"I Don't Know Anything About Art" – The Six Words I've Heard Across America

By Tony Hammer

"I don't know anything about art. "As a recognized modern abstract artist, I've spent decades creating original modern artwork for collectors throughout the United States. My artistic philosophy has always been simple: Impact in Every Stroke™. During that time, I've had thousands of conversations with people interested in buying art, and regardless of where they lived or what they did for a living, the conversation almost always began with the same six words: "I don't know anything about art."

I've heard those six words thousands of times over the years, and I honestly believe they're the most common sentence spoken by people looking at original abstract art for the first time. 

Tony Hammer -Famous Original Modern Abstract Artist 

Impact in Every Stroke™

 

What's fascinating isn't who says it.

It's that almost everyone says it.

I've heard those words from physicians, attorneys, CEOs, engineers, teachers, entrepreneurs, business owners, retirees, and first-time buyers. I've heard them from people decorating a modest condominium and from families furnishing luxury homes. Their education doesn't matter. Their profession doesn't matter. Their financial success doesn't matter.

The sentence is almost always the same.

"I don't know anything about art."

After living in New York, Puerto Rico, California, the Midwest, Florida, and Europe, and after spending decades creating and selling original modern abstract art, I've come to one conclusion.

• This isn't a South Florida attitude.
• It isn't a California attitude.
• It isn't a New York attitude.
• It's a nationwide misconception.
• Millions of intelligent people believe they need to know something about modern abstract art before they're qualified to buy modern artwork.
• Nothing could be further from the truth.
• The Biggest Misconception About Modern Abstract Art

Somewhere along the way people began believing that modern abstract art comes with a hidden test.

• They think they're supposed to understand every brushstroke.
• They think they're expected to know the artist's intentions.
• They believe there's a right answer hidden somewhere inside every modern abstract painting.
• There isn't.
• When you buy a beautiful home, nobody asks if you're an architect.
• When you buy a luxury automobile, nobody expects you to understand how the transmission was engineered.
• When you sit down in an outstanding restaurant, nobody quizzes you on culinary school before serving dinner.
• Yet people walk into a gallery, look at a beautiful piece of original abstract art, and immediately apologize.
• "I don't know anything about art."

Why?

Because somewhere in our culture we created the false belief that appreciating modern abstract art requires permission.

It doesn't.

The Truth About Appreciating Art

• The truth is remarkably simple.
• Original modern Art is personal.
• That's it.
• You don't need an art degree.
• You don't need to study art history.
• You don't need to memorize famous artists.
• You don't need to understand color theory.
• You certainly don't need someone standing beside you explaining what you're supposed to feel.
• I've watched two people stand in front of the exact same original bstract painting.
• One person sees excitement.
• Another sees peace.
• One sees a city skyline.
• Another sees the ocean.
• Someone else sees absolutely nothing.
• Who's right?
• Every one of them.
• That's exactly what makes modern abstract art so powerful.
• The painting doesn't belong to the modern artist anymore.
• It belongs to the person experiencing it.

This Isn't Just My Opinion

One of the reasons I feel so strongly about this is because I've heard the same conversation repeated thousands of times.

• Not hundreds.
• Thousands.
• I've lived in different parts of the United States, met people from virtually every profession imaginable, and spoken with collectors from across the country.
• The remarkable part is that geography never changes the conversation.
• Whether someone grew up in New York, California, Florida, the Midwest, or somewhere in between...
• Whether they're purchasing their first original modern artwork or adding another modern art painting to an existing collection...
• Whether they're twenty-five years old or seventy-five years old...
• The opening sentence rarely changes.
• "I don't know anything about art."
• That's why I know this isn't a local issue.
• It's a national one.
• People all across America have somehow convinced themselves that modern abstract art appreciation belongs only to experts.
• It doesn't.

Buying Art Isn't the Same as Evaluating an Artist

This is where people often confuse two completely different ideas.

Buying a modern abstract painting because you genuinely love it is one decision.

Evaluating an artist's long-term career is another.

If a piece of modern abstract art makes you smile every morning, changes the feeling of your room, or keeps drawing you back every time you walk past it, you've already answered the most important question.

• You love it.
• That's enough.
• If you're making a significant investment in original abstract art, then yes, research becomes important.
• That's when you look at the modern abstract artist's history.
• Their consistency.
• Their exhibitions.
• Their documented collectors.
• Their testimonials.
• Their professional reputation.
• That's not learning how to appreciate modern abstract art.
• That's learning how to evaluate an artist.
• Those are two completely different conversations, and too many people confuse them.