Cost of Oil Affects Sculpture

Whether you are an artist or art buyer, the price of oil could affect you. Not only will it cost you more in gasoline to get to the gallery, but it could drive up your costs to create, or purchase, your next piece.

Many sculptors use a casting technique. I won't go into detail on this now, that is a long article all by itself. Suffice it to say, this is how they are able to have more than one copy of the same piece, called an "edition". Some of the materials used in this process are petroleum-based and therefore are subject to the same sort of fluctuations that you experience when going to the pump for your automobile.

Large pieces, called "monumental sculptures" because they are, well, typically monuments, are generally purchased by corporations, museums or other large organizations which might not feel the pinch as much. At least not yet.

The smaller collector, who doesn't have a grant, a 1% fund or deep pockets, is usually purchasing smaller pieces. As prices go up on materials (not just the oil-based materials are going up) these smaller pieces will likely see an increase in price. This could drive sales down. This puts the artist into the tight spot of absorbing some (or all) of the increase in order to make sales.

There are some options that artists can use to help control costs, but sometimes the artist can't do much to control the cost of materials. You can't skimp on the raw materials! If the material is consumed during the process then it is just gone.

As an art buyer, be aware that the artist is not making money off these increases. These are raw material costs that he or she is incurring when making the finished product that you love.