There are lots of ways for art to reach the mass market beyond matching the broadest possible common taste. Yes, prints are one method, and there are several different categories of prints from "unlimited" or unnumbered editions to small numbered editions and even modes of reproduction, like drypoint etchings which can't endure too may printings or high quantity lithographic prints. like posters, etc. But the trouble is that the delivery system coupled with the audience expectation of rarity or specialness favors art dealers and other restricted modes of access. One dealer once told me that he couldn't afford to put low priced prints on his galley walls because those walls had to earn him so much a month to cover his costs. That's like an upscale restaurant needing to get so much $ per table per sitting, maybe only two sittings per evening, or maybe only one. Artists using the internet to sell their work are exploring a new venue and it may become the standard venue for much art in the future. Right now, there's just too many sites on the same level field, too many sites and no way to determine art judgment (the selective dealer now absent). Again, there's a mismatch between the art made for the majority audience and the means by which it is made accessible. wc
----- Original Message ---- From: joseph berg <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, October 21, 2010 1:20:23 PM Subject: Re: "The works of art, by being publicly exhibited and offered for sale, are becoming articles of trade, following as such the unreasoning laws of markets and fashion; and public and even private patronage is swayed by their tyrannical influence." On Thu, Oct 21, 2010 at 4:09 AM, William Conger <[email protected]>wrote: > How can art be available to all and still be art (in the > old-fashioned Prince Albert sense)? What about prints?
