It was the year 1943 and most of the western world was at war. Amongst the war-ridden population, a few beams of light emerged — forever to change society as we know it. It was indeed a time of scientific progress and invention, and in a town called Piedras Negras in northern Mexico, history was being written. A brilliant man called Ignacio Anaya invented the nacho.

Oh, and Abraham Maslow published his famous paper, titled: “A Theory of Human Motivation”.

While not really having the same level of impact on our culture as the invention of the nacho, Maslow’s paper would still become the bedrock of the social sciences for many decades to come, because it stated something groundbreaking; namely that all people share a common hierarchy of needs that follow certain rules and influence our lives as never thought of before.

Maslow found that people do not and cannot experience certain needs — located higher up in the hierarchy — without fist satisfying the more basic ones, like hunger, sex and security. And thus he concluded that without first giving priority to such basic securities of life as food, water and shelter, we humans are unable to even feel the urge to want something more complex, like the need to have a family or the need to be respected in the eyes of our peers.

But what does this have to do with art sales?!

Well, unlike craving for a nice big bowl of nachos, art isn’t as popular amongst the masses. And we can find a clue as to why in Maslow’s theory: unlike most of our physical needs, that could be described as being a reaction to a certain deficiency — needing sustenance, love, affection, camaraderie, etc. — the need for collecting art comes from abundance and the need to grow.

Be it as a person, a society, a business or a local community; art gives us the tools to express ourselves and to connect, create common identity and express our power. And if we see it as such, it gives us a much easier time understanding why the majority of people don’t collect art or just don’t give art the same importance in their lives as we do. They just don’t feel the need for it.

Imagine you’re working two jobs and supporting a family of four; the chaos of having to put food on the table, paying the electricity bill and god forbid a mortgage on the house and less than a 100€ in the bank to last you for another two weeks of grocery shopping, while your child is telling you she will be needing a new textbook for next week’s class that costs 50€. 

No sane person under such conditions will ever think about how the empty wall space in the hallway could use a nice still life with a bunch of flowers or maybe an impressionist seascape in the colours of the living room couch. Ever.

But on the other side of this equation are the people who are privileged enough to live in abundance; those who strive for power, fame, beauty or morality. And apart from the obvious tip to try to find such folks and show them your art, there is a much better, more precise way of finding the right people for your work — the niche.

Maslow’s theory, if coupled with a bit of people profiling can yield wonderful results for any creator. For example, if you’re making art with sea motifs and you have a special connection to the sea, you could try to identify a few people in your surroundings that feel the same way and are in a position of growth, be it personally or professionally.

You could try targeted Facebook ads and find the folks by just searching for people who like fishing, being at the beach … but such searches are usually too general to get any good results. But you could take some time to find the few people that have successful businesses, like big fishing companies, docks, or higher up’s in the municipalities of your country that are adjacent to the sea (if you have any, of course).

By finding people that you can more or less expect to have their basic needs covered and that share your story, you will have a much easier time selling your work.