Art Print Issues

Drawing the Line on Reproductions

Technology for better and worse...sometimes a little of both

For as long as the ability to reproduce art has been available, there have been those who have sought to use it for legitimate purposes, and unfortunately also for ill-gotten gain. There were numerous reports last month about a ring of crooks busted for selling $7 million in fake Picasso, Miro, Dali and Chagall prints, including a post here. These details come nearly on the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the conviction of Kristine Eubanks and her husband, Gerald Sullivan. That pair had been charged with selling $20 million in bogus art prints, many of which were made in their own professional giclée printmaker studio.

(This content is republished from the April 3, 2008 Absolute Arts blog where I am a guest blogger and where you will find an interesting running commentary on it.)

Personally, I quite enjoy that visual artists can reproduce their work and thus create a secondary cash flow from it. It gives them another price point and allows them to introduce their work to many more collectors as well. Seeing cases of fraud, as mentioned above, concerns me visual artists creating legitimate reproductions can sometimes find themselves under unwanted unnecessary scrutiny. As if making a go of it for most artists was not already difficult enough.

What Is Art?

Part of the romantic allure of the art business – yes folks, it is a business – is it is kind of Wild West when it comes to what one wants to do and what one wants to call it. By golly, the debate over “What is art?” rages on and has never really been satisfied. Surely, the folks at the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) can attest from regularly coming under siege for funding controversial works can tell you there is a wide range of sentiment regarding the question of “What is art?”

So, if we can’t decide on what is art, is there any chance we can decide on what is a print? The short and correct answer is no. The mixed use of terms in the business creates confusion that leads to anxiety and distrust.

What Is Investment Art? Can Giclées Be Considered Investment Art?

For many, buying art is more intriguing because one can also hope it may appreciate in time. Ask any of those folks taking part in the $200 million dollar class action suit against the Park West Galleries for its cruise ship art auction tactics. You can bet all bought with the idea of getting a great deal. Unfortunately for them it was only after being shorn did they realize they overpaid for art. It is the same mentality and likely the same herd, only on terra firma, that were taken in by the aforementioned couple of Eubanks and Sullivan who foisted their fraudulent works on their “Fine Art Treasures” cable TV show. In fairness, savvy buyers through the centuries have capitalized on buying undervalued art...and still do today. Tennis great, John McEnroe, says he's made more money in the art market than on the court.

We Should Rethink Limiting Digital Prints

I have for years championed the idea of abandoning limited editions for giclées. In fact, I blogged nearly three years ago on Absolute Arts with a post titled “Limiting Success” about it as well as on my own Art Print Issues blog. It just doesn't’t make sense to me for a variety of reasons; including it begs the question of why limit that which can endlessly be reproduced perfectly or as improvements come along all the better.

Limited editions also nicely lend themselves to some of the schemes mentioned here. I contend if the art is good enough, people will pay a fair price for it knowing it is in unlimited supply, which might help thwart some phony print schemes. Do I care if a recording artist sells millions of copies? Why should I care how many a visual artist will sell? If I want truly intrinsic value from a limited supply, I will pony up for an original, which is why many galleries have left the print/giclée market. They are tired of romancing the artist to a prospective collector only to lose the sale via the Internet when the buyer shops it. Selling originals avoids this problem, but it puts a kink in an artist's ability to leverage his or her work in the print market, which creates just another problem.

Regardless of what I have had to say, the fine art digital reproduction limited edition business remains strong, if not as vibrant as in its glory days. But then, you can say that about all kinds of businesses these days struggling to figure out how to survive in challenging changing times. Today, you can find many artists raking in big bucks selling limited editions in all manner of limited edition configurations. And, their galleries and they are not about to abandon a successful situation. Who can blame them? I merely argue they are leaving money on the table in the long haul by limiting editions.

How much did Greenwich Workshop & Bev Doolittle leave on the table?

Bev Doolittle's first giclées sold out nearly 4,000 pieces in a short time. Could she have sold more and still be selling them if they were merely numbered, but not limited? I contend yes. The early low numbers would ultimately have collectible value if the art is truly appreciable and not being Ponzied up by a limited edition marketing scheme. In Doolittle's case, I think the art would stand up to being open and sell well for years making he and her publisher more money with more happy collectors in the program as well.

A great image might sell well for years just as the back catalog of recording artists do. These steady streams of income could make a striking financial difference for popular artists and their families. Some, like the gifted watercolor artist, Steve Hanks, have retired huge editions on paper and are now releasing the images on canvas. I think Hanks would have never had to quit selling his work if the editions were they open and sequentially numbered because the work is enormously popular, timeless, compelling, representational and surreal at once. Instead, he’s had to resort to putting his watercolor work on canvas, which hardly reproduces as faithfully as his editions on paper.

Someone commented on my blog recently that giclées cannot be considered limited editions unless they are all produced at one time. The contention is they are a limited series instead. Once again, an interesting arguable take that further muddies the waters and heightens the desire for a ruling body to take hold.

Dead Artist's Estates Are Still Cranking Out Editions - So Are the Crooks - Who is Gary Arseneau?

To further stir the pot, there are many dead artists whose estates continue to print reproductions of their work. This, of course has been going on for years with the big names like Dali, Picasso, Miro and Chagall. While long gone, these artists remain in the news for the sale of both legitimate and fake reproductions of their work. Now along comes Gary Arseneau, he is a self-styled independent scholar, an artist, printmaker of original lithographs and a blogger. He is also the self-published author of books such as The Monument to the Victor Hugo Deception.

We ought to be asking, “Who is Gary Arseneau?” Is he a gadfly, or a crusader tilting in the wind trying to stem the tide of fake reproductions? You can only decide by spending time on his blog where he outlines in great detail his argument that the works of Rodin, Degas, Matisse, Duchamp and even Dr. Seuss that are being reproduced by their estates and heirs are fakes. He makes a heck of an interesting argument. Certainly, if you care about reproductions, buy them, produce or market them, you owe it to yourself to study his findings, read his arguments and come up with your own conclusions.

Is Having a Set of Enforcable Understandable Standards Too Much to Hope For?

Regardless of your personal opinion, the can of worms opened by Mr. Arseneau hastens the idea that establishing and enforcing true standards in the art world would be helpful. It is a crazy notion, I agree, but until a line is drawn on reproductions, the visual arts community will carry the burden of proving itself beyond reproach each time art of any value goes to market.

Artists Who Establish Authenticity and Transparency in Their Business Practices Will Win

As the world shrinks due to instant information and communication, being authentic and transparent becomes imperative. For those artists who find a way to embrace authenticity and transparency in how they create multiples or reproductions of their popular work and manage and market their business, there is ample reward awaiting them and their rightful heirs.

Noah G Pop Puts Pizazz in ArtExpo New York 2008

Pop artist Noah G Pop rocked this year's 30th Annual ArtExpo New York show, which took place February 28 - March 3. It is obvious he seeks to put more glide in your stride, more hip in your dip, more zig in your zag and more cut in your strut. In other words, this dude knows how to throw a party and have fun. That he manages to do it around promoting his art makes him just that much cooler.

When it comes to enjoying success in the art business, marketing and promotion are the twin synergistic generators that drive (AIDA) attention, interest, action and desire. Noah gets this in spades and that he effectively executes around making these waves as a SOLO exhibitor makes all he does more impressive.

Putting POP in Promotion, Party and Prints

In Noah's case, you find a confluence of terrific visual art and fun promotion creating a memorable experience for all involved. You can see for yourself, his party and attendant promotion pack as much punch as his art.  Both deliver on the promise of visual treat and stimulating exciting times.

His art is themed with the Pop influences of decades past, but as with any talented artist, he manages to make it current and specific to his artistic vision. It is no surprise he did well with his Jene NYC piece, shown here. It is hot, colorful, sexy, glamorous and fun. All the things one can hope to experience when attending ArtExpo New York.

The Fun Is Back, Let's Hope It Stays

Noah singlehandedly managed put back into ArtExpo a component that has been missing for some time. And, I'm sure he did it on a budget that would put to shame some of the corporate or show producer managed invitation only parties that run on the sedate side. The history of the experience of ArtExpo was there were always happenings. You didn't dare miss the show or the parties around it. The exciting open-to-all party element has been sadly missing in the past few years. As the show declined in size, it lost some of the zest that had made it special. Thanks to Noah G Pop, the fizz is back and the buzz around his art and his next party, which he already planning for next year are already in full swing.

Here is the content of his post-show email. Read it and you'll see he hasn't stopped having fun. And, while you are reading it, think about how you can put some fun of your own into your own art promotion:

3 More Important Things I Want You to Know Direct from the Noah G POP Playbook:

1)     First, I would like to thank everyone that attended my opening night bash at the Star Lounge and believe me there were a lot of you.  Our counter finally stopped somewhere north of 400 guests including artists, models, actors and a whole plethora of all-around cool people.  The vibe was definitely one of peace, love and FUN, FUN FUN!  I so much appreciate the support of each and every one of you.  Personal highlights for me included my Mom and Dad, my brother David, my sister Farrah, NYC Fashion Designer Grace Edwards, Iconic NYC Socialite, Philanthropist and Human Rights activist Zelda Kaplan, two of my favorite artists, world-renowned Painters Fabian Perez and Ford Smith and of course, it wouldn't be a party without the Naked Cowboy.  Also, special thanks to Rob Base who showed up and performed his hit single, "it takes two to make a thing go right". 

Now, for those of you that missed it; DON'T PANIC!  I will be hosting an evening of art, music and modern dance at the Grand in April (details to follow) and believe it or not, we have already begun planning our opening night bash for ARTEXPO NY 2009 (seriously).  Cue the cocktail music!  Yes!  This one will be bigger and better (think skylight cruise) and YOU ARE INVITED SO SAVE THE DATE!!!

2)    I would like to thank everyone that stopped by my booth to look at my work.  Thanks to your support and interest in my art, we had another killer show selling at least one of each piece with the big winner being Jené NYC who now has 5 new homes.  Thank you, thank you thank you. 

3)     I just saved a bundle on my car insurance!  I kid again.  I wanted to take a moment to speak to all artists but particularly my fellow SOLO artists.  Sharing your gift with the world can be a wonderful and magical experience.  It can be filled with excitement and joy but can also be stressful at times.  As someone that has personally experienced the broad spectrum of emotions that can accompany an event like artexpo, I applaud you for having the guts and the drive to share your art with the world.  For those of you that had a great show, I congratulate you and for those of you that would have liked to have a better show, encourage you to keep pushing, keep learning from your experiences and keep striving to share yourself and your art.

With this in mind, if I can be of any assistance to you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments or simply to bounce some ideas off of each other.  After all, we artists have to stick together.  Be on the lookout for Noah G POP Management in 2008.

I thank you for all of the support that I have received over the past year and of course, most importantly, Enjoy my art!

With much love and respect,

Noah G POP

For more information call 646.413.2366or email me at noahg@noahgpop.com.  Friend requests at www.myspace.com/noahgpop.

www.noahgpop.com

Some other observations about this year's ArtExpo

The final tally on its Website for exhibitors has a count of 467 companies. It's possible there are more, but even with last minute additions, it's hard to believe the exhibitor list came anywhere near the 600 touted by show management for the '07 show. The number of blog posts about the show is down from last year too. Here are a few I found you might find interesting:

Manuela Valenti looks like she is making good on her ArtExpo experience. It looks like she used this video in her booth. Regardless, it's terrific use of video to promote her art. Congrats!

Natasha Wescoat provides insight on her ArtExpo Las Vegas experience

Adan Lerma provides a running commentary on his experiences in 2007 & 2008 here

It's great to see Noah putting forth his energy into ArtExpo. For all the show has suffered from changes in the marketplace, revolving ownership and other circumstances out of its control, it remains the single best place to showcase artists in the print medium. There is still no place like the Big Apple for such a show. The Las Vegas show last fall proved nothing can come close. Let's hope the promise of young energetic talent like Noah G Pop and his contemporaries help revive the show's sagging fortunes.

David Byrne's Business Strategies for Artists

David Byrne is perhaps best known as the front man and driving force for one of the most influential bands of the 1980s, The Talking Heads. A quick look at his Web site reveals a multi-talented artist with interests and success in music, art, books, theater, performance and film. In his erudite manner, Byrne penned a concise article for the December issue of Wired magazine. 

The article is titled, David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars. Whether you have a passing interest in how the music business is changing, or an abiding interest in how the models he discusses might affect you as a visual artist, I commend it to you. As a bonus, you can hear a track from a recent recording and other recordings of conversations and thoughts from him on this topic.

The #7 point on my recent post, Ten Points to Ponder for Your Art Marketing Plans is:

If you haven't already, start making plans to set up your own distribution. This could be online sales, alternative spaces or other inventive ways you can conceive to get directly to new collectors. The future success for many artists depends on their ability to deliver directly to their customers. The sooner you comprehend and act on this concept, the better off you'll be later on.

I hope you took that thought seriously. There are opportunities opening up with more on the way, But you have to have your head up to see and figure out how to capitalize on them. There are direct correlations between what is happening in the music business and with the distribution of art in the print business. The distribution breakdown has not come as far and galleries are still more important to visual artists than record stores have become to musicians. Nevertheless, the changes wrought by the intertwined evolution of the Internet and print-on-demand technology are significant. Galleries are abandoning the print market because of the commoditizaion of the giclee process and the proliferation of prints available online. Despite monumental changes, we are still in a nascent state of evolution in how visual art is sold as reproductions. And, regardless of change, reproductions, or prints if you will, are still the best way for most artists to gain financially from their creativity.

Over the past decade, we have seen the rise of the giclee as an important exciting development that overcame initial resistance because of its techno-component and colorfast issues, to go on and become the dominant form of printing for artists in the limited edition print market. It's now gone so far that I posed the question in a post last year titled, Is Giclee Passe? It is a legitimate question to raise now that we have seen the arrival of faster and less expensive equipment with the market evolving around the development.

Giclees are made by the boatload in Asian countries just like cheap oils are these days and with very good quality to boot. What was once a pricey commodity because it was rare and expensive to make has become something that is easy and inexpensive to make. Basically, digital printing capabilities are within the grasp of just about any artist interested in producing his or her own prints. As the printing prices go down and printing speeds have gone up, the artist's ability to price garden variety giclees at premium prices is evaporating.

The rise of open edition online one-stop marketing and fulfillment operations such as Image Kind, Red Bubble and Art.com's Artist Rising, and even Cafe Press to name a few, have made it very easy for any visual artist to sell their work online. Sites such as these are wonderful and freeing for many artists. But, their development further commoditizes the giclee process. it means those visual artists with a following and a vision or desire to grow a collector base are looking for new ways, or should be, to separate themselves from the masses. It's why, in part, I have lobbied for stopping limited editions of giclees for most artists. If you have some ideas on where this is going, I invite you to share them with this audience. I will over the coming weeks weigh in with my thoughts and research on how the market is evolving and where the pitfalls and opportunities might be.

ArtExpo Las Vegas & Decor Expo Atlanta Shows Mirror the Market - Part Two

The New Millennium Brings Change and New Challenges to the Industry

The early years of the 21st century set the stage for major changes within the industry. For example, against a trend of declining trade magazine ad pages, the industry witnessed the largest shows ever. There was the demise of the PPFA (Professional Picture Framers Association) shows as stand alone entities, and the rise and success of the industry’s only regional framing and art show in the form of the West Coast Art & Frame show. 1999 brought the sale of the Commerce Publishing Company's ABC (Art Buyer's Caravan), Galeria and Frame-o-rama show and DECOR magazine to Pfingsten Publishing LLC.

The Commerce Publishing Company sale to Pfingsten Publishing LLC led to its acquisition of Advanstar Communications' ArtExpo shows, Art Business News magazine and other related media and show properties. The Pfingsten's ownership also brought the end of CPC’s regional art & framing tradeshows. Deemed marginally profitable and contracting in size, the new investment firm owner cancelled shows in California, Orlando, Dallas, Louisville and rotating shows elsewhere. The closing of these shows was an early indication of both changing market conditions and different management philosophy.

Links You'll Like

Here are some links you can use to help you and your art career. Please share them with your friends.

Gawker Artists - You may have noticed the rotating images with the Gawker Artist logo on the left column of this blog. (Hit your refresh button to see more images.) Artists are invited to submit their work to Gawker Artist for consideration. There is no charge to the artists when their work is added to the roster. The art is displayed on blogs and Web sites at no charge either. If you decide to add one of the three sizes of displays, your blog or Website will be listed on the Gawker Artist site. It's generated good traffic to my blog. Liz Dimmit is the curator for the site. Her Gumshoe business provides cultural tourism to New York city visitors and is tailored to their specific interests. Sounds like a great way to see the city to me!

The-Artists.Org - Artists can list for free with a reciprocal link to their Web site, or make a one-time $65 donation to get a more robust listing. The site has a Google Page Ranking of 6, which is excellent and claims 7 million annual visitors. Worth checking out!

Marketfusions - A blog on thoughts on strategy, business, marketing, content & creativity. The link here is to a very good article on Personal Branding. The business side of art is all about personal branding. This post offers clear advice on how to get your arms around it and incorporate it into your career.

Passionate for Life - Are You Pursuing Happiness and Joy? I'm not personally involved with any coaches or mentors, but I've seen enough positive results from those who are to pass this along. The site features writers and life coaches who address the key elements of living life with passion - exploring the power of passion; how to discover one's passion; how to live a life of purpose and authenticity; the law of attraction; the art of living passionately; finding your dream career; re-inventing oneself and more.

Outdoor Art - Trends come and go. I think this one has a long life. Consumers are spending more time and more money to accommodate a lifestyle of living as much as possible outdoors. They want to decorate these spaces much like their indoor counterparts. If you or your publisher haven't considered adding weatherproof prints to your lineup, you are missing some sales opportunities. You can find lots of information by Googling "weatherproof art" and "outdoor art." (Did you know when you put a phrase in quotation marks in a search engine it will only search for that exact term?)

Final note - those of you who get Art Print Issues by email subscription or RSS syndication received a notice for Links for 2007-09-26 (Digg). It points to a blog post titled Ten Timeless Persuasion Writing Techniques; It's very good information, but I didn't intend to send it to my subscribers, especially one day after sending a new post. This happened automatically when I Dugg (voted) for this post on Digg. It's something I'm not thrilled about because I can't figure out why it happened and until I do, I'll do no more Digging of any articles despite how much I like them. I admire the blogger and am glad you have the information, but I'm confounded by the technology that does such things. Too much of a good thing, I suppose. And, yet another reason to put a post together on social bookmarking, social networking, etc. If we all only had the time to investigate and tame these beasts...

When you hear from me again, I will be back from ArtExpo Las Vegas where I have great hopes for a good show for all involved. You'll get my report on it and Decor Expo Atlanta soon!

Banksy Gives Prints Away and Fakes Still Get Sold on Ebay

The anonymous (well almost) British graffiti artist, Banksy, who has made a career of setting the art market on its ear hit the news again with this article in The Art Newspaper: Revealed: the eBay Banksy print fraud. The paper claims to have been tipped off by insiders into a scheme to sell fraudulent limited edition copies of Banksy's work on eBay using shills to up the bidding in the process. Read the story, these fakes were selling for thousands of dollars.

Spray Can Rodeo Girl - Banksy

This guy is fascinating. Callen Bair, who blogs about art for the Conde Nast publication Portfolio has written about him. Here's a quote from her initial Banksy post:

It seems ludicrous, then, that collectors are shelling out tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars for Banksy's works at auction, even if they are painted versions of his designs as opposed to prints. (Pie face done in oil on canvas got $379,446 at Sotheby's London in June.) Of course, Banksy agrees: After Sotheby's made a (relative) killing off seven Banksys it put in a February auction of contemporary art, the artist made a new work that shows an auctioneer directing a lively salesroom accompanied by the caption "I can't believe you morons actually buy this shit."

Rarity - My clickback response on Painter's Keys

If you are an artist, writer, creative, dealer or collector, you would be well advised, if you already have not, to put in for your free subscription to Robert Genn's Twice-Weekly Letter. It's a component of his Painter's Keys Web site. Robert is a prolific professional artist and a sage commentator as you will quickly discover perusing his work and clickback archives on the site. Here's what he has to say about Painter's Keys:

I sincerely hope you get something out of it. By subscribing you have joined a world-wide community of creative people. We are mostly painters, but there are also a large number of sculptors, writers, photographers, and to a lesser degree collectors and art dealers and others who are just interested. Many subscribers are art students--often encouraged to subscribe by their instructors.

Break at South Point Scotty's Lake of the Woods
Acrylic - 30 x 34 Inches

The September 7 article was titled, Rarity. Here are the opening paragraphs, go to the site to read the full post:

The Secondary Art Market - Bev Doolittle's Beyond Negotiations Sold Out & The Lunacy of Limited Edition Giclees

Brad Greek, a longtime supporter of my book, consulting and blog recently notified me Bev Doolittle's latest limited edition piece, Beyond Negotiations, was sold out at Greenwich Workshop, her publisher of many years. No surprise in that news really. When I blogged about the work last month, the larger canvas giclee 350 piece edition was already taken. It was only a matter of time before the smaller canvas edition of 3,750 would also be no longer available at the publisher level. Together, the two editions represent $4 million in retail sales for unframed work. (Erratum, the edition of 3,750 was identified on my previous post as being on paper. That is incorrect, it is also a giclee on canvas.)

There may be other artists selling out large editions like Doolittle's, but I doubt any are doing it as quickly as we've seen with Beyond Negotiations, which is her first limited edition published in eight years. Obviously, her fans, collectors and speculators remain enthusiastic about her work. The new piece is already active on the secondary market. The secondary art market and unlimiting giclees are the subject of this post.

New Beginnings - ArtExpo Bets on Las Vegas

I guest blog at Absolute Arts on a semi-frequent basis. The subject of my August 9 has the same title as this post. If you go there and my blog is not up, please try again later. It is sometimes mid-morning before they get the latest contribution posted. If you have been reading the posts here the past few months, you know I have expressed concern over changes at ArtExpo New York that do not bode well for the industry. I know changes are inevitable and today more than ever Will Rogers' astute admonishment rings true:

"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

Accepting change is one thing, being concerned the changes are causing harm to an industry is another. Right now, ArtExpo is planning its coming out party for Las Vegas. I am cautiously optimistic to know the show being held at the Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort on September 28 - 30, is sold out. That's a good thing. Now to bake that cake and eat it too, buyers have to be drawn to the show and they have to buy. If that happens, we will be witnessing one of the best things to happen to the industry in a long time.

By the way, if you haven't spent time on Absolute Arts, you should. It has lots to offer artists and there is much to learn from the site. It offers artists high traffic and some I've seen on artist's discussion boards have reported good sales results from it, while others have not had that result. That would tell me the sales came from those artists who have images with appeal that are priced appropriately.

THIS JUST IN: Dick Harrison reports he has put up another of his informative podcasts on his www.salestipsforartists.com Web site. This on the subject that vexes nearly every artist, especially emerging artists: How Should I Price My Artwork. As always, Dick in his incredible generosity offers this invaluable information at his best price: free. I've yet to listen to one of his podcasts and not come away better for it.

Terry Redlin's Retirement Announced

One of the most successful print artists ever is Terry Redlin. According to his www.redlinart.com Web site, he's sold more than 2 million prints and even more licensed images of his work over the past 25 years. Those are achievements few artists ever enjoy.

Enjoyment is at the heart of Redlin's immediately recognizable work, as is nostalgia. The "Spring Fever" piece shown here captures both sentiments and embodies Redlin's enormous talent. With sales totaling nearly 30,000 images, the image illustrates his reach into the marketplace.

His hometown newspaper recently ran an article on him titled, Demand for Redlin's work spikes - Artist's retirement increases interest in prints, but not value. The article provides insights and praise along with some criticism and discourse regarding the terms "limited edition",  and prints vs. reproductions. The arguments are not new, but it's interesting to see them covered in a daily newspaper, especially the hometown paper in a relatively small community. One would have expected the rah-rah homer attitude to be in play. Go figure.

Redlin will turn 70 this year and he plans to enjoy his retirement. He'll do so with a legacy firmly in place courtesy of the Redlin Art Center in Watertown, South Dakota. A place he has always called home. Redlin's son, Charles, designed and spearheaded the center.