"This is no chicken feed" , by Erik Pevernagie, oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm

We often wonder, what value signifies and what it implies. What is the value that we give to objects? We say “its peanuts” when something has no value. If it has some value: “ It is no chicken feed.”

Value may depend on offer and demand. It can increase, decrease or change. If it is seen in relation with individual or cultural interpretations, it is to be considered as relative value

If value remains constant without depending on collective or personal interpretations we deal with absolute value or intrinsic value. The object has no relational characteristic and no relative value.

When intrinsic value depends on extrinsic elements, the object or artifact is not an end in itself and has, in fact, no value on its own. It is contingent on external preoccupations and represents an instrument in the hands of the owner(s): good investments. It becomes instrumental value.

Gerhard Richter accuses this kind of situation in March 2015 in “Die Zeit”. He denunciates the exorbitant prices his artworks achieve at auction. This is a proof of how “insanely the art market has developed," and how the prices have nothing to do with the work. He sees it as a “frightening development." and notes a large disparity between quality and price in the art market.

In actual fact, if we want to know if an object or artifact is chicken feed or not, we have to distinguish instrumental value from intrinsic value and make a choice.

Phenomenon: Intrinsic and extrinsic Value

Factual starting point of the picture: Chicken and chicken feed