Online art gallery where you can find affodable contemporary Japanese art.

Interview

Why Do We Sell ART by Meter?

Interviewing ART-Meter Office

What is the origin of ART-Meter?
The origin is "T-SELECT", T-shirt design competitions site.
We, KAYAC Inc., operating company of ART-Meter, have operated the service since 2000.
We think ourselves we created new market for non-professional people through this service.

People who create something also create place to show their works such as holding personal exhibition or opening website.
But there is huge gap between showing and selling. It's hard to find where to sell, which means where buyers getting together.

System of T-SELECT is if a certain T-shirt design gets more than 10 vote for "want to buy", it is produced and sold to voters.
It's kind of matching system for both supplier and consumer.

Then, we started thinking "Why can't we do this for drawings, not only T-shirt design". That's the origin of ART-Meter.
TOP
How did you come up with the unique concept "decide price according to size (cm2)"?
It is to accomplish our wish to devote us to create meeting place.

Usually, seller select items when they sell something.
It's depends on sellers judgment such as "Is this price marketable?" or "This design is good."

We devoted ourselves to create meeting place on T-SELECT in contrast.
In other words, we do not make selection by good or bad, like or dislike.

In particular, like and dislike is highly dependent on who to judge. For example, if we ask 10 people which design is your favorite, the answer would be different by each of them.
If so, we decide not to select but to create meeting place that enable buyers to select.

If you think "This is good", that's everything. We don't need to care what somebody else says. That's our philosophy.

Our style "to create meeting place" is the same on ART-Meter.
It really doesn't need to be drawings everybody wants, but only one person in the world says "Yes, I want it",
isn't it great art work? That's why ART-Meter doesn't filter good or bad, like or dislike.

With this concept, we couldn't set price.
So decided to set price with "clear and simple logic".
After consideration, we resulted in size.

In other words, "Sell by Meter" came out from pursuing our philosophy to devote ourselves creating meeting place.

Also, we set artist level system that raise in accordance with total size he/she sold.
It enables artist to add extra charge on unit price. All artists start with 1st level.
With this system, price is set by relations between artists' will and buyers intention.

This means that both "Sell by Meter" and artist level system set by sold size came out from pursuing our philosophy to devote ourselves creating meeting place, also.
TOP
Are there any artist who are negative about uniformed price,
or setting value of art by its size?
Yes, there are.
We know there are some artist who don't want to be displayed their work next to item they dislike.
Also, there are some artist who disagree with uniformed price.

But we also know that there are many artists who don't care about how to sell but they focus on if they meet buyers who think their work great. They are seeking chance to provide somebody to have rich life experience through their work.

There are small population that want drawings. Isn't it hard to select? To know if it's worth price is even harder.
That's why we think it's better to decide price by size. It's clear and simple.

People don't buy if it's difficult to understand.
If nobody buys, it's not market place anymore. If so, artist would not submit their work. It may even cause artist not to create.

To keep creating, we think it is essential to create economical value.

We think it's important for all of us to create something.
People who create something can judge good and bad by their own value, not by other's.
We think more people judge by their value, our future will be better.
It may sound you leap in logic, but we believe that we can reach there by empowering artist to draw paintings.

But now is the time that rich people is so powerful. We can't keep doing something that don't make money.
But we can do things keep possibility of making money.

That's why we want to create this kind place.
Because an artist can keep creating with just one people who says "Yes, I want to buy it".
TOP
I have a resistance to display drawings in my room.
These days, it's getting popular to display art work as a part of interior, to feel art closely.
We think that to display art is one way to have rich life just like listening to music, playing sports,
growing plants and watching movies.

If you can feel something positive when you wake up by watching art work, it's just great.
Or it may bring you back memory, or make you feel comfortable when you get home.

That's why we ask artists to write concept of drawings when they register their work. It's hard to feel their message only by visual image but we can find something more on drawings by knowing backgrounds.

We understand that paintings are so delicate. We must be careful on handling within high-end, expensive art market.
But our goal is art works near at hand.

For example, don't you want to change paintings on wall according to seasons, just like changing flowers.
Don't you think it's nice to have market that enable you to do so by paying $100,
just like to enjoy a nice dinner cost $100.
TOP
What is ART-Meter vision?
We keep seeking 3 wins, that means artists, customers, and operator, happiness for all three of us.
It doesn't have to be big business.

For now, there are not so many people who enjoy art in their rooms, so both artist and operator are having hard time.
We try hard to increase customers for both artists and operator.

We keep on dreaming aim for 3 wins and better society through art. We want to keep our pace not to burn out.

We want more people to enjoy art through ART-Meter.
We recommend you to present paintings as a gift for someone special for you. It's surprising for receiver to have one-off paintings. Artist is another one to be happy to know how much happiness they could create. It's a moment that KAYAC's mission "creation" creates happy society.

These days, art-market enjoys booming.
ART-Meter opened a branch office, ART-Meter ITALIA in Italy, a country of art on Spring of 2008. The response has been terrific in Italy and all over European countries. Also, many foreigners visit our real shop at Jiyugaoka in Tokyo. We have feelings that this service may survive even in the world.

Again, we hope to increase people having richer life with art, and to increase people who are able to keep creating through ART-Meter.

It would be great one day a customer become artist through ART-Meter.
It would be also great one who started painting at age over 70 draw his/her dramatic life,
and the soul would be put into painting and travel around world.

TOP

KAYAC PROJECT