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EDITORIAL
BEIRUT ART FAIR 2012: Emergence of new artistic horizons
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 In recent times, ME.NA.SA. sees an unprecedented new emerging scene: Comics and Street Art.
Linked to the current news, comics artists, or cartoonists, primarily retrace the socio-political values and will give us an insight into the situation in its entirety.
BEIRUT ART FAIR 2012 presents for the first time, an exhibition dedicated to the comics from ME.NA.SA. with thirty original drawings. The “Comics Corner” offers as the “ninth art”, an overview from Maghreb to Asia via the Middle East. It illustrates how comics artists seize their experiences, such as those from Lebanon like Zeina Abirached, Mazen Kerbaj, Jorj Mhaya; from Tunisia like Nadia Khiari; from Egypt like Mohammed El Sharkawi; or from China like Zong Kai, Golo Zhao & Nie Chongrui.
 These young creations will also be represented at BEIRUT ART FAIR by several galleries including Sophie Lanoë (France), Janine Rubeiz (Lebanon), épreuve d’artiste (Lebanon), and Richard Koh Fine Art (Singapore)….
BEIRUT ART FAIR dedicates a space for the artistic creation born in the heart of the city and makes the walls speak revealing five years of archives offering a journey through Beirut, its tags and graffiti, and its performances in urban areas. Links with the hip-hop culture will be shown throughout the fair through the mix of images of VJs (video jockeys) in succession during which a performance is expected by the Lebanese group: Ashekman. Other street artists in the spotlight include Yazan Halwani.
Laure d'Hauteville - Fair Manager -
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In the West, the comic market is doing well
For four years now, the comic market has continuously evolved. The number of collectors has multiplied, as well as, the distribution network of original works or rare editions.Here is an overview of this new booming market.
In terms of sales by mutual agreement, a large number of galleries has emerged, mainly online, who specialize in this field. Whether created by fans, experts or collectors of comics, we can find original drawings by Franquin (Spirou & Fantasio, Gaston Lagaffe) ranging from $500 for a sketch to $8,000 for a watercolor representing the “Marsupilami”. For the fans of Uderzo (Astérix & Obélix), an original board from Jehan Pistolet sells at $9,000. You could also easily find beautiful original drawings from Tardi (The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec) or from Rabaté (Ibicus, Bien des Choses) starting at $400. The comic market utilizes the online auction platforms like eBay with excellent results. An “Action Comic” from 1938 featuring an appearance for the first time by the superhero Superman sold for 12 cents at the time and sold at a record price of $2,161,000 last year.
In terms of auction houses, the market is divided between the U.S. and France. The specialized auction house, “Heritage Comics”, drew excellent prices especially on the original boards by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson (Daredevil, Batman); $450,000 for a Batman alone. For those nostalgic for Snoopy, a complete board of Charles Schulz sold at $114,000. In France at Artcurial, a watercolor from Hugo Pratt depicting Corto Maltese in Siberia was auctioned for $330,000. The original model from the cover of “The Smurfs and the Magic Flute” by Peyo, in turn, was sold at $170,000 in October 2011. As with all auctions, there is also the possibility to find a bargain on some original boards less “mainstream” in the price range of $300 to $2,000.
Pascal Odille - Artistic Director -
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Street Art and the art market
The history of graffiti is that of a popular art form, wild and ephemeral:
- Wild because it is often made in a public space illegally
- Ephemeral because its lifespan is subject to external constraints.
Before becoming fully in vogue in the 90’s and presented in the most important museums in the world, Street Art had a long fight to assert its existence. The passage, from a work situated on city walls, street furniture or public transport to works on paper, canvas or other commercial media, clearly symbolizes the entrance of the art market from the underground creation born in the 70’s to the rhythm of hip-hop.
At the origin of this movement, we find the graffiti artist Samo, better known under the name of Jean Michel Basquiat. His value continues to increase (+500%) since his death in 1988. His works resulted in total sales in 2011 of more than $70 million; however, Keith Haring and J.M. Basquiat are not the reality of this market.
The Banksy phenomenon which obtained $1,600,000 in 2008 for a stencil and mixed media on canvas “Keep it spotless” has also achieved from reproductions, 750 copies, each selling at around $15,000.
Street Art, is it very expensive if one is only interested in the big names?
Not necessarily. From artists like Futura 2000, Seen, Blek le Rat, Jonone or the graffiti artist linked to the Arab geometric calligraphy Atlas, selling at around $15 to $30,000 for a nice original piece.
Still quite affordable, Lebanese Street Art has continued to surprise us. These creations have a right to free expression in Lebanon, becoming a real witness to the evolution of our society, our needs, our desires.
Pascal Odille - Artistic Director -
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