Why You Should Invest in Art instead of buying Technology (This Time)

In the last two decades or so, and in particular in the last one, the desire to own the latest tech gadget has never been as high. Be it a smartphone, an MP4 player, a 3D TV set or a game console.

Some people, quite probably a minority, buy because they need them for their activity, be it a professional one or a hobby. But most people don't stick with what they need, they'll go on buying the latest model only to make them feel good, often in detriment of other priorities or choices.

There's nothing wrong about buying technology that help us with our lives, be it the personal one or the professional one, but to keep aiming for the latest tech gadget may not be the best way to go - what about that trip that you've always wanted to make?
When you go older, you'll not remember about some smartphone that you bought, you'll remember about places that you visited, people that you met, experiences that you lived.
As the saying goes: "Die with memories, not with dreams."

Although we like to place ourselves aside from other animals (maybe not as much nowadays as before) we are still animals and share the same planet. However, the one thing that most distinguishes us is our capability to create art - there's also that theory of creating tools, but that's arguable.

Art is a testemony of cultures, feelings, single and collective interpretations. It can teach, it can provoke.
With the access to technology, artists are now able to reach a vast public through websites, blogs and social networking. But the public can also access art and contact the artists who have created it or the galleries that represent them.

Owning an original work of art isn't exclusive anymore of some and is accessible to practically anyone.
Several artists and galleries offer instalment plans and art rental services.
Sometimes they can also come up with tailored options when necessary.

Next time you think about buying some techno gadget, why not take a few minutes to discover some artists on the web and maybe acquire something that you'll enjoy for many years to come and will pass to your children?
Spend some of your spare time going to galleries, museums and cultural events.
If possible go by foot or bycicle. You'll also be doing some exercise, as well as saving money and nature.

Los Angeles Art Show 2011

Presented by the Fine Art Dealers Association (FADA) and KR Martindale Show Management, the Los Angeles Art Show 2011 will feature over 100 international exhbitiors, and will include film screenings, live performance art, special exhibit spaces, book signing, and a special events program.

The Chinese Art will be in focus during this 16th edition of the LA Art Show 2011, with a special program featuring Chinese art with accompanying lecture series.
A special exhibit, ‘Three Walkers – Crossing Over’ presented by Guangzhou’s 53 Art Museum, curated and sponsored by the Asian art magazines Art Gallery Magazine and Gallery Sights will feature celebrated artists Feng Feng, Liu Qing-yuan, and Qin Jin. Additionally, The Los Angeles Art Show will showcase a significant number of participating Chinese galleries, most of them will display works outside of China for the first time. Their inclusion will provide attendees with a remarkable opportunity to see what’s really trendy in Asian Art.

China Today will feature a lecture on Contemporary Chinese art led by artist, Tao Dong Dong and a screening of the 2006 documentary, “The Rising Tide” which provides a ‘living sense’of China’s Contemporary art scene.
With the creation of China Today, the fair will offer fresh insights into the contemporary reflection of China’s strong visual arts traditions and their influence the art world.

Included in the Los Angeles Art Show 2011 Special Exhibitions will be: "The Sister Cities of Los Angeles International Art", "Vox Humana", "Flora Kao’s Ghost Grove", presented by the Los Angeles Art Association, and "Rarely/Unseen", a private collection of photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

In the same way of last year's edition, the LA Art Show 2011 will open in conjunction with the 26th Annual Los Angeles Fine Print Fair, organized by the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA), which will offer collectors and art lovers a comprehensive look at prints in all techniques.

Visitors will have an opportunity to view and purchase fine prints from across a broad spectrum of Old Master, German Expressionist, antique and modern Japanese, 18th and 19th-century European, 19th-century American, American Regionalist, Latin-American, and Modern works to Contemporary masterworks and new editions.

The 16th Annual Los Angeles Art Show Opening Night Premiere Party, taking place on the 19th of January, 2011, will benefit The Art of Elysium, permiting it to expand its program to bring arts to critically ill hospitalized children, continuing to produce original artistic workshops, as well as increase substantially the number of school children who visit the Getty through the Getty Museum’s fully subsidized Title One bus transportation program. This program ensures that as many students as possible from throughout Los Angeles can visit the Getty and experience its collection and the site through guided and self-guided visits, also including architecture and garden tours.

The Los Angeles Art Show takes place on January 19-23, 2011 (20-23 general public) at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015.

General admission to the Los Angeles Art Show is $20. Opening Night Premiere Party: Wednesday, January 19, 2011. Tickets are $125 and $500.

New mobile technology, the free Los Angeles Art Show iPhone app powered by Collectrium, will allow visitors to point their iPhone at any registered artwork exhibited at the fair and add their own notes, bookmark for later, instantly receive extensive information on artist and piece, contact the gallery, or share with friends via Facebook, Twitter, and email.

It willl also permit to view the entire catalogue on their smart phone, read all the programming and scheduling information about the show, and see a map of the fair.

To download this app for free, visit iTunes and type in Collectrium or visit www.collectrium.com/iphone.