How the Video Art Auction Market "Keeps pace with the Times" The third part, "The Potential and Vitality of the Market", was first published with the "Book Collection" on March 28, and the reporter Wang Kun talked with Zeng Huang, artistic director of the Film Era, about the photography collection market. Due to layout limitations, it was slightly abridged when it was published in the "Bibliote newspaper". (Continued to part 2 "Market Development Space")
Modern and contemporary video artworks are seriously polarized. The prices of the classic masterpieces of famous contemporary artists are very high, and some of them are even close to the sky-high price, Zeng Huang sighed: "In fact, these artists themselves are uncomfortable, why?" The price of the representative works of famous artists who are recognized by everyone remains high, and the new works they create, if they refer to this bubble high price to enter the market, make it difficult for collectors who have gradually understood the price system of video art to accept it. And the artist's classic masterpieces have also been sold out. Some artists develop and produce a new version, which has caused a lot of damage to the reputation of the artist and the reputation of the work. As a result, famous contemporary artists are now in an awkward position. ”
A group of young artists, affected by the original price reference system, the price is high, the market does not accept, the price is low, and they cannot meet their inner expectations. As a result, the young artist community is also embarrassed in the market. From the perspective of the market, the bubble of video art that inflated with the prosperity of the contemporary art market in previous years has overdrawn the growth of China's contemporary video art market. Zeng Huang suggested that considering the plural nature of video artworks, it is recommended that the younger generation of video artists set their works a little lower, and there will be a certain market below 10,000 yuan.
The original works of Contemporary Chinese video artists exhibited in "Photography in China in 180 Years" are expensive
(Curated by Wang Chunchen, courtesy of Yinchuan Museum of Contemporary Art)
Compared with the polarized modern and contemporary video art, documentary photography is tepid. However, Zeng Huang particularly emphasized that cultural institutions at the national level have become very clearly aware of the value of image collections. For example, Fan Di'an, then director of the National Art Museum of China, launched the "20th Century Chinese Photography Masters Series" collection, and through holding exhibitions, he has systematically and rescued the works of about ten 20th century Chinese photography masters, starting with Lang Jingshan, to Wu Yinxian, Shi Shaohua and many other first-generation red photographers. Contemporary photographers who exhibit at art museums usually make donations to the National Art Museum of China to collect their works. Photographs are plural authentic works that can compensate for the loss of the donated portion by increasing the price on other editions entering the market. Ms. Zhao Hui of the Collection Department of the National Art Museum of China has said that the new museum of the National Art Museum of China, which is under construction, will set up a photography museum, and the largest investment is currently in the collection of photographic works.
In December 2021, the Film Easy 2021 Autumn Shoot Documentary Video Artwork was held at the China World Hotel
The National Museum of China has also made a big move in the video collection. On the one hand, it is to go down, and collect a large number of more interesting collections that are close to the folk, such as the portraits of chinese mortals in the early days. In addition, "some of the better documentary photography that has emerged in recent years, such as the collection of Jiang Jianxiong's "Yao Zhi Village" and the overall collection of the "Shenzhen Migrant Workers" who occupy the soldiers, have high historical value and significance," Zeng Huang said. On the other hand, the National Museum of China has also begun to carry out a comprehensive collection of Chinese-themed works taken by foreign photographers. One point, remind artists, agents and collectors at home and abroad that China's photography collection will pay attention to local photography culture and history, will not follow the Western photography collection, will not follow the Western photography history, and China will eventually establish its own unique photography collection culture and system.
In December 2021, an exhibition of overseas Chinese photographers' works was held at the National Art Museum of China
In general, all the varieties of the image collection are developing, and Zeng Huang has always maintained an optimistic attitude towards this. "In fact, the entire image collection market is very dynamic, but because the unit price of the collection is relatively low, many people feel that it is inconspicuous, and even some large auction companies do not pay attention to it, but the image auction is very dynamic, and there are at least dozens of auction houses at home and abroad operating Chinese image art." Especially in the process of excavation downwards, many very valuable collections will be found, such as the excavation of dozens of foreign photographers in China in recent years for the history of Chinese photography, especially the photographic works they took in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. We often see a collection with a low price, which, after research, examination and assignment, is a collection of national museum collections. (to be continued)
Compared with the first auction of Chinese images 15 years ago, the 2021 Yingyi Autumn Auction Preview Held at the China World Hotel has shown a large increase in the number and quality of the lots, buyers and sellers, and the total amount of transactions.