Aesthetics of a Feng Shui-year

The first painting I bought was a watercolor by a young artist who told me he was very broke. At the time I bought it, I thought I was buying a painting of multi-colored mushrooms. When a friend saw it, he thought it was a painting of a peacock. When the artist gave me back the painting after framing, he wrote "Water Lilies" at the back. It reminded me of the picture which could either be a witch or a beautiful woman, depending on how one looked at it.

I've acquired a few paintings since then, some I bought, others given as gifts. Once in a while, I get asked if I am "investing in art" and I laugh at the absurdity of the idea. I associate investment with T-bills, shares of stock, bank accounts (preferably in Switzerland or the Cayman Islands) and real estate. As corny and tacky as it may sound, I consider art a very personal, even spiritual, experience.

Because of this, and also because I'm not an expert in the workings of the art market (assuming one exists in the Philippines), I always get stumped when I'm asked if buying a particular painting is "a good investment." I have an undergraduate degree in economics but that only makes me a Quack Economist at best. Still, there are days when I feel like showing off my skills as such. This is my analysis: Based on the law of supply and demand, if a painting by an artist becomes scarce (if the artist dies, for instance), its price will increase. If the artist becomes popular (by becoming a National Artist, for example) and the demand for his work grows, the price will also increase.

This crude analysis would probably make my college teachers cringe. Figuring out the answer would require an extensive study of aesthetic theories and the market. There would be a need for experts in art history, anthropology, sociology, psychology and economics. Since this would be very costly, it would probably be cheaper if a person concerned with knowing if a work of art is a good investment just consulted a fortune teller or a psychic instead.

My real answer has always been: Don't bother buying art if you are doing so purely for investment purposes. You'll probably have a better chance of making money by depositing it in the bank than by buying a work of art. Buy art that moves you. However, make sure you can afford it.

As with all standards as subjective as this, what I like has changed since I bought my first painting. When I was in my Hardcore Feng Shui-yera phase, I was very annoyed when my husband bought a small acrylic painting of a decrepit door. I thought it symbolized decay. I wanted to have paintings symbolizing luck and prosperity only. It is one of my favorites now and I can already appreciate the mix of colors and textures that he saw. We even bought another one from the same series.

This got me thinking as to why we like what we like. I met a professor in Art Studies and she said that there are several courses on this. In a nutshell, she explained, what one considers pleasing depended on one's social, cultural, historical and economic background. As an example, she cited the celebration by the Japanese of the blooming of cherry blossoms. She theorized that this may have something to do with the fact that the cherry blossoms bloomed in the spring, after a long and bleak winter. In contrast, she continued, most of the flowers in the Philippines are abloom all year. Thus, we don't see the need to celebrate and have picnics when we see kalachuchi trees laden with flowers (maybe it would be nice if we did though).

I now understand (sort of, anyway) why I have an oil painting of tropical fruits in my dining room and why I hung a painting of lush mountains on the wall behind me in my office. The fruits represent abundance. The mountains represent stability and strength. It appears that my Hardcore Feng Shui-yera phase is not over after all.

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