By Vincent Van Ross

Last year there were indications of the beginning of a great boom in the Indian art market—or, so it seemed. It soared like the stock market. But, the fundamentals were weak. And, it collapsed. Otherwise, the art investors would have been no different from the bulls and bears of Dalal Street (stock market)—literally.

The boom that everyone was waiting for did not arrive. It got aborted. Thanks to the mushrooming art galleries in India. A lot of new investors who could find some gallery space and money to invest threw in their hats. This included a lot of people with little or no knowledge of art. And, the art market became a fish market. In the fish market the sellers at least know what fish they are selling. Not so in the art market! But, that is just one aspect.

The up-market trend in the art market set a lot of people thinking. It is good to be enterprising. It is fine to try out something which is gaining momentum in the market. But not the way people were trying to exploit the art market.

Suddenly, you had people who wanted to cash in on this so-called-boom in the art market. Overnight, everybody wanted to be an artist. Not because they had any love for art. But, because they could smell and see big money in art. And, they wanted to taste it.

There is nothing wrong if somebody wants to be an artist. That is fine if art is your calling. That is fine if you have some creativity in you. That is fine if you have some dedication towards art. But, it is not fine if you are into it just to make a fast buck.

Art galleries started mushrooming all over the place. Galleries were being opened like photocopy shops and paan shops…as if one did not need to have any background of art to run an art gallery. As if money was everything. As if anybody who could open an art gallery could dictate terms to the art industry (I don’t like this word ‘industry’ but in view of the prevailing situation, I am inclined to use it). It looked as if art is being produced—not created.

Some art galleries arrogated to themselves the power to launch, promote and destroy artists. It looked as if truckloads of artists had landed overnight from nowhere. And, everybody who could write a little wanted to became an art critic. Everybody who had a little extra time to spare wanted to be a curator. And, everybody who had a little money to invest wanted to be an art dealer or an art investor.

Such was the art scene in India. The knowledge of art or the love for it was missing. As I said earlier, some galleries were out to prove that it was unnecessary. This is not to give a clean chit to the existing art galleries and art dealers. There are black sheep everywhere.

You don’t just print more money to improve the economy of a country. There is a gold reserve attached to it. That determines the value of the currency. That regulates the money flow. You don’t just offload a lot of money into the market and coax yourself into believing that all is well. That is the way with art too.

The price the artist or the art gallery fixes for a piece of art has to be commensurate with its creative content. It cannot be free of or without it. It is like the gold reserve with the government of a country. What holds good for the money market holds good for the art market.

Many artists and art galleries saw in what was the beginning of a boom in the art market, an opportunity to make a fast buck. They decided they were the ultimate authority to decide on the price of art works. To them, the content did not matter. To them, the creative element did not matter. To them, the gold reserve did not matter. They were only concerned about the money flow. That was their greatest mistake. That was their undoing.

In India, half the people who buy art do not know what they are buying. Half of them do not know what abstract art is all about. They are fully dependent on the advice handed out to them by the so-called art advisers, art consultants, art dealers, art galleries and so on. The knowledge and integrity of many of these people who pride themselves of being art consultants is suspect. It is not so in the international market. There, art collectors are connoisseurs of art. They know how to evaluate a piece of art. They have some idea about how much a piece of art should be worth. In short, they understand art.

It is not like here, where you can play around with the price tag and make a kill if you manage to dupe some uninitiated buyer into buying a piece of art for a price which is several times more than what it is really worth. Unfortunately, there are no foolproof parameters for art. So, most people get away with high prices. But, that is only here—not in the international market.

You may sell well in India because a lot of marketing gimmicks work here. A lot of manipulation can be managed here. That is not possible in the international market. You cut no ice there.

The litmus test for determining the price of an art object is: to check if you would be able to sell the object that you are buying now at least at the same price if not more should you choose to sell it immediately after buying. If that is possible, the price is okay. If not, the price needs to be corrected.

In the Malthusian theory of population, Malthus talks of preventive measures and positive measures. He says Man must control the population and should ensure that it remains within the sustainable limit. This he calls preventive measures.

However, if Man fails to control the population and if it exceeds the sustainable limit, nature will take corrective measures to bring it to the sustainable level. This he calls positive measures. You might wonder why I am quoting this here. Mathusian theory is an economic theory. Whether you like it or not, it applies to most economic situations.

The art market should have been constantly monitored and a rational price regime should have been enforced. It was our failure on this count that led to chaos in the market. Since we failed to take preventive measures, the market is now enforcing positive measures.

There is an urgent need for appraisal of the worth of each piece of art in keeping with the international norms and price correction in accordance with the appraisal. Till such time as this is done, the slump in the Indian art market will continue.

The defaulting artists and art galleries must acknowledge overpricing wherever it exists and correct their prices. It is high-time that everyone who has anything to do with the Indian art market begins to endorse this and take corrective action. No matter who says what but for the Indian art market it is indeed time for a major price correction.