Digital BW, The Print

>
>
>What actually *IS* an artist proof? Can it be sold, or must it be
>"given away"? What is a printer's proof, and I guess it would not
>be destroyed, thus it enters circulation?
>
>-MT, http://marktucker.com/
>


Mark,

You just hit on one of the games that traditional printmakers have 
used for years. There are tons of artist's proofs out there that 
never get counted, but they do eventually get sold...and it is 
usually dealers that make money with them.

Remember, these are the same folks who are insisting that 
photographers create limited editions...even though one of the main 
reasons for limited editions in traditional printmaking was  because 
the stone or plate wore down and the print quality degraded.  Other 
games these "pure" traditional printmakers play is when an image is 
successful, they quickly find a way to make another edition.  I even 
see painters now painting the same scene over and over when they have 
a hot one.

No such practical problem of degrading plates exists in our digital 
medium.  Before digital, with care,  even negatives lasted for a long 
time....before they become scratched beyond usefulness.

I think you argued for quite severe limitations on editions, but I am 
an open edition kind of photographer. It was good enough for Ansel 
Adams and Edward Weston and it's good enough for me.

It is a gallery gimmick and limits the artist from making a decent 
living throughout their creative life. One of the big advantages of 
digital is that you can print them on demand and create different 
sizes easily.  Additionally as you become better and the technology 
gets better, the quality improves and the price should go up...so in 
one sense, there is a de facto limit...by the market place...to how 
large an edition will be.

Bill Agee
-- 

bill agee studio
capistrano beach, ca / laguna beach, ca

http://www.redsilver.com