Acclair Art Valuation Service installation at VanAbbemuseum, photo courtesy Acclair

It has happened to nearly all of us, at least once, to remain flabbergasted on discovering the price of a work of art. Whether we personally consider the piece worthless, over-priced or incomprehensible is relatively immaterial because the commercial value given to art belongs to a domain reserved to a privileged few. Considering, however, that art functions as the cultural marker for the public realm it is not that fair.

Brainscanning equipment, which is currently being used on seven full-size reproductions in the VanAbbemuseum’s collection, that may now change all that.

Designers Luther Thie and Eyal Fried have recently launched a new service - under the umbrella of the Acclair Neurocapital: Acclair Art Valutation Service - aimed at establishing a more democratic way of valuing art. Acclair - a system that attributes market value to brain output, and was originally used in innovative airport security procedures - assesses the viewer’s emotional and perceptive ‘experience’ while observing displayed artworks, by measuring their (EEG) brain responses.

Acclair Art Valuation Service installation at VanAbbemuseum, photo courtesy Acclair

The quantifiable data derived from these impartial readings can be analysed to determine the cognitive and emotional perception of an individual artifact, then stored and used for comparative studies with other artifacts, thus making it possible to establish a value based on scientific methodologies drawn from cognitive science.

It all sounds pretty complicated, but the Acclair Art Valuation Service could open up
various opportunities in diverse areas. Like, for example, facilitating decision-making and purchasing processes for art galleries, institutions and curators; its hard data can be used for valuable market research and audience-oriented exhibitions; viewers can learn more about their preferences and leanings in art and, last but not least, it may lead to a better understanding of how art affects individual perception, as well as its broader social role.

Acclair Art Valuation Service installation at VanAbbemuseum, photo courtesy Acclair

If you manage to make it to Eindhoven, The Netherlands, the exhibition runs through November 8.

For more information on the Acclair Art Valuation Service click here