While future generations and the test of time will have to decide if Mr. Lik’s work is indeed valuable art, the fact that it sells for big prices now is not a determining factor in measuring its worth. The world’s greatest art sells for astronomical sums, in part due to good marketing by auction houses and galleries. It’s all about deriving as much benefit as possible. Lik is entitled to whatever he gets, and those who buy his photos do so willingly.
Lik is of course an obnoxious boor and a severe egotist. (They say Mozart was as well.) But that should never be a factor in evaluating his work. > On Jun 27, 2015, at 3:57 AM, Malcolm Smith <rrve...@virginmedia.com> wrote: > > Larry Colen wrote: > >> It's not so much that people offer him that sort of money for his >> photos, but that they are told that the photos are a good investment, >> when in reality, they are nearly guaranteed to lose money: >> >> http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/business/peter-liks-recipe-for- >> success-sell-prints-print-money.html >> >> Here is another interesting article: >> http://scottreither.com/blogwp/2012/06/11/peter-lik-gallery- >> photographer-my-story/ > > It's the world of the bizarre, and I can't help feeling that most of those > paying extreme amounts of money for prints (one off or limited edition), > must be getting them to offset tax in some way. > > I can look on these images a very different way. I'm not in any way > connected with the industry and my photographic interest is as a hobby only, > and I have no desire to it ever becoming more than it is. I very much enjoy > looking at local galleries and occasionally I'll see something I think that > I will have a go at shooting my own version of. > > However, when I see prints selling at these sums, I think the more expensive > they are moves them further away from art and photography all the time. They > become financial instruments, or items bought because 'x' person has one. > This all smells of money with multiple galleries; it is the fast art > equivalent of a fast food franchise. > > Malcolm > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
