Dr. P4 sez:
I think "investing" in art is an insult. If I buy a beautiful sculpture, it's because I like it, not because I hope some day someone will pay me twice the original price.
Which makes find so utterly moronic that some wine bottles reach such astronomic prices. I mean, damn, in the end it's supposed to be drunk, or it's pointless.
I'm reminded of the story of the box of strawberries which were the finest in the world, and they were sold on and on at ever higher prices. Then one buyer lifted the lid and peeked at the berries, and said: "but these strawberries are rotten!" The last seller then informed him: "No no, these are not for eating, these are for selling!"
For SELLING!
ReplyDeleteAaaaaahhhh! Okaaaayyyyy!.....
NOW I understand. My bad. :-D
e. said...
ReplyDeletein the end it's supposed to be drunk, or it's pointless.
I totally agree with this observation...Art should be bought to be appreciated not because the price may appreciate in the future...and fine wine is to be drunk and savored...but there those who live by the dollar (Euro) sign...They haven't a clue what real life is all about...Their heads are suck in a sea of greed...
Pascal, I believe you have a collection of action figures. Are action figures not meant to be played with?
ReplyDeleteOne of my own passions is collecting toy cars. I used to collect toy toy cars, buying at jumble sales and bric a brac shops. Over the years I started finding dealers and swap meets. I started seeing more expensive cars. I still just bought the ones I like. Now here in the US I see many new cars, the size of toy cars, but made for collectors. This isn't too bad, at first glance, seeing that there are still toy cars available, but Johnny Lightening came out with a series of James Bond cars, and these were way more than the $1 that the Matchbox and Corgi Jr Bond cars were (before you quibble, Matchbox won the series form Corgi for "View to a Kill"). Kids are probably still interested in Bond, heck Corgi have had an Aston Martin in the series almost continuously since the 60's.
The thing is, toy car manufacturers are bringing out high priced collectibles, and sacrificing the toy line. Also, instead of being to get a couple of roughed up cars in the junk shop, they all are $5-$50 in a collectors shop, gathering dust not crashing into each other.
The other area I've seen a change is furniture. As kids I watched my parents buy old cheap solid furniture, clean up the wood, and we had something decent. Now similar furniture is very expensive.
Collectors have pushed the price up in so many directions, now only the rich can afford to have, and they are having for the wrong reasons. I agree with Pascal, art is to behold, whether it be a painting, sculpture or a Bugatti. Toys are to be played with, or at least admired for their beauty. Nothing, but maybe gold, is meant to be locked into a vault (diamonds are a work horse, great for cutting, and playing records, gold is meant to be used for electronics).
Anonymous calculated...
ReplyDelete"but there those who live by the dollar (Euro) sign..."
Yes, the Euro is becoming more and more the safer choice, according to my stock-exchange algorythms.
;-P
Toy-faced Alex wondered on Christmas Eve...
"Are action figures not meant to be played with?"
And so my little secret is revealed: my collection is NOT a financial investment, I just enjoy it without second thoughts. :-)
I collect figures that I like for one reason or another: pretty, well-designed like all-jointed ones or having an interesting function, original-looking (like my many monsters), just plain fun...
Oh, shucks! I just realized I could have simply pleaded the Fifth. Too late. ;-)
More expensive stuff is worth my interest only for its quality. If something is plain too expensive, then I just forget about it, and redirect my budget's resources toward more affordable things, which will also be more in number. A pleasure item has precisely as much value as you're ready to pay for enjoying it.
Several articles became intesting to me only when they were on bargain sale.
Speaking of toy cars, I recently found Harry Potter's flying car, for a very motivating price. How? Simple: Hot Wheels made a regular series model that was a grey Ford Anglia. No special company or editor's endorsement to artificially inflate the value! All I had to do myself was have the knowledge to spot the correct car model. :-)
I'm DEFINITELY not willing my collection to a museum. If I die, I want my fun to live on in children. And my organs in whoever needs them, but I'm digressing.
"Now similar furniture is very expensive."
Because such quality and durability in furniture has become a rare thing!!!
Stupid planned obsolescence.
"diamonds are a work horse, great for cutting, and playing records, gold is meant to be used for electronics"
And silver, until recently the ideal material for photographic film, is becoming extremely popular for surgical tools, because of its intrinsic anti-bacterial properties. Waaaay superior to stainless steel.
Which is making its stock price go up, but for once I feel it's fully deserved.
Dang, diamonds are VERY beautiful, but to 98% of mortals, a good zircon looks exactly the same. I'm very satisfied to see that technology now allows to make perfect-quality gems (diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires...) for far lower costs. That might short-circuit the nerve of war in Congo, hopefully.