[alt-photo] Re: an alternative to alternative

[KISS BOB]

DEAR MARK,
      I tend to agree with you on this.  The dealer who 
shows some of my prints in NYC was also my Prof of History 
and Aesthetics of Photo at RIT all those decades ago.  He 
did his Masters at Visual Studies Workshop with Beaumont 
Newhall and Nathan Lyons as his thesis advisers.  He also 
held an important chair in the Grad Photo Dept at Pratt 
for over a decade.  He has had a successful photo gallery 
in NYC for over 30 years.  I mention all of this just to 
suggest that he might know of what he speaks.
1) He ALWAYS told me to distinguish between "the public at 
large" (PAL) and "your audience" (YA).  The PAL won't know 
or care about the processes but YA will!  Mass market vs. 
YOUR market.
2) He said no one ever comes in and says, "Take me to your 
gum prints".  They ask for certain subject matter or the 
work of one photographer and he shows them that plus other 
related work.
3) He said every one buys because they love the image but 
they pay a given price because of so many OTHER aspects 
such as PRINT MEDIUM (pt vs silver, etc), print number in 
the edition, the quality of the printing, the condition of 
the print, the fame/notoriety of the photographer, and so 
many other things.  So, to the collector, print medium IS 
an important aspect of why they buy and what they are 
willing to pay.  To a truly savvy collector it may be an 
extremely important aspect.
4) He said that selling photographic prints is 10% hype 
and 90% education.  E.g., he might see someone admiring an 
Evans' Sea of Steps.  He would say, "Amazing movement  in 
that image!  And quite significant in early 20th C 
photography.  And this is one of the best examples of a 
platinum print from that era."  He then sits back and 
answers all of the questions stimulated by his three short 
sentences contributing a few more details if the client 
shows more interest.  Mostly education with a VERY little 
hype.
      Now, if one's intention is to sell to the PAL make 
LARGE, highly saturated, inkjet prints mounted on aluminum 
and stand them up in any gallery.  There is nothing at all 
wrong with this if it is what you want to do but, if that 
is what list members wanted to do, then why are we donning 
our latex/vinyl gloves and respirators, handling toxic and 
ridiculously expensive chemicals, and trying to minimize 
our exposure to plate burner UV a few times a day?  We 
must be highly motivated to make something special.   Now 
this may be our own problem but there IS an AUDIENCE out 
there for each of us, perhaps not the public at large.
      Having been an advertising and fashion photog in NYC 
and Europe from 1974 to 1993 (when I moved here to 
Barbados) I have had more than enough of applying my 
creativity to reaching the public at large.  I shoot what 
moves me and print it in whatever medium I feel best 
carries the feeling that made me want to make the image in 
the first place.  The most interesting discovery I ever 
made since 1993 is, the more deeply personal my motivation 
for making an image and print, the more it seems to 
resonate in the soul of my audience and the more prints I 
sell.
             CHEERS
                 BOB


On Sat, 31 Mar 2012 18:35:13 -0700
  Mark Nelson <ender100 at aol.com> wrote:
> I really don't think he knows what he is talking about. 
> 
> Mark Nelson
> www.PrecisionDigitalNegatives.com
> PDNPRint Forum @ Yahoo Groups
> www.MarkINelsonPhoto.com
> 
> sent from my iPhonetypeDeviceThingy
> 
> On Mar 31, 2012, at 11:10 AM, Diana Bloomfield 
><dhbloomfield at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> 
>> I've had so many conversations with my gallery owner 
>>here about this, and while he shows a ton of printmaking 
>>(mezzotints, monotypes, etc), and certainly makes 
>>distinctions there-- he is insistent that with 
>>photography, it doesn't really matter how an image is 
>>printed (nor what camera was used-- which we don't 
>>typically point out)-- what matters is how strong the 
>>final image is, and how it resonates with the viewer.  He 
>>admits that the WAY in which an image is printed is 
>>certainly part of the final look, of course, but he 
>>maintains no one really cares-- ultimately-- about the 
>>specific printing method.  Yes-- he's a real gem-- but, 
>>sadly, I think he's speaking the truth.
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