“The Scream” by Edvard Munch is up for sale at Sotheby’s in New York. If you have not started saving loooong ago and been earning a ridicules salary, or recently inherited vast sums of money, you will most likely not be able to afford the U$ 80 million price tag on this one.

What I find particularly interesting is that “The Scream” is not your usual “pretty picture” which would sit comfortably above your dining table. It is angst-ridden and full of paranoia… not pretty, but honest, and because it seems as if it came straight from the heart, it also touches our souls in a deep and sometimes disturbing way. It lays bare our vulnerabilities and fears, which we usually hide behind a façade of prettiness (pretty clothes, pretty make-up, and pretty deco in our pretty homes….). Maybe its strength lies in reminding us that we are intensely alive and human, even in the mediocre, materialistic and semi-comatose rat-race which we have created for ourselves. We all can identify with it, and, even if only for a short time, it changes our perceptions and gets our primal instincts roaring. At least that is how I feel.

There are two reasons, why I am sharing this with you today. One is that I have often heard the following said about my own art: “Wow, this work is so powerful and interesting, but I do not want to buy it, as it would be too depressing to hang above my couch (or in my dining room)”. Granted, those who know my art well, agree that many of my works are not easy to live with because of their powerful content or expression. I totally understand that.

I am very fortunate that I work in such a wide variety of styles and subject matter that many different tastes and needs are catered for and my artworks are hanging in homes all over the world.  And quite a few of my more socio-political and ‘disturbing’ works have also found appreciation and buyers. So all I am saying, if an artwork touches you but is not pretty in the traditional sense, maybe you can buy it anyway. You do not need to put it up in your living room. You can keep it somewhere where you can contemplate it every now and then and where it can be kept save as a possible investment for your grand-children. Art investments generally bring good returns, if you are patient and lucky – after all, not all artists are Munch or Picasso, but you would usually only find out after we are dead.

Secondly, recently I have made my own version of “The Scream” which I wanted to share with you. It is based on a press-image that I have found several years ago (I think it was from the Iraq war) and on Munch’s painting. It is titled “A(nother) Scream”.

A(nother) Scream by Imke Rust (c) Mixed Media on Canvas 29x41cm

Sorry, this work is already reserved for an interested buyer, but if you like to have an option on it, drop me a line. Munch has made four different versions of “The Scream”; so, in case you are interested, I would be happy to make a personal version of “A(nother) Scream” for you.

Or browse my webpage for getting an impression of the other artworks I have available – you might just find something worth investing in 🙂 .