Soap Factory Show Serves As Art Equalizer

Keeping an artist's identity secret forces buyers to focus on art alone.

Image credit: Photo courtesy the Soap Factory

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The Soap Factory $99 Sale

By: Emily Cain

You may have heard this before: “I could have painted that.” The statement is usually followed by an, “Oh please,” an eye roll, and something about along the lines of, “It’s just paint splatters on canvas.”

A polite, but annoyed curator may respond: “But sir, that’s a Jackson Pollock painting. It’s valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.” And then the argument begins.

So what gives? When is something merely paint splatters on canvas and when does a piece of work become something worthy of a George Clooney or Pierce Brosnan Hollywood heist film?

The Soap Factory plans to tackle this question at its annual $99 sale and fundraising event, which happens this Friday, Sept. 9.

The event examines the inherent value of art, if there is such a thing, by hiding artists names, displaying each piece on 8- by11-inch cards and making them all available for $99.

Ben Heywood, The Soap Factory’s executive director says, the setup forces people to consider what inspires them, rather than picking out work because of its perceived value.

“Too often people buy art as some kind of investment,” he says. “…our sale tries to force people to buy what they like, what they enjoy visually, rather than simply buying a signature.”

Heywood says there is also a bit of gamesmanship involved with the event. Friends and colleagues try to spot each others work, and frequent buyers are forced to rethink their beliefs about what art is worth.

“Art is the original value-added commodity,” Heywood says. “While anything is only 'worth' what someone is willing to pay for it, a Van Gogh worth millions is only cheap oil paint, canvas and wood in the end.”

“Because concepts of value in the visual arts are so malleable, it's fun to play a few games with them.”

With more than 200 pieces of art to choose from, all from local artists, this should be one fun game of guess who – and that is definitely worth something.

The Soap Factory $99 Sale runs from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, at the Soap Factory, 514 Second St. SE, Minneapolis.  Tickets $30. All proceeds benefit The Soap Factory, the regions premier laboratory for emerging contemporary art. Tickets include entrance to the party, DJ, free appetizers provided by Chowgirls Killer Catering and a complimentary bar.