----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrea Coffey" <why@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Would you give away a print to a prospective client?
It's a tricky one. Nobody (on this list, anyway) likes the idea of the
artist starving in their garret.
I have been in this 'art world' a long, long time. And the only artists who
starve are poor artists. You can always create a way not to starve. That
idea of the starving artist is in fact a stubborm person. Sorry, but
artists should not expect to be doing what they do for art, for money.
Professional photography excepted, and that's a matter of self promotion . .
. different discussion.
But how to get started? A _limited_ number of gifts to those who may end up
as a patron [1], may very well get over the initial bootstrap stage. If
Here's the discussion about self promotion. I'm not willing to get into
that when publications like PDF devote their entire monthly magazine for
years on end to just that.
If the price of the work goes through the roof, well that's good for
everyone who holds existing work -- _if_ they want to sell it. But it's
better for the artist, because they then sell for a greatly increased
return.
Here's the thing that sparked me to write into this thread. You simply
cannot look at the value of your art work like stock. The price after you
let it go is and has nothing to do with you. The stories about Picasso and
Pollack (spelling?) have to do with the partons motives to get behind these
artists. Sometimes, you as an artist don't agree with what these motives
may do to you as a person.
I see the real trap in heavily discounting. If it gets out, then everyone
sees the value as heavily discounted. So either sell at full price (at the
time), or give just a handful (in total) of works away, to create
interest.
Al Weber used to sell at a gallery price and a studio price. Sometimes this
attracted collectors, and sometimes collectors turned away from his work.
It was his own gut reaction at the time of sale. When we handled his work
at the Focus Gallery in Carmel, we had him sign a contract not to sell below
gallery prices anything that we had in the gallery. He followed that
contract and actually had to direct some sales to the gallery. Even when UC
Santa Cruz began to acquire some of his work for their permanant collection,
they had to buy from us. They did, then got this enormous donation from him
to augment his UC Santa Cruz archive. You wanna talk business? Let's take
this off list.
Artists doing swaps is a long-standing tradition. I think that will not
change in the near future.
Here's where it comes down to appreciation. If you appreciate someone's
picture and they yours, the value is priceless.
The cashed up person with the most expensive top-of-the-line equipment,
won't necessarily create better images than the photographer with a point
and shoot. People pay for the intangibles like composition, lighting, and
craft. That's where the photographer earns their keep.
There's a wealthy structural engineer who does magnificent photography.
They sell for major bucks. If people don't want to pay it, they simply
can't buy it. But, during our local group swaps, he trades just like the
rest of us. One trade he got a 5X7 machine print from a bogus shooter for
one of his greatest prints. I don't need a photograph to keep seeing the
lack of appreciation on his face.
[1] I see a patron in this era, as being a person who regularly purchases
the work of artists.
&i (:
The interesting part about your footnote, is that this is exactly what Ansel
had in mind when he created the Friends of Photography. It was a 'camera
club' where photographers and patrons could come together.
This is an emotional question for me. I had to square off with my 'boss'
and expecially the mother of . . . about "Offering Special Prices." When I
left the gallery we had not a simple notebook with pages of sales, but TWO
overflowing books after just one year. I have not heard anything of the
photographer Mark Kane since. People bought his photographs because they
like them. I can assure you of that.
With what you're talking about, Les, you must get to know people who have
the platinum credit card. I mean know more people like that. People who
spend when interest rates are up, not when rates are down. Because, people
with that kind of self assurance buy what they like and that's what sells.
Steve
