Obama art as a long term investment?

[ken]

Hey folks,
I've been thinking about this for a while, and wanted to know your thoughts...

During the 2008 Presidential Campaign, a number of respected (and talented) contemporary/street artists created works in support of the then underdog. Everyone from David Choe, Ron English, Sam Flores, Date Farmers, Alex Pardee, Mr. Brainwash and of course, Shepard Fairey.

I personally feel that no matter how good, or bad, of a job he does while in office, his already cemented place in history, combined with Shepard's seemingly unstoppable rise in popularity, equal a good long term investment. Even non-art fans, who may not be familiar with Shepard Fairey, will, in twenty to thirty years, certainly remember the 08 Presidential race, especially the ones who were children last year (his popularity was/is astronomically high for kids).

Thoughts?

[chadley]

While I think there are some pieces and artists who produced art of President Obama that will be historic by their very nature and thus worth a lot in the long run. I think those pieces are few and far between and already accounted for and worth their weight in gold. A lot of the stuff out there outside of these select pieces feels a lot like pogs and beanie babies. Do they have value right now that they are popular? Yes. Will they have value 10 years from now? Probably not.

I am a big fan of getting art that you love because if it turns out the art does not appreciate in value, you still have a piece that you enjoy everyday, and that I think is worth something.

[ken]

Couple interesting points there. On one hand, I do agree that most of it will not be worth much in the future, for me the big three are Fairey, Choe and English, though I may be letting someone slip through the cracks there. Those would be the only ones I'd consider buying, with a definite emphasis on Fairey, don't think anyone would disagree with me there.

And, in the end, you're absolutely right, you should buy only works that you like, luckily I like both Fairey and Obama (sorry folks, not entering into a political debate here!), and am sure that they'll both continue to do a good job in the years to come.

What is interesting, and the reason that I brought this up, is because the pieces aren't actually quite worth their weight in gold right now. A few months ago, definitely; however more recently as Obama-mania's dropped off, prices have dropped to less than half of what they were during the election and victory. What's surprising me is that it seems like not too many people are swooping pieces up at the new lower prices. Is there a reason for this?

[svenman]

i'm really not sure about the investment side for these pieces ken...
i don't follow fairey's work and there seemed to be a lot of variations of the image released in different editions. some signed, some not signed. i must admit i didn't pay too much attention to the releases although i think the image is very strong and helps define an important time in all our lives.

i guess that print flippers were going nuts over this a while back. the frenzy of obama mania drove up prices unrealisticly. surely no one will ever pay high prices for this image again until 20 years or so down the line.....

the first black president - he re-wrote the history books and fairey's image would probably be on that book cover.

in terms of iconography and representation of the times, i think that fairey's and ron english's images are the 2 that will stand the test of time. they were popular and well circulated.
i did buy the ron english bust as i thought it was a great piece of pop culture and a friend was very kind to send me a signed ron english poster.
in terms of investment though. i really don't know.

interesting topic. will the value of mass reproduced iconographic art rise in value with a president's popularity or dive if he falls out of favour? i think long term, we need to see what he does with his continuing run of office and then beyond to see what he does and how he appears in the public eye....
if the image was of ronald reagan and made 25 years ago, would you want it on your wall?