w:defaultTabStop w:val="720"/> ART AND THE ECONOMY-HIT OR MISS!!! There are many elements involved in an economy but i choose to look at art;Art appreciation is a gateway to the intellectual capacity of the mind,which opens the door for learning because in art you find cultural diversity,where learning first starts;To appreciate diverse art forms,one has to be,first culturally diverse/aware because it is through art all forms of cultures are seen; It is said that credit, is the life blood of any economy, art is one credit that helps to detect "signs" of an economy?It is in the art collection of any country that can help one to see the wealth of a country;So,you can see the important place art plays in an economy;It helps us to see what one could term the early "signs" of a good or bad economy in a country,hence art is about visual signs but most people mainly who i would call the connoisseurs of the economy,may have not being looking at art as an element for signs for an economical depression; A work of art may be understood as a conductor from the artist's mind to the viewer's but it may never reach the viewer.With the advent of the Internet,artists can set up their own websites and be seen;The past years have been a taxing ride for the Online art market.The Internet art economy,which drew entrepreneurs Online and inspired venture capitalists and investors to infuse dot-com companies with cash,in 2001;Nancy Valentino, senior vice president of Christies.com,said (quote) "if someone had told me on January 1 what would have happened to art on the Internet by Nov 1,i would not have believed them,it's been a frantic year /"passion",(end quote). Those who are skeptical of the Internet's potential as a marketplace for high end art note the financial instability of the past years,optimists point to an increasing number of new collectors who have emerged Online. In contrast ,the Jamaican art scene has its share of ups and downs,where companies are not buying but quietly, serious art collectors have being buying,in 2008 a billionaire and a major art collector,purchased up to $60.ooo,ooo million worth of art works,from a major Jamaican fine art collector and one of Jamaicas top artist/painter.A lesser known artist who is one of Jamaican most important emerging painter, who's entire solo exhibition sold out with paintings value $150.000-$1,000,000 million dollars. More so, in a time of an economical melt down,art collectors look for artists who are serious to collect."Good Art",even though you might say its a relitive term, has the capacity to flow through any depression and will always break the monotonous flow of any period and with stand the test of time,beyond boundaries.Whenever there is a time of "significance",people tend to look at art more for answers or healing,it has always been there but was never been given attention;Art speaks through "time" irrispective of any special period,art is time and vice-versa,its a way of life;Its real and if you are not being real, it tells you; Art speaks economics,if the shapers and makers of the economy were looking at art more,they would have seen it coming;We take it for granted when we are looking at art and so,we are bewildered by saying but thats what i have being seeing in the expressions of the people.We tend to look at (wall street) for the answers but wall street should look at art more because it is in the arts most times the signs exist first because it tells us the reality of the time.So, when next someone asked you,what is the state of the economy,tell them,just look at art;Art is a visual sign/language,also the "economy" and the language used to discuss both art and the economy,are "similar"...? What are the elements used in discussing the economy and what are the elements used in discussing art,are they similar or dissimilar?Do they have or move in the same pattern or form?What is economy?Is the economy life?Art depicts life;Does the economy relate with art?Who or what dictates the economy?The economy is a way of life,art is also a way of life; By John Powell (Artist)www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/j/johnpowellpaintings

ART AND THE ECONOMY-HIT OR MISS!!!