tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post942055448958105265..comments2024-03-27T00:32:29.877-07:00Comments on Photos and Stuff: Prints Have No Value!amolitorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-43941515585520723142016-05-25T11:04:25.448-07:002016-05-25T11:04:25.448-07:00Of course, put that way, it's inarguable... Se...Of course, put that way, it's inarguable... Self-styled "fine art photography" is no such thing, obviously, and anyone thinking they are buying an investment by buying some garish landscape -- look how SHARP it is! -- is getting what they deserve!<br /><br />Mind you, you're right about the books. Anyone looking for a good return on a couple of hundred pounds/dollars could do worse than invest it in a few short-run monographs by some up-and-coming names... Knowing who they are is the trick, of course.<br /><br />MikeMike C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11279776665185060446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-28363869715446053422016-05-25T10:48:21.178-07:002016-05-25T10:48:21.178-07:00Of course I am being a *bit* facetious. I'm no...Of course I am being a *bit* facetious. I'm not utterly ignorant!<br /><br />There are a few points to be made here if we want to get all factual and so on.<br /><br />- the secondary market for photographic art is, apparently, quite small in dollars (like pounds, but smaller!) relative to the secondary Art market as a whole.<br /><br />- the people who actually enjoy a secondary market are, in the first place, an extremely small minority of the people who style themselves Successful Fine Art Photographers), and I think that all up there really are not that many of them?<br /><br />- these few are largely dismissed by the mass of photographers.<br /><br />- there's probably some point that could be made to the effect that many contemporary photographers are actually multi-media artists.<br /><br />- finally there's the whole weird market for Olde Photoes, frequently Photographer-Unknown which seems to be its own thing, and but is arguably a large and vibrant secondary market?<br /><br />The point is that there is a huge disconnect between what we see Out There as the Fine Art photographers, and who they actually are.<br /><br />I lump photographers up in to "has gallery representation" and "does not" and the latter, which is practically everyone, generally have no secondary market. I suspect that is in part because nobody trusts them not to simply keep printing endlessly, dutifully marking each print 4/10 on the bottom, without the Gallery watching over their shoulder.<br /><br />It's Peter Liks all the way down, until you get to Sally Mann and Cindy Sherman and so on, and then it's something real.<br /><br />amolitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-5744485776989086132016-05-25T10:17:53.744-07:002016-05-25T10:17:53.744-07:00This is a very odd position to take, given the run...This is a very odd position to take, given the runaway market at auction in collectible photographic prints. It's rather like saying "there is no secondary market in oil paintings" because your uncle's dog portraits have no value. Sure, Ctein's prints have no secondary value, and neither do mine, but we are not significant figures in contemporary photography.<br /><br />Check out the prices for contemporary photographs at Bonham's, Sotheby's, etc.! No secondary market? Really? Whether photographic prints (esp. colour prints) *ought* to be fetching such inflated prices is another question, of course.<br /><br />MikeMike C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11279776665185060446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-70226826041254909102016-05-25T08:39:45.006-07:002016-05-25T08:39:45.006-07:00As tough as selling prints is, giving them away is...As tough as selling prints is, <a href="https://danielteolijr.wordpress.com/2015/08/04/it-can-be-hard-to-even-give-away-photography-for-free/" rel="nofollow">giving them away</a> isn't necessarily any easier!JGhttp://audiidudii.aminus3.com/noreply@blogger.com