Page 13 of 14 FirstFirst ... 311121314 LastLast
Results 121 to 130 of 134

Thread: Would you sell your work to decorators?

  1. #121
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 1997
    Location
    San Jose, CA
    Posts
    2,337

    Re: Would you sell your work to decorators?

    Unlike groceries or gas, art is considerably considerably more expensive and not necessary for most people. One can have any principled stand, but will he be able to make a living out of his art ? And of course the number of results for disjointed search is totally disconnected to the "number of galleries on the US east coast". Just check the links for yourself.

  2. #122
    Abuser of God's Sunlight
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    brooklyn, nyc
    Posts
    5,796

    Re: Would you sell your work to decorators?

    Quote Originally Posted by toyotadesigner View Post
    You have learned from whom? Who says that these are 'the rules'? It's time to break these kinky 'rules'.
    I've learned from people on all sides of it ... artists, dealers, and collectors. I've talked to people whose combined experience is probably longer than your lifetime and mine.

    If you actually want to learn, rather than rant, I suggest you talk to some people who know the business as well.

    The gallery model isn't any more a contrivance than any other business model. It's something that has evolved based on the mutual needs of all the parties involved. I'm sure if you look hard enough you'll find some alternative models, but the fact that one dominates (at the high end of the market) shows that it's proven the most competitive.

    Analogies with supermarkets hold up only as far as artists are like farms and photographs are like eggs and breakfast cereal.

    I know three people (all artists) who have tried to open galleries, generally approaching it from the perspective that a gallery is basically a retail store. All were shuttered in less than a year.

    Anyone looking for an insider's perspective on the gallery world should check out Edward Winkleman's blog. He's not primarily a photo dealer, but he's had had a gallery in Chelsea for a while now, is candid, a good writer, and a good guy. A lot of his writing is on ideas and esthetics but if you dig deep enough, you'll find his musings on the business side of things.

  3. #123

    Re: Would you sell your work to decorators?

    I know three people (all artists) who have tried to open galleries, generally approaching it from the perspective that a gallery is basically a retail store. All were shuttered in less than a year.
    And I know several photographers who are extremely successful with their own showrooms: Peter Lik (Austria, see the other thread in this forum), one photographer in England and one in Germany.

    What do I need to 'learn' and why? I don't see the slightest sense in a gallery as long as they run the business model as it currently is. As soon as they will start to pay 100% upfront for my prints I'd change my mind. Simple as that.

    Until then I will continue with my business model. Though I don't make 35 million US$ per year (which would be next impossible in Spain unfortunately) I am quite happy with it.

  4. #124
    Scott Davis
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Washington DC
    Posts
    1,875

    Re: Would you sell your work to decorators?

    Quote Originally Posted by toyotadesigner View Post
    And I know several photographers who are extremely successful with their own showrooms: Peter Lik (Austria, see the other thread in this forum), one photographer in England and one in Germany.

    What do I need to 'learn' and why? I don't see the slightest sense in a gallery as long as they run the business model as it currently is. As soon as they will start to pay 100% upfront for my prints I'd change my mind. Simple as that.

    Until then I will continue with my business model. Though I don't make 35 million US$ per year (which would be next impossible in Spain unfortunately) I am quite happy with it.
    Then you'll never sell through a gallery. A gallery is first and foremost a business. As a relative unknown, your product is highly unlikely (from a gallery owners' perspective) to sell, or sell in volume. They are taking a significant financial risk by putting your work on their walls and in their print drawers. They have to make money on (most) every transaction, and because inventory, even high end inventory, can often sit for months or years at a stretch before finding a buyer, the gallery owner has tremendous overhead. So that's why the gallery is going to pay you 50% of the selling price, and they'll pay 30 days from the sale. They're taking all the risk for you of advertising your work, selling your work, and handling the financial transaction (they take the risk of being defrauded by the customer, not you).

  5. #125
    Moderator
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Posts
    5,614

    Re: Would you sell your work to decorators?

    Quote Originally Posted by toyotadesigner View Post
    Until then I will continue with my business model. Though I don't make 35 million US$ per year (which would be next impossible in Spain unfortunately) I am quite happy with it.
    If what you are doing makes you happy, then there's no need to change a thing.

    But that doesn't mean that it would work for others, or in other places.

    And it absolutely does not mean that you can control what people choose to buy. The market dictates the price, especially for discretionary purchases such as art. Bringing seller and buyer together has been the profession of whole categories of people for millennia. That is so because those who create often do not possess the skills necessary to bring their work to buyers, or even the desire to do so.

    We can control the choices we make, but we have no control over the consequences of those choice.

    Rick "who can think of one or two successful photographer-owned galleries, but then those photographers are spending more time providing their own retailing than making photos" Denney

  6. #126

    Re: Would you sell your work to decorators?

    They are taking a significant financial risk by putting your work on their walls and in their print drawers. They have to make money on (most) every transaction, and because inventory, even high end inventory, can often sit for months or years at a stretch before finding a buyer, the gallery owner has tremendous overhead. So that's why the gallery is going to pay you 50% of the selling price, and they'll pay 30 days from the sale.
    This is contradictory and doesn't match.

    Financial risk: hoops? They didn't pay for my prints. The just have a showroom, an office and maybe a secretary.

    Inventory? If you use this word it translates into 'paid products on stock and shelves'. But they did not pay for the products... so it is NOT inventory.

    30 days from sale? Any reason for this?

    They're taking all the risk for you of advertising your work, selling your work, and handling the financial transaction (they take the risk of being defrauded by the customer, not you).
    In Europe many galleries charge you for advertising upfront. No argument for me.
    Financial transaction? Hey, have you ever heard of electronic banking? And speaking of 'defrauded by the customer' - you won't get a cent if the print is gone. Not here. Bare fact.

    As a relative unknown, your product is highly unlikely (from a gallery owners' perspective) to sell, or sell in volume.
    You are right, some days I sell 20 small prints for 59 to 99 Euros each on open markets. I guess that's more than many others will get from galleries in a month. Unfortunately I don't have the time to spend too much time on these markets.

    BTW, do you know how many 'fine art prints' (b&w offset print posters actually, which they call fine art. Example here: http://www.hackelbury.co.uk/images/a...6.orkin_bg.jpg) IKEA sells per day per location? I've counted the numbers from 2 different locations. Impressive, really. This 'art' is far away from being unique. But it sells by the thousands and takes away a huge market share of galleries - at least here in Spain.

  7. #127
    Abuser of God's Sunlight
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    brooklyn, nyc
    Posts
    5,796

    Re: Would you sell your work to decorators?

    Dude, you're comparing business models that have nothing in common with each other. If one of them serves you, then great, use it. But the one your slamming is one you just don't understand.

    Photographers who sell their own work directly are generally selling to a completely different market than ones who use consignment galleries. They're generally selling at a completely different price point to completely different customers, using different methods and different economies of scale. What works in one setting doesn't work in the other.

    What's the investment of a high end gallery? For starters, let's look at overhead. Rent in a typical gallery space in Chelsea is from $5,000 to over $30,000 a month. Add to that a living wage for the owner and one or two assistants. Insurance. Utilities. Advertising.

    Pretty soon the calculated value of each square foot of wall space becomes daunting.

    Here's another thing to consider: galleries aren't stores. They don't operate like stores. They don't pay their bills by people wandering in off the street and buying prints and paintings. That happens, but it's a tiny portion of the revenue. A gallery is a private dealership that happens to have a storefront. The storefront bolsters the dealership by allowing for shows that generate buzz and publicity, but the real work happens on the phones. The core of any gallery business is the owners list of clients, typically accumulated over years and years of working in the business. These are typically collectors that the dealer has gotten to know and understand and earn their trust. The dealer works hard finding work that particular collectors will like. On the other end, the dealer works for the artists, trying to find interest and trying to drum up publicity opportunities. It's a ton of work. Every show, every, new artist taken on, represents a gamble in time and real estate.

    If it weren't a gamble, why do you think dealers would be so selective about who they'll take on? Most dealers will represent or show the tiniest fraction of the work that's shown to them. They're interested only in what they think they can sell. And when they see that work, they want to forge a working partnership with the artist.

    Of course there are bad dealers. There are galleries going out of business all the time. But the system you're critiquing is one used by all the good dealers, so I don't see how it's fair to say the system's broken.

  8. #128
    Gary L. Quay's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Fairview, OR
    Posts
    567

    Re: Would you sell your work to decorators?

    Quote Originally Posted by David Spivak-Focus Magazine View Post
    Very simple question -- would you sell your art to someone so they could decorate their home or office with your work?

    Should art be used as decoration?
    A print of mine titled "Misty Gorge," taken one fall morning in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, hangs in three dentist's offices. I know this because I sold it to three dentists just for that reason. I don't know if this has been said yet in this thread, but my wife has a saying when it comes to the way the general public buys art: she says that the first question they ask is, "Will this go with my couch?"

    --Gary

  9. #129

    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    New York City & Pontremoli, Italy
    Posts
    882

    Re: Would you sell your work to decorators?

    Quote Originally Posted by William McEwen View Post
    Same here. If anyone has a mailing list of decorators who sell photography, feel free to send me a copy!
    Why do you guys always beat me to the punch ?

    Seriously though, I'm serious about the list.

  10. #130

    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    789

    Re: Would you sell your work to decorators?

    Okay, this thread finally pulled me in. In order to support my photo addictons then yes, I'll sell my work to decorators. I am (or could be) a complete photography whore. I try to resist but... ahh... that new lens is making me randy... very randy indeed. Anyone want a nice wet waterfall photo to display?

Similar Threads

  1. The photographs of St. Ansel, a different POV
    By Bill_1856 in forum On Photography
    Replies: 67
    Last Post: 28-Aug-2007, 01:50
  2. Getting your foot in the gallery door
    By tim atherton in forum Business
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 9-Apr-2007, 17:48
  3. Mole Richardson Lighting for Portait Work
    By Bruce E. Rathbun in forum Style & Technique
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 17-Apr-2006, 17:00
  4. Interchanging lenses in Copal Shutters. Why does it work?
    By sanking in forum Lenses & Lens Accessories
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 21-Aug-2004, 20:11
  5. super-symmar XL110mm & architectural work
    By Rick Obermeyer in forum Lenses & Lens Accessories
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 6-Sep-2001, 09:24

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •