Digital BW, The Print

This gallery thing is a big conversation. On some level, there are 
always going to be the level of the market that supports the 
masters, and silver. HCB, AA, Weston, etc. That will continue I 
assume.

If/when inkjet enters the market, I think it will happen in any of 
these ways:

1. Some "name" person starts to use them. Fill in the blank here 
with your own celebrity name. Doesn't matter, as long as they're 
high enough up the ladder, and they've been in PDN or ArtNews. 
The rules for this level are completely separate from "the 
masses"; logic does not usually apply to this level. 

2. Someone comes up with a way to coat them, or write on them, 
or paint on them, or laquer them, or something/anything, to make 
each individual print UNIQUE. (Think Peter Beard: I remember 
last year, he showed up at A Gallery for Fine Photography in 
NOrleans, with his group of hangers-on, and they set up a 
painting studio outside the gallery. He'd paint or write on each 
one til it was time to go shower and dance the night away). This 
issue will address somehow the "just press the button and you 
can make a hundred of them" problem. The Starns twins come 
to mind here too; I could see them adopting this into their 
"handdone" process.

3. And third, the one that excites me most, COMPLETELY 
ignores the pressure of fitting into the "gallery scene", and 
empowers individual photographers to explore more direct 
sales, and/or internet sales. The photographer dealing more 
directly with the customer. A new way of thinking; a new 
business model, that is aware of a changing economy. I don't 
see these high prices, as you do for silver, but lower prices -- 
maybe two or three hundred dollars for a print, even a large print. 
BUT, in exchange, you would not have "editions" where the artist 
was limited in volume. The mindset would be more "buy this to 
enjoy it", rather than "buy this as an investment". I think this 
would fit in between "the poster" and "the silver print".

----

To be clear, I think Number 2 and 3 are temporary, say for the 
next ten years. It could well be that the inkjet printers and inks
get 
so good that this negative perception starts to fade. (Oops, bad 
analogy...)