The Value of Art, a Talk by Jordan Miller

Presented as a art talk for Culture Days Manitoba, October 2025, posted January 26, 2026.

When we discuss the value of Art, we aren’t referring to the financial aspect; we are contributing to the arts and cultural environment of our community, enriching the lives of others, providing a solid creative education, and fostering a cultural hub of experience.

Price is a factor to be considered between the buyer and the artist, but this is not the true value of art.

Let's talk the financial aspect first, then cave paintings, the invention of the alphabet, and, of course, art as décor.

There are two pricing models that artists use: 1) the square inch model and 2) a model based on the cost, materials, time, commission fees, marketing fees, and experience.

In this show, the art is a set price. This is good to establish consistency, ease of understanding that all artists are treated the same, as some artists do underprice their work substantially to make a sale, which greatly devalues their work.

A 2025 Google search indicated that a beginner artist should be charging an average of $20 / hour and a professional artist at least $100 to $200 per hour or even more. This would include an artist’s materials. (I assure you, this isn't what is happening in Manitoba's market)

Artists need to consider their time in marketing and promoting their works, transportation to markets, shows and galleries. Does that fit with many of the artists here, or are we devaluing our art and skill?

As a gallery owner, I was asked by artists how to price their art. Its impossible to answer without being the creator of the art. I would ask questions like how much one tube of paint costs, and how much of the tube you use. How many hours did it take you to create the piece?

The cost of materials are important for the artist to know because when asked about the price of a commissioned piece right away they can say, ie. A 24x36 is $650. Consistent pricing per piece is a standard art practice for professional artists. We’ve built a reputation and knowledge into our art practice.

When you are buying art, remember that artmaking isn’t a hobby; its a business. Artists are self-employed employees with buyers being the employers. Professional artists pay taxes, claim our artist materials as expenses.

You can write off buying art as a business expense. A business can deduct 20% of the artwork’s cost in the first year, and 20% of the remaining balance each year following that. Art is a depreciable asset. Next time you buy art for your office, be sure to claim it!

I am going to talk about something that may be slightly uncomfortable, but it makes sense to me, and hopefully it will make sense to you.

I choose how I will spend every dollar I earn. By choice, I don’t buy Jets tickets, travel or eat out at restaurants. I buy myself a chai tea latte every time I drive to Winnipeg! They are beyond my budget, but I love them. It's better than ice cream.

We all put value on different aspects of life; some will never value art enough to make a purchase. Some people love art and cannot afford food, shelter and basic living expenses.

These are people who cannot afford art, and we know that they appreciate and respect what we do. What is valued is that these people show up...

Stop and think about the phrases we as artists and gallerists often hear from clients, such as “I love this work, I can’t afford to buy it.” We see how people live their lives on social media and in person. Just like I make choices, most people choose what they value to spend money on. Luxury experiences they can afford may be more valuable at that time, like travelling the world.

If you are not an artist, consider using strong etiquette when talking to artists. Perhaps you can say, "I will one day get a piece by you, I follow your career, and when I am ready, I will find a piece that I absolutely cannot live without."

The difference between buying an experience and buying a piece of art is that art is an investment.. Art is something you grow older with; Art is something that will be appreciated and enjoyed for as long as you own the art. It's more valuable than one night out.

If you are considering a piece and cannot pay it in its entirely, consider a payment plan with the gallery and the artist. They will do layaways, provided the piece is paid for within an allotted amount of time. A sale is a sale!

We can place other values on art more historically.

Pre-Historically, cavemen or Homosapiens began creating art before language was formed as we know. They had unique abstract thoughts. Handprints, depictions of wild animals were found on the walls of caves, on rocks in the wild. They showed patterns of migration used as tools to study human evolution.

Before Language was created, cave paintings were prehistoric examples of creativity, spirituality and sentimental thinking. Art was created on rocks with pieces of charcoal or ground-up pigments and rock minerals mixed in with spit, sap, blood, and animal fats.

Stories of hunting wild animals help us understand the struggles of the ancestors who roamed the earth long ago. Fast forward to today people are using art similarly to express themselves in difficult times of war, famine, etc.

Art was used as a universal visual language, a form of communication and expression, before written language was developed. It was in Egypt from 1800 to 1900 BCE (Before Common Era) that the phonetic alphabet writing was developed. It wasn’t until the 16^th century that the 26-letter English alphabet was formed into what we commonly use today. Art may not be thought of as a commonly used form of communication now for everyone, but art is still used for communication and learning today.

Art is used by educators to teach children how to read books or flip cards to learn spelling with a graphic art image and the words below. Children with disabilities also use images to communicate their needs. Technology has really helped advance how people with nonverbal disabilities communicate. Communication board materials are created by illustrators and graphic artists and designers. This form of communicating through art really is life-changing for many individuals.

Art is used by activists to inspire social change, and it's used to build up community and break down barriers. Art can help others understand other racial or ethnical backgrounds and life experiences other than our own upbringing.

There are many fields where art and creativity cross over. Scientists and mathematicians must have creative minds where they need to problem solve and use critical thinking skills. These creative skills are used for medical developments or dreaming up new inventions of brilliant new products. Think about the basics of the iPhone, how much better can they get, yet each year, artists, computer scientists and computer engineers come up with new must-have apps, better cameras, and better technology. It all comes down to art and creativity.

Architects, Environmental designers, interior designers, and engineers design homes, offices, and bridges with creativity in mind. There are competitions for these sorts of projects.

Art is used for developing creativity on the job. Marketing and communication jobs are all based on art. We use creativity when we do problem-solving. We use our creativity to show empathy and understanding towards others

The arts are also a strong contributor to increasing the stability of our economy. In Winnipeg, for instance, attending an art show or theatre performance or a concert, people travel downtown, and they spend money in pubs, coffee shops, and restaurants in the Downtown or Exchange District area. These are people who may not come downtown otherwise.

Winnipeg’s Nuit Blanche last weekend saw nearly 4000 people visiting downtown in one night from 6pm to 1am. Tourism to this one event explodes across Canada, bringing people from the US into Canada, which increases hotel stays, supports restaurants just the same as other productions.

Art as we perceive it...

Art is always open for interpretation, and an artist’s intent isn’t always what the viewers will see. People can use their imagination to spark conversation. As an artist, instead of saying, this is what my piece is, ask the viewer what they see in the piece. If they don’t have the words, you can ask them to look for clues in the work. The title may give away what the artist was thinking. The title can create dialog or conversation for the meaning of the artwork.

The beauty of art is that there is no right or wrong answer; in fact, art is often debated. Art can be literal in meaning, or it can be developed into a statement. Close-up flower paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe were overly sexualized by her viewers, sparking controversy. O’Keefe sensualized the flower in terms of feminist empowerment. She claimed that they were not vulvas; however, they were marketed as such by galleries and her audience. She was even frustrated by her own husband who sided with the public on this interpretation.

Art can evoke a viewer's emotions. Art can be therapeutic for both the artist and the viewer of the art. Art can be political and hold powerful meaning in times of war and in times of political turmoil. Art can relate to a person's spiritual background, and it can also relate to a person’s religious beliefs. Both hold value to different groups of people. Sometimes art can have historical references or be relatable to an audience as someone else’s story.

Art is therapy for the viewer, not just the artist who has potentially been processing what is going on in their corner of the world. Art can be self-healing; it can help us be mindful of others and help us express who we are in emotional resilience.

Art can be an icebreaker, a point of interest for individuals. At a house party with people you don’t know, you can always talk about the art on the wall!

During a lull in conversation, start the conversation of art, “Hey, what do you think that painting is about?” This can lead to a conversation about who the artist was, their background in art, where the art was found, and why the homeowner bought the piece.

Talking about someone’s art collection can spark the desire for creative play and imagination when it comes to abstract work and understanding.

When I was about 9, we had a painting in our living room which was of a young adult woman. She was painted in blue with thick and rough paint. I used to lay there on the couch and stare at it and dream about how the artist created that piece of art. I later learned about palette knives and tried to recreate the look of that piece. Two things about this story. It engaged the viewer, me, and it sparked my own curiosity regarding the process.

It's very likely something that both informed and influenced the early stages of my painting career. Children are impressionable to their surroundings. A home with art on the walls will inspire their own creative, critical thinking skills. Later in life, I met the artist. He went to school with my stepfather, and I found him on the internet. He later became a part of my gallery, and bought my own art as a full circle moment

Where else do we see and experience art? It's everywhere you look as design is a form of art.

Cartoons, animations, comics, picture books, story books, novel books, posters, movies, music, documentaries, films, costumes, facepainting, video games, curtains, quilts, pillows, furniture, screen savers, phone cases, and clothing design. There is so much more we can list! Everything starts with a sketch or an artistic idea.

Art is the foundation of who we are and our tastes. Social media as content creation is an art of creating reels, we add visual clips, stories and music. It's not just a post and go; we are crafting a message to our viewers about our art.

Meet the artist day at Pulse Gallery at the Forks (not associated with this talk)

There are a lot of other samples that we can discuss; just remember that the value of art doesn’t just come down to the cost of art. We aren’t just here to sell pretty pictures; we are selling a piece of ourselves as artists.

Thank you for attending our exhibition and listening to me talk about the value of art.