Jasper Johns is a contemporary American artist whose painting False Start sold for $80 million, the largest sum paid for a painting of a living artist. According to Skate s Art Market Research, Mr. Johns is among the top 30 artists in terms of the monetary value of art produced. Mr. Johns appears as a guest star in a 1999 episode of The Simpsons in which Homer uses a mangled barbeque to launch a career as a contemporary artist.
Mr. Johns is a very productive painter, and his painting skills presumably translate into house painting. If Mr. Johns is ten times more productive at house painting than a professional house painter, should he paint his own house? For example, suppose Mr. Johns can paint his house in one day, compared to 10 days for a professional. Should he take a day to paint his house, or hire someone who will take 10 days to complete the same task?
We can use the principle of voluntary exchange to explain why Mr. Johns should hire the less productive house painter to paint his house. If Mr. Johns can earn $5,000 per day painting works of art, the opportunity cost of house painting is $5,000 the income he sacrifices by spending a day painting the house rather than producing works of art. If the housepainter charges $150 per day, Mr. Johns could hire him to paint the house for only $1,500. By switching one day from house painting to art production, Mr. Johns earns $5,000 and incurs a cost of only $1,500, so he is better off by $3,500. Mr. Johns specializes in what he does best, and then buys goods and services from other people.