与艺术顾问的采访

歌词

One thing I don't understand is how a company ever decides what to choose. I mean, art is such a personal thing. How does anyone ever agree?

Well, that's true. I think it's important that you don't set up committees or anything. If you have a workforce of 300 and you ask everyone, you'll get 300 different answers. No, you need to keep it small. Just one or two people. But choosing art for your offices isn't necessarily about choosing what the individual likes. The real benefits for a business are that the artwork gives a positive image to clients.

So what's a typical of art?

It's so varied. But in general, I suggest something strong and bold. If it's just light colours that no one can really see, it's pointless. You need art which shows your clients you have good taste and that you are successful.

I often go into buildings and look at modern art and think, What is that? It isn't of anything. No people. Nothing. Why do so many companies choose it?

There are a number of reasons, other than the fact that the managing director might like it. You don't want art that will offend anyone. So a painting of a man and a woman with no clothes on is a bad idea. Similarly, a landscape or a painting of the countryside is the sort of thing you have in your living room at home and doesn't look very corporate. Also the art needs to say what kind of company you are. Most companies want to give clients the message that says we're modern and we're planning for the future. A classical painting says we're old and traditional. A painting by a young, modern painter gives a more positive image. And remember, it doesn't have to be a painting. A sculpture in the reception area can be very effective, for example.

Finally, all this must be very expensive. How does a company justify thousands of pounds on this kind of thing?

It can be expensive but of course many people rent works from us, for as little as ten pounds a week. It also means that if you change your mind after a year or so, it's easy to change the piece.

That sounds like a good idea.

有一样事情我不是很明白的就是一个公司是怎么决定选择什么艺术品的，我的意思是，艺术品是一样很私人的东西。人们是怎么同意的呢？好的，这是正确的。我认为你不设立委员会或是类似的组织很重要。如果你有300工作人员，你问他们，你就会得到300个不同的答案。没有必要，你需要保持小规模，一两个人足以。但是为办公地点选择艺术品不一定非得每个人都喜欢。艺术装饰品的真正作用在于向客户传达一种积极地形象。但是什么是典型的艺术品呢？答案很多但是我的建议是选择那些颜色鲜明而富有感染力的。如果是淡色调，人们根本就不会注意到，这样就没意义了。你需要的艺术品能向客户显示你的品位和成功形象。我常常走进一些建筑物，观赏那些现代艺术品，不禁会问，那是什么？画面上毫无一物，没有人，什么也没有，那为什么这么多公司还会选择它？除了执行总监喜欢它之外，还有一些原因。你可不想你选择的艺术品可能会冒犯别人。所以赤身裸体的一对男女的画像绝对不是一个好的选择。同样的，一副乡村风景画适合放在卧室，而不是企业。艺术品应该传达你公司的基本信息。大部分公司都想告诉客户，我们很现代化，并且关注未来。一副古典作品说明公司古老而传统。一副当代年轻画家的作品说明公司朝气蓬勃。注意，不一非得是一幅画，例如，前台接待区放上一尊雕塑效果会很棒。最后要说明的是这些都是不小的开支。一个公司是怎么决定在这上边花费几千英镑的呢？它是会很贵，所以很多人们是从我们这里来租艺术品，一个星期就是十英镑。而且它意味着如果一年后你改变心意，那么也容易把艺术品换掉。