Where is the largest photography gallery?

[John Voss]

It amazes me to think that someone I never heard about is outselling Gursky, Damien Hirst, or several other artists that are often in the news. How is it that Peter Lik is under the radar of the art world, yet pulling in multi-millions? Somehow I think the numbers are part of the marketing hype, or maybe the IRS will be visiting him this year.

Here's a pretty thorough list of NYC photography galleries. If you spend some time on their websites you'll soon realize that the kind of warm, glowing scenic photography that Peter Lik does is almost antithetical to the desaturated, quotidian, scratch-your-head-and wonder-why work that is being offered here. You can also call these places and do some very direct research on their square footage (which will invariably be rather small) at least, although I doubt many will be more forthcoming about more 'intimate' business data with a stranger over the phone. It might be worth a trip here to meet with some of these gallerists in person. Or, go to the AIPAD show this spring (late March I think), and chat up as many gallerists as you can...they're all under one roof during the show.

http://art-support.com/galleries_ny.htm

[bglick]

> you'll soon realize that the kind of warm, glowing scenic photography that Peter Lik does is almost antithetical to the desaturated, quotidian, scratch-your-head-and wonder-why work that is being offered here.


This is hilarious!!! :-) I wonder the same thing myself in many photo galleries. We all have different ideas on what is art. I think the general public enjoys the Grand Scenics the most, hence the success of Lik, Lough, Mangleson and others like him... all the other successes are more niche based.

[Gordon Moat]

Damien Hirst is definitely on the odd fringe of things, and I cannot find anything of his that I find of interest. However, he has some strangely huge sales success.

A search through the Peter Lik Corporation reveals another abstract painter who now mostly runs that company. It is more like the Wyland galleries of whale and sea creature images, than it is of the rest of the art world. As Thomas Kinkaid indicated, there is money to be made selling to the masses. I don't have any trouble with this, other than I find little of interest in the works being sold. Oddly enough Z Gallerie is the number one selling "art gallery" in North America, though Wallstreet considers them a home furnishings company.

I suppose if one threw a lot of money and some nice looking images into a well located mega-gallery, then there is money to be made. It seems only to prove that careful marketing and location, combined with a large starting investment, could create a successful art retail business. Reminds me of a day trader I knew that liked to take pictures. He researched and found that many tourists liked beach images, flowery landscapes, and pleasant escapist (his wording) images. So he set about photographing lots of these things, researching the price levels people were willing to pay, and then set-up a location with affordable prints. He made money for a while, but never enough to move it to the next level of a bigger experience. So I think there is a sustainable business in this direction, but the level depends upon initial investment.

Art is not just about pretty pictures. Like or hate the works of Damien Hirst, he has found an odd niche. People find Gursky, Burtynsky, et al works quite boring, though they too have found audiences and admirers. I have been to a couple Mangelson, Wyland, et al type of galleries, and nearly always leave bored, but obviously these places have found willing buyers too. To what levels should we (dare we) aspire with our own works?

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography

[Nathan Potter]

A lot of good comments here but no surprises. I've always classified photographic galleries as more or less of two types. One is the fine art gallery, small, usually intimate and containing photography that requires some introspection on the part of the viewer. The second type is photography for decorative purposes; the Lik type gallery for instance as well as others mentioned. Of course there are blends of both (hybrids so to speak; often bglicks vanity gallery) but I believe, in general, they are less successful economically due to seeking a more diffuse clientele.

If we would study the successful galleries I have a hunch that the two basic types are the most successful because they drive to a specific type of customer where that client is interested in either decorating or real photographic art. Picking a gallery location, then, requires an understanding of the psychology of the potential customer obtained only by interacting with locals, tourists and visitors to the area.

The other key factor for success is the gallery location. It's gotta be where the money is, in both cases. Generally I can't see that the size of the gallery is a dominant factor with success.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[nathanm]

Why are rich people so silly? For $125 million you could have farms, cows, giant brass aquariums and all the formaldehyde you could ever want. You could have a calf-embalming business! Besides, for $125 mil I want my calf suspended in the middle of the tank, not standing on the bottom. And it should have remote controlled, surgically installed servo motors which move the eyes and limbs so you can frighten passerby.

[Drew Wiley]

Nathan - rich people aren't silly - they'e showing off. It's called conspicuous consumption. It tells everybody at the cocktail party, Hey, look at me, I can afford this C-print that costs more than your house, and can even afford to replace it every
time the drapes fade (or visa versa). It also broadcasts to everyone just how trendy they are with the latest fashion, and that they can afford an overpriced interior designer to substitute for their own lack of discernment. Personally, I go out and take photographs precisely to get away from this type of neurosis. I have already met too many of these kinds of people and most of them are miserable. There's
nothing new under the sun. Artists were thumbtacking roadkilled animals to framed canvas in the 1920's. I don't give a hoot what the flakes in NYC are doing. Give
me a mountain breeze any day. Life is too short for pretense.

[D. Bryant]

Nathan - rich people aren't silly - they'e showing off. It's called conspicuous consumption. It tells everybody at the cocktail party, Hey, look at me, I can afford this C-print that costs more than your house, and can even afford to replace it every
time the drapes fade (or visa versa). It also broadcasts to everyone just how trendy they are with the latest fashion, and that they can afford an overpriced interior designer to substitute for their own lack of discernment.

What presumptuous prittle-prattle!

Don Bryant

[John Brady]

As an update from when I started this thread. I have built my gallery inside of a retail business I own in Naples Florida. I have named it the Everglades Gallery. I have made it much smaller then first planned, its about one thousand square feet with a four hundred square foot studio. I am really happy with the design I came up with. The space although not huge has sixteen foot ceilings so it has a large feel. I figured I would start small and see how it goes. Just getting the studio out of my house has been wonderful.

I have not opened yet but will put up a post with pictures in the announcement section when I do. Thanks to all who weighed in on this thread.

www.timeandlight.com

[atruse]

This brings up a photographer from Midland, Ontario, Canada (Bud Watson). He told me his one customer spent another $30k to redecorate her room for a theme to better fit the $9000 print she bought from him. He has the biggest private gallery in North America (according to an article from Kodak I read around 1987). He died back in 1988, but the gallery is still open I assume run by his son (a converted YMCA totalling 35,000 sq/ft). You walk in the main doors and right in your face is a 10ft print of an island shoreline on Georgian Bay, Ontario. Most images were with 8x10, and printed often to 8-10ft range). His enlarger was 2 stories high, sticking out through the second level floor. His son would focus on the second floor, while he would check focus on the lower floor. He was using a huge homemade 10ft tray, poured in 5 gallons for each solution. Digital sure makes it easy today.
.

hi there, im from Midland
unfortunately the gallery is not open anymore. it was turned into a restaurant a little while ago.
Im only 22yrs old, so i never knew Mr. Watson, but his Camera Shop downtown is still open and still named after him, but you can't find his work their anymore, the local museum has his work, but you have to make an appointment just to see.... very silly...
Midland actually has a pretty rich photography history, it also had the only Leica Factory in North America from the 1950's to 1990's until William Mandler (the man who created much of Leica's best lenses) retired. but unfortunately has also died in 2005

[sara_criss]

thanks for the guidence