The Value of Art?
A few years back a painting from the series “The Card Players” by Paul Cezanne was purchased by the royal family of Qatar for a price of over $250,000,000, making it the highest-priced piece of art ever purchased. Of course, there are other prized works that have sold for similar amounts and still others that are considered priceless. But what about living art? What about the practice of art? What is it worth to be an artist? Why are they always “starving” (smile)?
I consider Aikido to be a “living art,” manifested in one who embarks on a transformative journey of daily practice. But why is such an endeavor so undervalued in comparison to a painting by Cezanne? Let’s use a simple equation with some nice round numbers: If one has practiced Aikido for 20 years and paid $100 per month in tuition over that time, they have spent a total of $24,000. Twenty years of time spent (diligently) practicing the art can be sufficient to produce an artist. So in short, for the price of less than a semester at most colleges these days, one can have the chance to embody the living art of Aikido; wow, what a value!
Cost aside, the opportunity to practice such an art has touched every facet of my life and I would never consider selling it. Some may not care for my particular art or the manner in which I express it, others may find some value, but the practice has forged in me an artist, and I embrace that with both gratitude and a sense of responsibility. For most it will never be worth a Cezanne, for some it isn’t even worth one dollar, but for me it’s priceless.
Many thanks, find art in everything!
, find art in everything!