|
Online art auctions have become a popular place for bargain-hunters looking for art that has investment potential. But the honest emerging artists who offer their works for auction sometimes seem overwhelmed by assembly-line art knock-offs and unscrupulous, deceptive sellers.
The kind of crime
we're talking about here involves the person of the artist himself/herself. Some
people fail to grasp the nature of this deception so let's put it in a context
anyone can understand: If a person claimed that he was selling a painting by Rembrandt when he had actually painted it
himself you would see this as fraud, wouldn't you? The thing some people miss is that
when a person claims to be an outsider artist when he/she is really an art
student or a trained professional, he/she is acting in a similarly deceptive and dangerous manner.
The technical
name for value based on history is "provenance", which we'll talk
about in a moment. People who shop for outsider art do so because they are
interested in the mind and the story of the untrained artist. They are
interested, too, in the message of that artist. An outsider artist is generally
thought to give insight into the human soul outside normal perceptions. Whether
accurate or not, this assumption of special perception dramatically changes the
value of works of art.
When a
twenty-something artist claims to be a barely-literate old man who took up
painting to comfort himself after his wife died, that's a serious deception. Beyond being dishonest, we suspect that this could be considered fraud because people are
buying the art based on what they believe to be the story of the painter. They
may love the art, too, but they are paying a given amount based on its perceived
value.
Returning to a previous example, a painting
might be as skilled in its execution as a Rembrandt, it might be every bit as
moving, but if it wasn't painted by Rembrandt it's going to be worth far less.
Likewise, a piece of "alternative art", regardless of it's appeal on
other grounds, is worth more or less based on who produced it, and
"Outsider Art" has a value all its own.
When a trained professional pretends
to be an outsider, he is deceiving potential buyers to affect provenance.
To pretend to be someone you are not is a misrepresentation that cannot and
should not be allowed. Trying to equate the use of phony biographies with the
use of a "brush name" only increases the offense against collectors
and common sense.
Returning to the subject of pricing in the art
world, we must rely on the provenance of a piece to determine the value. This is
the idea of
market value based on history. Provenance is the reason an
original Rembrandt or Picasso or Pollock is worth hundreds of times the value of
even the most faithfully executed copy.
Provenance is not only a part of
art valuation, it is the essence of it. When someone lies about the artist who
painted a piece, he or she is misrepresenting the provenance of that work. There
can be only one reason why an artist would do this that we can think of, and it
is to artificially inflate the value of the work. That artificial inflation is what may make this act a
criminal matter.
Now let us consider why such
misrepresentation seems to be proliferating. One answer is that the Internet
makes it easy to misrepresent oneself, but shouldn't those who profit from such
deception also bear some responsibility? Does eBay look
the other way as unscrupulous art hucksters take advantage of a trusting public? Once our
answer would have been 'no,' but now we are not sure. We DO know that others have
complained about artists using false identities and fabricated 'histories' and
to date eBay has, to our knowledge, failed to act. Perhaps art fraud and just isn't a big deal to them as long as they can make a buck off of it. Or
perhaps they just need the force of many complaints, in which case you can help.
Whatever happens
in the future, surely eBay staff cannot plead ignorance as an excuse. In
addition to complaints made, there have been published articles about the
problem of art misrepresentation on eBay. Read the Picklebird
Article on eBay art. (opens in a new window) - The last
few paragraphs should prove very enlightening to many art buyers. Anyone who
cares about truth and/or value in art should be outraged. Buyers are being
robbed by a few unscrupulous sellers. The only solution is for buyers and
sellers who care about truth and honesty to act.
As dismal as this
looks, there is some hope: You can be part of the solution. Be a wise buyer.
Investigate sellers of art. If someone is trying to mislead you as to the
identity of the actual
painter, you're dealing with fraud which needs to be reported. The FBI
has an Internet complaint form specifically for such Internet fraud
operations. This form does not obligate you to act in any way and your
information can be kept confidential. You are simply providing information that
they need to combat fraud. The address is http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/cf1.asp.
(opens in a new window).
Should you also
report possible forgers to eBay Safeharbor? We would say yes. Although eBay seems less than interested in cleaning up their act, they certainly have some liability
in the matter. For instance, if you bought a painting thinking it was produced
by an outsider artist and then you find out it was a forgery (produced by
someone other than the claimed artist) and eBay KNEW this, can they not be considered a party to the crime? The legal system has yet to decide but we hope victims will consult with an attorney and they State's Attorney General.
As is often the
case in this world, evil will always triumph unless people of good will act to
stop it. Sometimes that means you are the one who must act. One good person may
make all the difference in the world. If you consider yourself to be a good
citizen then it is time to show it: do something! Stop the crooks in their
tracks before more people are ripped-off.
We are doing our part with articles such as this and sometimes this type of exposure
is sufficient to bring about change.
Join us.
|
