How valuable is something and how is it’s value or worth determined? I watch the Antiques Roadshow and my son likes the American Pickers on the History Channel. I am no collector although I have somethings I love but I love them for their aesthetic and don’t really care if they have value.

Would I like them more if I discovered they were worth more money?

Bansky, a popular and world renowned street artist pulled off his own version of Punk’d Sunday in New York City. [see story here] And for people who claim to know and like Banksy, many walked right past a table and assumed they were rip offs. It is a reasonable assumption in Midtown, right? But for the few who stopped and bought simply because they LIKED the sketches are the honest and GENUINE souls. They bought something they assumed had no value because they were knock offs. Maybe they didn’t even know who Banksy is and thus had no clue they were buying a knock off of a world recognized artist. They bought with their heart out of authentic appreciation.

That is worth something. And to an artist that has sold work for millions of dollars…I suspect it is still important to known and be confirmed as relevant. You learn or are reminded as to who your sycophantic followers are and who is a honest bloke who likes your stuff. Fame clouds reality. Celebrity leads to an entourage that blows smoke at you and adores your invisible wardrobe.

I will never be famous or a celebrity and I realized that I know why…..I distrust praise. I want it. I often need it like a glass of water on an oppressively hot August afternoon or a solid night’s sleep after many days up with a sick infant, but I distrust it. Praise is often offered to serve the praiser, it earns them standing or reflects a posturing or so they think. I trust criticism far more. It requires courage to criticize, to speak the truth however unpopular and it rarely earns anyone a promotion. But criticism is the dark, wicked sibling of praise and like any child raised in darkness and on a restrictive diet, it can deform and misshapen. Praise is truly necessary but too often…..it is not real or genuine and there are conditions attached.