Jeffrey D. Mathias (jeffrey.d.mathias@worldnet.att.net)
Fri, 23 Jul 1999 10:15:48 -0400
=?UNKNOWN?Q?Str=F6m?= (known as Ström) wrote:
>
> The negative is the orignal--not the print.
To me the photographer's seeing is the original, and the print the
product. The negative is only part of the route in getting there.
> ...
> The photograph is far more important than any collector.
Do we know what is more valuable: a human life or a significant
contribution of someone's life ???????????????????????????
> No negative that is valued by a photographer should ever be destroyed. The
> negative is the photograph--not the print--no matter what technique was used
> to create the print.
Me thinks you have an impossible task of arguing this point. I have
already declared that the print is my photograph while the negative,
like the camera, is a tool to get there. I do concede that there are
some whose end product IS the negative. At times I will even edit
(destroying prints and negatives) and move on. Although some are
preserved for research purposes.
> ...
> Keep your negatives until you die.
Why???
> If you want to limit your prints, here's the technique:
>
> For every print you create, you increase the price for the subsequent print by
> a percentage. It might be 2% or more. Eventually, no one will buy it,
> because it's too expensive. That is its rarity. ...
This does seem to be a viable technique. In fact, similar to what I
do. Since I value the ability to continuously enguage in new ideas, I
hasten to the point of "no one will buy it".
A thought to ponder: How does selling one's work affect their work???
Is one able to completely disassociate the creation of their work from
the sale of their work especially if that is a substantial part of their
income??? There seems to be a great deal of freedom in not selling
anything. Just how do we go on??? Does one have more credibility; is
their art more pure without sales??? Not easy questions to answer; not
easy answers to live by.
-- Jeffrey D. Mathias http://home.att.net/~jeffrey.d.mathias/
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