Hey all,
I've had a notion for a few weeks now, and have decided to put it out to y'all, since many of you are much more experienced than I with dealing in the art gallery/business scene than I(which, to be honest, is practically ZERO experience !).
My basic, raw question is this: Editions, what's the point in the end? Are we attempting to "lure" people in, with this sense of "investing" into the pieces hung on the wall, that we're so proud of making? If me, as an "unproven" artist, financially speaking, a gallery that I approach to sponsor and/or sell my work has a preference for an "edition" mindset, vs. a "anyone who can afford it can own one" approach, I'd rather have the latter. Personally, I don't like the idea of a good photograph only being enjoyed by a few people(that were there early enough to get in on the "editioned" prints), but anyone who truly enjoys looking at it, should be able to plunk their credit card down, and take it home and enjoy it! I'm not simply looking at it from a capitalistic point-of-view, but one that is interested in getting my name "out there".
If I understand correctly; as a young artist, Ansel Adams sold his handmade prints for quite a small sum, compared to his later/last years, where fame and vastly increased popularity had caught up with him and he was able to enjoy a nice reward financially. Prices ROSE because the demand was there. But the prices were still "reachable" to most people, and a good many folks have an Adams print in their home now, simply because of that lower initial pricepoint, and a seemingly "open edition" mindset. (please correct me if this is wrong)
I have had the opportunity to sell/gift(my choice) a few photographs that I have made over the past few years, to people I know, and some by word of mouth. I attempted to set up/run a website for a short spell relating to my photography, with the intent to display and sell my printed & matted photographs through that channel. Well, things aren't in the right season yet for that to happen. And I don't have a body of work put together that, in my opinion, is worth the time and effort of displaying on a website. Yet. So I took the website down. Word of mouth only, right now.
But back to editions. It obviously works well for many gallerists/artists who sell their art this way. Limited production, so to speak. I'm not interested in making wallpaper art to sell at Ikea, but fine pieces that have the skill and attention to detail in them that a print might attempt to be sold for 4-5x as much in most galleries, in a "traditional" gallery setting that's selling to the middle/upper classes with more disposable income. I'm interested in ALL of the markets. From Susie Q. making $25,000 a year in Omaha, to John D. making $1,000,000 annually, and having a second home in Aspen. A "pricepoint for all" approach, where smaller prints(marketed to smaller homes and apartments w/ less space), to large prints, that can be properly displayed in a large home(aka that Aspen home). Not every size available under the sun, but a pricing scale that is open to everyone, top to bottom.
So what say you? I'm not looking to bolster my opinion or self-worth, but wanted to see what others thought of this "open season" type method. Appealing to the masses price-wise, where a print for almost any budget is available to enjoy.
cheers,
Dan
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