A Good Time to Make Giant Prints?

[bmattock]

Thought you might find this article interesting. Don't worry, no FID, it's dolphin-safe and sanitized for your protection.

Here are some selected quotes - the rest by following the link below.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/3709969.html

March 9, 2006, 9:40AM
FotoFest 2006
Big pictures feed a growing photography market


By BILL DAVENPORT
For the Chronicle

The exploding market for fine-art photography is delighting some of Houston's arts groups and dismaying others.

Last month, the Houston Center for Photography's annual print auction raised $80,000 — twice the amount expected. And Tuesday's FotoFest auction seems likely to set another record. Sponsored tables for the annual event, held in the DoubleTree Hotel Ballroom, sold out weeks in advance, and more than 400 people are expected to attend.
...
According to Clint Willour, past board president of the Houston Center for Photography and co-chairman of the photography accessions subcommittee at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, "The new thing in photography over the last few years has been make it bigger, make it brighter, face-mount it to Plexiglas or mount it on aluminum so it becomes an object. No longer is it something you can hold in your hand that was made by a camera that's intimate. It's big, it's probably computer-generated, it's heavy, and it's fragile."

Anne Tucker, curator of photography at the Houston museum, concurs. "It's the end of traditional photography. People ask me if I collect digital, and I reply, 'What choice do I have?' It's a nightmare for me, all these giant pictures. They're very heavy."
...
For gallery owners, that's mainly good news. Houston photo dealer John Cleary, owner of John Cleary Gallery, says, "I've been in business 18 years, and I just started making money a year and a half ago."

Even so, the soaring market is not without its downside. "I've been desperately trying to buy new material," says Cleary. "I went to every auction in New York and only bought two pieces. It's hard to buy them."

And now, he notes, it's even harder to resell photos in Houston for what they might fetch in New York: "Up there, it's the World Series. Down here, we're the minor leagues."

[yossarian]

Bill, reading that gave me a swell idea. I love "Spoonerisms". If you say "fine art" as
one, it comes out (phonetically) "ein fart". I think I'll start marketing "Ein Fart Photography", maybe on QVC.

Whaddya think?

Fred

[Wayne R. Scott]

Houston photo dealer John Cleary, owner of John Cleary Gallery, says, "I've been in business 18 years, and I just started making money a year and a half ago."


Hmmmm. Now there is an idea. Go 16 1/2 years without making money, that's my kind of business.

Wayne

[jan normandale]

All art eventually comes home.

[bmattock]

Originally Posted by jan normandale

All art eventually comes home.

Everybody wants a refund? What if you move and leave no forwarding address?

What if you disguise your voice, wear a funny hat and a fake beard and when Art comes home, you say, "Art? Art? Never heard of him, please go away." I'll bet that would work.

Just some ideas.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

[yossarian]

Taking a more serious approach, a few weeks ago I visited one of my best friends from high school, who is an attorney (criminal law) at his new house. As is the custom, his wife Susie escorted those in attendance on the obligatory guided tour.
We reached the "family" room and Susie gestured to a wall on which was displayed
a very large painting. She said she had wanted a Kincaid, but the price was too high
for the size she needed, so she got someone she knows to do a painting in faux Kincaid style. It's probably 8 feet square, and has very soft, earthy colors, because
it had to match the rest of the room.

I just wrote that and I still have trouble believing it. Art, selected using the same criteria as the decorative pillows on the sofa. What is art? A space filler. Something
which blends in well with the rest of the decor and doesn't call attention to itself.
Fortunately, I speak softly and all the others were chatting away, so if I let slip anything inappropriate about the "art", it was drowned out. I don't remember,
because I think I went into a fugue state.

The worst part--this story is not unusual. It may even be that some of you have
dealt with it directly. How would one conduct himself or herself on learning one's
art has less significance than a footnote?

"The horror......the horror......"

Fred

[Scarpia]

Originally Posted by yossarian

Taking a more serious approach, a few weeks ago I visited one of my best friends from high school, who is an attorney (criminal law) at his new house. As is the custom, his wife Susie escorted those in attendance on the obligatory guided tour.
We reached the "family" room and Susie gestured to a wall on which was displayed
a very large painting. She said she had wanted a Kincaid, but the price was too high
for the size she needed, so she got someone she knows to do a painting in faux Kincaid style. It's probably 8 feet square, and has very soft, earthy colors, because
it had to match the rest of the room.

I just wrote that and I still have trouble believing it. Art, selected using the same criteria as the decorative pillows on the sofa. What is art? A space filler. Something
which blends in well with the rest of the decor and doesn't call attention to itself.
Fortunately, I speak softly and all the others were chatting away, so if I let slip anything inappropriate about the "art", it was drowned out. I don't remember,
because I think I went into a fugue state.

The worst part--this story is not unusual. It may even be that some of you have
dealt with it directly. How would one conduct himself or herself on learning one's
art has less significance than a footnote?

"The horror......the horror......"

Fred

Many, many years ago I was in a home decor store on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. A close friend was with me. A middle age couple was hovering about a cheap reproduction of a Turner seascape in a nice frame. Finally, they were approached by the salesman. "Can I help you?" was the usual question. They pointed at the Turner and the woman asked "does it come in any other colors?" My friend and I left immediately laughing loudly. I will never forget this.
Kurt M.

[Gabriel M.A.]

Originally Posted by yossarian

Bill, reading that gave me a swell idea. I love "Spoonerisms". If you say "fine art" as
one, it comes out (phonetically) "ein fart". I think I'll start marketing "Ein Fart Photography", maybe on QVC.

Whaddya think?

Fred

This is the funniest thing I've read this whole week. I think you've got something here. I think it'll bomb at QVC, no, wait... if you say "ein Fart photography", see?

If it bombs, try staging dogs playing pool. It'll be sanseshonel