Well I have been to several art galleries, and some places where art is for sale. I am looking at this painting with jsut splattered paint for about 125 dollars...Is this overpriced or is it just the way art is?
It really is just the way it is with art. I don't always get it with the abstract art, but it can be because of thought processes or the stupidity that people are willing to pay a lot for a small effort... Abstractions are weird.
When it comes to paintings or drawings that are actually well made and none abstract, it's pretty logical... 125 aren't much for one of those, if it's good (and good is of course a very subjective matter).
But it is just the way it is with art. Don't underestimate the efforts artists have to put in their work.
When considering the price of artwork, it is impossible to consider the merit of the piece in isolation. One has to likely consider the relationship between an artists agenda and commerical interests, the interests of their representatives and agents, the continuum of work that the artist has presented as well as the prevalent tastes of the art world.
Oh right. What Strop said. My experiences with pricing of artses lie solely in the area of private commissions, where the artists set their own prices... Usually there aren't agents and such involved there...