Part trade, part charity and suggestive of the E-bay phenomenon which proved (and profited from) one person's discards are another's goldmine, Wants for Sale is an inventive approach to satisfying multiple needs within the business of art. Want a Wii but can't afford it? Why not paint its portrait, sell the work for exactly the same price (+ tax) of a Wii and let the buyer struggle with the reasoning behind that $200 decision.

Perhaps the concept behind the painting is worth $200. Maybe how the Wii portrait looks with your couch is worth $200. Or having your self-esteem skyrocket each time you name-drop "Santora and Gignac" is worth $200. Or you're worth millions and want to give something back.

The response to this project was so positive, the artists took their idea a step further to create Needs for Sale, an opportunity for artist and patron to work together raising money for those less fortunate. For example, a painting of a wig sold for the cost of a new wig for a leukemia patient who'd lost her hair and all proceeds went to the Locks of Love Foundation.

I wonder if people were more, less or equally generous when their art purchase satisfied a want versus a need. But whose call is it anyway? I have friends who would argue their Wii most definately satisfies a need. Check these guys out!

Wants for Sale
Needs for Sale