Self-deceit often goes hand-in-hand with misinformation. For instance, it is a popular belief among artists that ‘doing art is a learning process without end’, meaning that those who persevere will in out in the end. This kind of ‘information’ encourages them to interpret negative feedback as a stimulus to go on learning. And in doing so, they can continue to deceive themselves till they are eighty. Failed artists give up later than other professionals.

The decision to enter the arts, to stay in the arts, or to leave the arts is always based on information, however poor it may be. Given the artists’ orientation on rewards, whether as a means to the end of making art or for personal advancement, information on possible future rewards – both monetary and non-monetary – inevitably influences one’s decision to enter.
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Just because top incomes in the arts exceed those in other professions does not mean that the average income of artists is also higher. On the contrary, evidence indicates that the average income among artists is lower than in comparable professions.

Therefore, by going into the arts, artists endure an income penalty. If they were to choose another occupation, they would earn more money. According to an early us census report, only employees of the church faced larger income penalties than artists.
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The visual art market is a deep-pocket market. It offers a good opportunity for us to discuss the possible deviations between aesthetic and market value. In numerous countries over the last decades, a divergence between market and aesthetic value has developed in two important styles in the visual arts. In comparing these styles, a refutation of the economist’s notion that quality and sales correspond seems to emerge.

Modern (traditional) artists develop their art from within an existing long-standing artistic tradition. The motto is continuation with modification. Another characteristic is the emphasis on authenticity.
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Is it possible that the powers of the social group that leading experts belong to are different from those of consumers? On average art consumers are part of a social group that has relatively more economic capital (wealth) and income at its disposal and thus has more purchasing or economic power.

When buying art they use their economic power to do so. Their spending influences the market or economic value of art. Meanwhile, experts are part of a social group that has much cultural capital and therefore, more cultural power. The experts use their cultural power in the arts. Their cultural influence or cultural authority affects the aesthetic value of art.
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There is no reward for good art in the market. And it’s not just artists and art lovers who go around saying this. The notion that artistic quality does not ‘pay’ permeates every level of society. The cleaning woman and the lawyer alike may express as their opinion that true art does not pay and that artists must suffer. This is common wisdom that is deeply rooted in our society.

Lets believe that market value and aesthetic value generally correspond. ‘In the market, artists are justly rewarded for the quality of their artworks.’ These two opinions are basically as different as day and night.
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