Launch HN: Art in Res (YC W20) – Buy art directly from artists • Hacker News Board

Re: Launch HN: Art in Res (YC W20) – Buy art directly from artists

#231

Post by ethanappleby » Wed, Apr 15, 2020, 7:46 PM UTC

sushisource wrote: post #37

RickS wrote: post #32

Edit: huge props to the team for shipping a fix for this in minutes. --- I want to love this idea, but I struggle to get past the lack of full price when browsing. It says "$48 • 24 months" and expects me to intuit that the product costs $1152. Or rather, I worry that it expects me not to intuit that. Breaking the absolute price into a series of less frightening numbers to obscure the magnitude of a purchase feels sl…

Not to mention the fact that I suspect most people interested in purchasing fine art aren't exactly the type who care to finance the purchase.

I dont fully agree with this statement, but perhaps the sentiment. I think there are those who are on the fence and doing it monthly can always help. However, I think the bigger struggle is that those interested but not major collectors still get sticker shock whether or not its monthly or not. This is the challenge with all rental models. They advertise "only $25/mo" however when that person says yes I like this, its still $2000 and they are like no thanks.

Re: Launch HN: Art in Res (YC W20) – Buy art directly from artists

#232

Post by ethanappleby » Wed, Apr 15, 2020, 7:50 PM UTC

ramraj07 wrote: post #204

solomonb wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tagging onto this reply.. As someone with particular domain knowledge (I worked in the art world for years and have many professional artist and gallerist friends), I don't I've ever seen an online art sales platform that actually understand the purpose of an art gallery--for both collectors and artists. Galleries are not simply point of sale vendors for art. They establish a scene, they contextualize the art and the…

This just seems like a justification of what the art gallery does for the art industry as it exists _now_, perhaps this isn't the best model anyway? I can totally see myself buying a painting from this site if it resonates with me, Im not particularly worried about how the single piece I buy forms a story with other pieces that I'm not going to buy, all I care is what it says in my room. In that regard the single big…

Ramraj, if you just want it to look good in your room, are you really going to pay several hundred dollars more over time for what you could get a beautiful poster from art.com? This is the challenge all online platforms (not so much galleries) face - people just want something to look good, and that can cost fully framed $120 from art.com. If you're going to spend $400, $1000, $1800, etc you have to care about the artist.

Re: Launch HN: Art in Res (YC W20) – Buy art directly from artists

#233

Post by ethanappleby » Wed, Apr 15, 2020, 7:52 PM UTC

solomonb wrote: post #225

mkl wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have friends who have literally calculated how much it costs them per square inch to make a painting and it can be shocking. Any medium/cost data you can share?

No specific numbers, but I have friend who uses thick impasto style with oil paints. At one point he was trying out cheap and expensive oils and had a studio visit with the owner of a major gallery. The first thing the gallerist did was point out every painting that used the cheap oil paint. Now he exclusively uses Old Holland brand oils. some of which list for 300-500 USD for 225ml.

MKL this is something as an artist or a platform I would make much clearer. You're right that if you look at materials alone its more than folks are willing to pay. Then there is artists time. You could show like based on materials plus time this artist would be getting paid $10/hr. this may help people to justify costs. However its not necessarily the best measurement (some artists are faster, more experienced are faster)

Re: Launch HN: Art in Res (YC W20) – Buy art directly from artists

#234

Post by ethanappleby » Wed, Apr 15, 2020, 7:54 PM UTC

JohnFriel wrote: post #182

ethanappleby wrote: post #167

John, this is an industry with a huge graveyard of failed startups doing the same thing. And the only ones left - Artsy, just went through a huge firing and recapping and I wouldnt give them long. Leaf group is trying to get rid of Saatchi in a fire sale and ArtFinder is barely break even with a team less than a dozen and making money from charging artists. So given this idea does not seem different than the many bef…

> I love artists and design, and am shocked this has not happened yet, so Im rooting for you. I really appreciate it! And I appreciate the thoughtfulness of your questions. One aspect is that we're not business people looking at this problem in a cold, analytic light: we care about the wellbeing of artists and the joy that people get from having art in their homes. I know from my experience as an artist that most art…

John, thanks for taking the time answer. I know artists are not suspicious but they will come around - thats not the hard part (tho it can feel harder than it should be).

Im not sure your argument that your buyers have not heard of Saatchi is a good thing (you're right artsy is different market). This means its going to take more education and cost for discovery. They should say I looked online and found these four places but dont like them because of X. Then you address X.

Re: Launch HN: Art in Res (YC W20) – Buy art directly from artists

#235

Post by ethanappleby » Wed, Apr 15, 2020, 7:55 PM UTC

jasonshen wrote: post #213

JohnFriel wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I love artists and design, and am shocked this has not happened yet, so Im rooting for you. I really appreciate it! And I appreciate the thoughtfulness of your questions. One aspect is that we're not business people looking at this problem in a cold, analytic light: we care about the wellbeing of artists and the joy that people get from having art in their homes. I know from my experience as an artist that most art…

My wife is a designer-turned-artist so I'm familiar with some of the comments above re: solo shows / the value of galleries. If you've read "The Case for the 12 Million Dollar Shark" then you must know that most people who buy art at high prices are wealthy, upper class folks who see art as much as a way to show off how cool / sophisticated they are and as an investment vehicle. I've personally found the entire indus…

Well said Jason.