Buying and viewing art has drastically changed in recent years. Technology has not only changed the way art is produced, but the way we live, the way we look at things, and the way we spend our time and money. Entertainment and communication are drastically consuming in a way not seen before.

A big leap in the art world took place in the early forties. Acrylic paint, nylon and photographic techniques were being explored and invented. A lot of this came about because of World War II. Entering the fifties meant new equipment for artists, as well as a new way of thinking. The whole world was “atom bomb conscious,” consumer demand exploded, buying on credit was expected, and for the first time a world art movement started in the United States.

Abstract expressionist ruled New York, Pop artists threw soup cans in our face, and a pile of tires stacked in a corner was called an art installation.

The sixties took art to another level as florescent paint was applied to everything from canvas to nude bodies, and orange and pink flowers swam on darted lined shapes.

The seventies and eighties saw an affluent society thirsting for art. Big bucks were paid for gigantic abstract paintings through primarily New York galleries promoting anything or anyone they could capitalize on. Shock art kept testing its boundaries until there was little shock left. Artists grew in numbers to satisfy that thirst.

Not only were there a lot of artists, there was money. Artists took on every category from Ph.D. aestheticians to novice weekend collagists. With a few thousand dollars images could be turned into prints. An affluent society made it easy to produce and purchase.

The nineties saw a great influx of lithograph prints and posters, which many artists do not consider, legitimate because the print is duplicated from an original image. But that’s neither here nor there. The point being that a lot of imagery was on the market, and people were becoming confused as too meaning and value. Then to confuse matters even more the digital reproduction came into being. At first the quality of digital and photographic prints were in question, but technology tended to correct a flawed process.

So with a lot of artists, a lot of original art and a lot of prints, how does one know what to buy, what to pay and what to expect when you add this to a million aggressive publishers, galleries and websites.

First off — art is essential and original art is usually affordable. I can’t stress enough the importance of buying within one’s own community. A couple hundred bucks can sometimes get you a great piece of art from a beginning artist, and it can turn out to be a good investment for you, the community and the artist.

Artists who are dedicated, award winning, published and so forth claim higher prices for their work. Highly skilled and trained artists often have equivalent credentials as that of doctors or engineers. Aside from the artist’s credentials, one’s personal attraction to a piece of art is the ultimate deciding factor. There is no price for the aesthetic relationship between the viewer and the art.

In a previous column I briefly covered the area of print definition, identification and pricing. The area of art is as vast as moonbeams in August and opinions flow like darts in a Friday night pub. Just remember — you gotta like it or it ain’t worth nothing.