Collectors Are Ready to See Your Art
But you must learn to sell without selling out
Our confusion about art, and a great many other things, stems from the modern, materialistic, idea that there is only one big “economy.” And we’ve been confused about art for over a century.
The great “glamour of forgetting” started around the time of Marcel Duchamp’s urinal being presented as “art,” and “the great forgetting” accelerated from there, eventually causing the public to forget the deep magic of true art. But, our confusion, all along, has been in thinking art belongs to the market, when it actually belongs to the soul. This is why the modern man struggles to define what art is.
Collectively, we no longer understand art because we view it only through the lens of market-based materialism, which, in reality, is only one possible perspective
Fortunately for us; however, there isn’t just one master “economy.” There is another economy that you were never taught to see.
There are, in fact, two economies, and they are vastly different.
Let’s call them the following: the soul-economy and the market-economy.
😊 We built FASO to push back against a world that treats art like content and artists like algorithms. Your work is more important than that. The world needs beauty more than ever. If our mission appeals to you, then you need a serious, beautiful home for your art, the details are below, after the essay.
—Clint
We may have suppressed our knowledge of the soul-economy, but the desire to participate in it still simmers in every human heart. Deep down, we all know that some things are made for the sale, and that other, more important things, are made for the soul.
Art is made first for the soul, not the sale.
And most of the pain artists feel around marketing comes from confusing these two economies.
The true artist must choose the soul-economy; for “no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.” Nor can you truly serve Art and Mammon.
In the market-economy, value is measured by what others will pay.
But, in the soul-economy, value is measured by what the creator was willing to give.
When creation requires no sacrifice, no discipline, no transformation, the viewer’s soul senses the absence of spiritual weight.
Art, music, and writing—these are all works of love and they are meant to be gifts of love in the economy of the soul. That is why the worst thing an artist can do is “sell out” their soul to the market.
Don’t misunderstand: I am not suggesting that artists cannot sell their artworks or make a living from their art. Selling is not the same thing as selling-out.
Selling-out involves creating primarily for the market-economy with the goal of getting. Art must be made as a gift of the soul, for the purpose of giving. In a proper art transaction, the purchaser’s money is viewed a reciprocal gift back to the artist.
The “trick” is that artists must learn to stand at the edge and straddle these two vastly different economies.
The market-economy forms the horizontal beam while the soul-economy forms the vertical pole and, together, they construct the cross upon which the true artist must sacrifice himself voluntarily. His Art must be his true passion, and our passions are those things we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for. As always, the key that balances the two is found where they cross, at our heart, and that key is constructed with love.
Learning the difference between the two economies will enhance both the artist’s peace of mind and her pocketbook. Knowing the difference between these two economies will help an artist to not feel rejected when a soulful piece doesn’t sell. And, it will help her understand why some pieces sell easily and others do not.
The artist’s challenge is not to reject the market. The challenge is to keep it in its proper place.
The soul comes first and thus, the Art comes first.
Then, once the work exists, you need a sane and honest way for people to discover it, understand it, follow it, inquire about it, and buy it.
That is the kind of structure FASO is built to provide.
So today, take one practical step in the market economy that honors the soul economy:
Make sure the available works on your FASO website are presented clearly for collectors. Because, believe it or not, collectors also enjoy and view art through the lens of the soul-economy. Think about the last time you wept while listening to music. I’ve seen collectors do that with visual art. Your art matters.
So let’s look at how to build a website that honors the sacredness of your art.
Here’s what I suggest:
1. Start by uploading no more than about 20 pieces. Don’t overwhelm people.
2. If you have more than 20 works, group them into 3-5 collections (such as portraits, landscapes, and still-lifes, for example).
3. Make it easy for collectors to support you by presenting each artwork with a Title, size, and purchase price. If you use FASO, make sure to connect Stripe or Paypal and to enable ecommerce so that people can easily purchase from you. You’d be surprised at how many artists make it difficult to actually purchase.
4. For FASO members only—when you join FASO, and upload 20 pieces and add your bio, we feature you in our new member newsletter which goes out to nearly 70,000 art collectors and lovers. That’s the first of the many marketing channels you gain when you move your website to FASO.
Creating a great art website is not “selling out.” This is creating a sacred space, that you control, that presents your art on the internet without the noise and rage of big tech’s algorithms. We’ll discuss how to get people to your site in upcoming emails.
If our philosophy resonates with you, please join us. This is about more than just where you host your website. In a world of growing AI, this is about joining with others who wish to protect the ecosystem of human artists. It’s about working with people who view the importance of human art the same way you do. If we don’t band together in this time, we risk losing something important to the all-consuming beast of the algorithm.
Let us know what you think and how you honor the sacredness of your art in your online efforts in the comments:
Creatively,
Clint Watson
FASO Founder
This makes me think about the difference between value and valuation. A market can assign a number to a work, but the deeper relationship between art and the human experience often unfolds in ways that cannot be quantified.