OPINION:
Failure.
Why Does Art Cost More When It Breaks?
by Alejandro D. Perera, Artist & Art Muse Lecturer, 1 April 2023.
Image Credit: Jeff Koons’s Balloon Dog (Blue) (2021) before and after it was knocked off a pedestal at Art Wynwood (Miami, Florida) on 16 February 2023. Courtesy Cédric Boero, Bel-Air Fine Art. direct link.
The contemporary art market can be fickle, and factors beyond the artwork itself can often influence the value of a piece. A prime example of this phenomenon is the case of Jeff Koons and his two sculptures, one of which broke recently and increased in value, while the other, held at the Salvage Art Institute, is no longer even considered art.
The most recent breakage from Koons’s oeuvre, titled Balloon Dog (Blue), is a porcelain sculpture from 2021, originally valued at $42,000 (USD). It was one of 799 editions created by Koons, and according to Bel-Air Fine Art, which displayed the piece in Miami’s winter fair, Art Wynwood, a collector visiting the gallery’s booth during the fair’s opening cocktail hour, unintentionally kicked the pedestal, causing the sculpture to fall and shatter. The gallery’s district manager, Cédric Boero, stated, “it is heartbreaking to see such an iconic piece destroyed,” but added that the artwork was covered by insurance. The pieces are currently waiting in a box to be evaluated by an insurance expert. Meanwhile, some collectors have reportedly offered to purchase the broken pieces.
Image Credit: Jeff Koons (American, b. 1955). Balloon Dog (Red), 1995. Aluminum and porcelain, 10 x 10 x 3 in. (25.40 x 25.40 x 7.62 cm); Edition: 51/66. Damage: 24 December 2008, shattered in fall; Claim: 11 May 2009; Total loss: 20 May 2009. Salvage Art Institute; SAI 0015. direct link.
Image Credit: Detail of Jeff Koons’s Balloon Dog (Red), which also shattered in a fall. Salvage Art Institute. direct link.
The second example, a similar piece titled Balloon Dog (Red), is also a porcelain sculpture from an edition of 66, created in 1995. Normally, an earlier edition would equate to more value, but after Balloon Dog (Red) was damaged, an art insurer ran a total-loss claim on the piece, and the work was, legally, worth zilch. Both nearly-identical sculptures, Balloon Dog (Blue) and Balloon Dog (Red), are made of the same material, so by default, they shattered in the same fashion. If color is the only difference between these two works, then why does the value of the blue sculpture skyrocket after its accident while the other, the red version, is deemed worthless?
The answer lies in media attention. On Thursday, February 16, 2023, when Balloon Dog (Blue) shattered, it made headlines across the world. Suddenly, all eyes were on Jeff Koons and his art. This activity increased exposure to Koons’s work and created a surge of interest in the blue sculpture now imbued with the added significance of its mishap, an added narrative that turned the work into a hot commodity, and the value skyrocketed.
In contrast, Balloon Dog (Red) held at the Salvage Art Institute suffered from a lack of media attention. It shattered and went unnoticed, and as a result, it lost all value as a work of art. The red sculpture was relegated to the status of mere debris, with no hope of restoration or appreciation as a work of art again.
But somehow, this doesn’t seem fair.
I reached out to Kelly Crow, the reporter for the art market section of The Wall Street Journal, to get her opinion on broken artwork, and she said that it boils down to a good story.
“It’s human nature to crave a good story, and the broken pieces in a work of art prove it’s lived a little and might have more to reveal than what we see. And often, once we learn that backstory, the object and its vulnerability – or ability to endure – endears it to us all the more.”
This phenomenon is not uncommon in the art world, where damaged or destroyed artwork can gain value due to its rarity and unique status. In some cases, the damage is a defining characteristic of the artwork, such as in the case of Robert Rauschenberg’s Erased de Kooning Drawing (1953), in which the artist famously erased a drawing by Willem de Kooning and then displayed the blank piece of paper as his own work of art.
The lesson in this particular case is clear: the value of contemporary art today is highly dependent on news and media attention. While society sensationalism might seem a capricious and arbitrary way to assign value to a work of art, it is nonetheless a reality of the art collection market.
Image Credit: Robert Rauschenberg (American, b. 1925–d. 2008). Erased de Kooning Drawing, 1953. Traces of drawing media on paper with label and gilded frame, 25 1/4 x 21 3/4 x 1/2 in. (64.14 x 55.25 x 1.27 cm). Collection of SFMoMA (San Francisco, CA). © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. direct link.
To safeguard the value of an art object, collectors must be prepared to restore it properly in the event of any damage and also insure it in case of any unforeseen circumstances. Once an artwork that already belongs to or is promised to a collector is damaged, the gallery should contact the collector and notify the insurance company, which will assign a conservator and an adjuster to assess the damage. While some gallery owners like to work directly with artists to find a solution, a conservator might restore artwork in more prominent galleries or where the artist is deceased.
Restoration is an essential step in maintaining the value of an artwork. If a piece is damaged, it is necessary to seek a qualified conservator who can repair it without damaging its integrity. Restoration can take days or weeks; often, these repairs are visible, but a beautifully restored work is most likely to regain value than a poorly restored one.
Image Credit: A conservator treating damaged painting. ArtCare Conservation. direct link.
After repairing the work, an appraiser will evaluate it for loss of value, using international standards such as The J. Paul Getty Trust’s Object ID, defined as the following.
Art insurance policies can protect against damage, theft, and other unforeseen circumstances that could result in the loss of value of a work of art. With an art insurance policy, collectors will have peace of mind knowing their investments are protected. It is also essential that proper documentation of the damage and restoration process is kept up to date for insurance purposes.
To conclude, the two cases of Jeff Koons’s Ballon Dog (Blue) and Balloon Dog (Red) highlight the complex relationship between contemporary art, media attention, and value. It might seem arbitrary that a work of art can increase in value simply because of an accident, but this is the reality of the contemporary art market. To safeguard the value of art collections, collectors must be prepared to restore and insure their artwork against any potential damage or loss. Only by taking these steps can collectors ensure that their art collection remains a valuable asset for years and generations to come.