny In The Basket (with a daisy in his mouth):

 

[Nexus]

So, guess what. I was at MoMA today. I saw the videogame exhibition (see pics below), which is basically just a posted statement explaining why they are there (pic below) and terminals where you can play the games and a brief description of why they are noteworthy from a design perspective.

 

Cool! Thanks for the report. Curious, though...you've stressed several times that the exhibit is just temporary...but from the curator's blog post, it seems more permanent:

 

http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2012/11/29/video-games-14-in-the-collection-for-starters/

 

Reads like video games will be featured regularly?

 

More importantly, however...are visitors allowed to get their pictures taken next to the giant hamburger?

[Bronty]

That's true it does look like a permanent part of the a&d wing. That being said, maybe I am too close to the material but apart from a bit of novelty Im not sure why moma's opinion on games should be taken too seriously. I'm sure they've done some research but as Paula stated they are not experts and their info is all second hand information. Often from the manufacturers themselves it would appear

[Bronty]

Better than a pic next to my lonesome cowboy!

[Mmehdy]

best thead of the year......by far

[Sideshow Bob]

Put this in the MoMA...the artist Samuel Mark is selling it himself on the streets of Manhattan. The canvas is a NYC subway map.

 

 

Sure beats a work entitled "Five Words In Green Neon" at the Whitney, which depicted, wait for it, a green neon sign that said "Five Words in Green Neon".

 

[Bronty]

What are the five words? I could see that being somewhat interesting if it is a thought provoking five words chosen. Otherwise it could just be ... five words

[Sideshow Bob]

Five Words in Green Neon by Joseph Kosuth

 

I almost walked back to the admissions desk to ask for a refund. If I wanted puns, I could just call my dad for free instead of paying for museum admission.