I have always been intrigued with elaborate frames. When we possess something precious we usually go to extraordinary lengths to protect it and set it off. The frame we put around the things we value tell us a great deal about how we feel about them.
It is natural for one to assume that the more elaborate the frame the more valuable the object placed in that frame. The cost of framing a work of art can often exceed the cost of the work itself. However, the frame placed immediately around a painting is not the only frame placed around that work. Where is the work hung? How is in lit? Is it protected from direct sunlight? Is the work kept at an appropriate temperature and level of humidity? A museum or any structure designed to display and protect artwork is expensive to build and operate.
This phenomenon extends well beyond paintings. For example, when we buy an expensive car we want to keep it in a garage. We spend hours or pay someone else to clean and maintain it. If we drive it to work we pay a monthly fee to park it in a protected lot or structure. The lot may be monitored with cameras or staffed with security guards — like a top tier museum. If the car has great value we may refrain from driving it and may build a special structure to house it and display it. When people purchase something precious they often fail to calculate the cost and effort of the frame they put around that object.
I would argue that the less practical a particular object is, or the more difficult it is to objectively determine its value the more effort is put into framing that object. A luxury car is more than transportation and art is more than something to decorate a wall, and the ultimate value is difficult to determine. The frame we place around that work is one of the only ways we can communicate that value.
The question I can’t help but ask is how often are we deceived by the power of the frame placed around an average work of art or product? The marketing/advertising industry’s greatest tool is fashioning and controlling the frame around a particular product. They employ sophisticated tools, vast resources and energy framing to mold our perceptions. What motivates the individuals and institutions placing these elaborate frames around particular objects/products? Are there valuable, significant works of art that don’t receive attention because they failed to get framed properly by the marketing machine? Thoughtful art enthusiasts train themselves to look past the frame and evaluate the work itself, and as a result they can detect great art that has been overlooked or modestly framed.