Some say the value of a piece of art can be influenced by the context in which it is presented. A prime example of this is Andreas Gursky’s 99 Cent photo, which recently sold for $3 million dollars at a Sotheby’s auction.

This post is the first installment in a series in which I will explore ideas surrounding the progression of photography or sometimes art in general.

My first idea is simple…

What if people could experience a piece of art they are considering buying, in the context of their own home, or the place they are considering installing it?

How can we accomplish this today?

• Send people a low resolution print of the same size as the original, which they can tape in the proposed location.
• Take a video of the piece installed so people can view it at different angles and get an idea of size. A virtual tour of the piece.

How can we accomplish this in the future?

• If laptops came standard with projectors, the buyer could project the piece onto the desired installation location.

This is similar to test driving a car, listening to music track before purchasing it, or even trying on a pair of pants.

People may find a deeper meaning in the value of a photograph this way. And they will be happy with their piece because of the power of it, not the price.