Picking up my meds, milk and Kleenex at Costco today....

...and not too far from the lady giving out Chicken Taquitos samples, I came cross a huge display of really huge photographs, highly saturated color landscapes. Highly saturated like bright plastic. The large size and the saturation (reminiscent of Ilfochrome, if memory serves me well) caught my attention. These were claimed to be numbered editions, but I didn't see any photographer's name mentioned. There was other, non-photographic art as well being displayed, all large and all pretty well color saturated but it was the photographs which I found, well, discomforting. More so than the bias relief wall hanging of penguins on the march.
As landscapes, there were powerful atmospherics at work----dramatic clouds----but nothing terribly memorable going on with the terra firma---distant mountains but little besides the bright colors and large size to grab hold of the eye, IMHO. Maybe if the name of the photographer was made known it would have made these somehow more personable.

I tried to imagine hanging a photograph so huge in a home and unless one really loved the image I couldn't imagine hanging them in a home---perhaps a doctor's waiting room, hotel lobby, open office or commercial space, but not anywhere as intimate as the confines of a home.

Costco, being experts in marketing, makes me wonder if large, highly saturated color prints are what sells---or what Costco expects to sell?
If you're making a Costco run for milk, or maybe one of those rotisserie chickens, keep an eye out for these photographs and let us know your opinion of them.
I don't "get" what these prints are supposed to be saying, but then I'm not as well studied in Art as many of you are.

2 years ago at this time of year I saw 20x36” HDR prints of local Chicago content at Costco. The photographer’s shill was on site selling them in a temp booth not near the normal photo area. I think larger sizes could be ordered. Pricing was low as I recall, under $100. More for framed.

How big is big! How much? IMHO just emulations of roadside velvet painting Art.

Costco is a brick and mortar Bazarr.

....that's it....platinum over black velvet....make'um BIG....and sell'um Cheap!

Yes, that's what seem to be "in" for the most part. Sad but true.

I don't get out much, but in a mall not long ago and strolled past a "photographic art" gallery. I was indoors but needed to put on sunglasses and reach for a barf bag. I felt both nauseous and had a severe case of vertigo. What's worse... I think they took themselves as serious.

Well, eventually you gotta replace that Elvis on Velvet with something.

Charley

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Originally Posted by John Kasaian

I don't "get" what these prints are supposed to be saying, but then I'm not as well studied in Art as many of you are.

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I'm not sure cheap prints sold at Costco are likely to be categorized under "Art," but what do I know.

I do know several family members who have massive prints from various big-box stores in their house - except actually they are all black and white (or slightly toned) and are generic cityscapes or similar (I see the same titular cityscape image of Atlanta often around these parts). The trick is the price vs. size - houses these days seem to often have larger vaulted ceilings in common rooms, and there seems to be at least one wall big enough for a huge print (4-6 feet). When one family member asked about an image I had shot to be printed to that size, I quoted him a rough estimate that made his eyes bulge (with no profit margin for me). I think he had paid $149 for a 6' print - there's no competing on price, regardless of profit margin, at that point.

Personally I wouldn't mind being paid a licensing fee for an image to be printed by some store to whatever size they want to sell, printed in China or whatever. Perhaps that's selling out but I suppose it would pay for more materials :).