Pairing Art to Taste – Artsicle
So I’m a big fan of art, but kind of picky. Most people have a specific taste when it comes to art, some like sculpture, and others paintings (personally I’m a fan of landscapes). But if I want to hang something up in my apartment that’s actually real, I’m at a complete loss. I’ve spoken to friends and have looked around the Ithaca commons for some interesting pieces but nothing caught my eye. I thought to myself, there has to be a better way to do this. I mean people love art, it’s a part of our history and it’s being made every day. Shouldn’t there be some easy-ish way to find something my flat mates and I like?
Well a Google search or two from there I ran into a pretty cool startup called Artsicle that does just that. It’s really fast and simple to get started. Essentially, you teach the site your taste in art (one of the few things you can’t just pull from Google/ Facebook). If you’ve seen The Social Network the pairing system in “FaceSmash.com” is really similar to what you’d see at Artsicle except with art instead of girls. You go through their discovery game and choose what you like vs. what you don’t. The beauty of the company comes in once you’ve found something you want.
All of the pieces that you see are real, original works that you can rent (or buy) through Artsicle. The pieces vary in price but seem relatively reasonable considering that they are originals. It’s incredible that for $25/mo or so you can have a piece shipped to you and keep it as long as you like. Now, that may be too expensive for students, but it’s great for people that want to have real art in their homes but don’t want to buy it or for that matter don’t know where to get it in the first place.
All in all Artsicle is an innovative idea that gives a realistic and decently affordable answer to finding art. It uses the concept of being an intermediary between the consumer (the US) and Artists local to them, NYC. The artists are able spread their name, be recognized, and earn money. It’s very similar the example in class on Google selling information to ad-networks on ad placement- it’s the same concept. I had the opportunity to speak with Co-Founder and CEO Alex Tryon through their chat system. She explained to me that artists are “paid based on pieces being rented,” and that they try to “provide initial loose recommendations based on your input to the quiz and refine these recommendations as you interact with the site.” Together these are the definitions of what an intermediary does. I would also imagine, and this is purely my own speculation, that based on the number of “likes” that a piece receives the price will fluctuate accordingly to hit a market clearing price and maximize profit. Artsicle is a good representation of how the concepts of networks are useful for companies, especially when finding the best position in a given network.
That’s all for this post –
Kezre