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Art: looking to purchase "art", prints, posters, etc.

post #1 of 14
8/12/08 at 6:26pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

Just recently moved into an unfurnished apartment. Have some large walls that I need to cover with "art". i can't afford anything expensive, so prints, and posters will have to do.

for those experienced in purchasing these items, where do you shop? how do you get discounts? how much do you expect to pay?

i don't really understand the pricing behind some of these prints/posters. some of the prices seem ridiculous for a piece of paper, and it feels as if pricing is at the whim of the market.

for that matter, does anybody have any good recommendations?

thanks
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post #2 of 14
8/12/08 at 8:23pm
would you be interested in prints from a part time photog?
=D
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post #3 of 14
8/12/08 at 8:31pm
I also have some work available to show. Since I am no longer a full time artist, I would be willing to sell (photograph) prints for $50. PM me if you are interested.


On a side note, how would the people on the forum feel if we got a collaboration of artists on SF to do a "For Sale" thread of their art? Perhaps a mod could let me know if that would be against the rules outside of B&S forum.
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post #4 of 14
8/12/08 at 9:35pm
Well, pricing is at the whim of the market. That's called capitalism.
But in terms of pricing differentials on prints/posters, it may have to do with the differences between those two terms. "Poster" generally refers to a reproduction made in unlimited numbers -- whether a poster of Jordan dunking or of a portrait of Niagra Falls, they'll keep running off copies so long as they can sell them.

The term "print", while sometimes indicating higher production values -- or just snootier attitudes -- may also be used to refer to one of a limited number of reproductions. For example, artists who produce photographs and lithographs may produce a finite number of reproductions of a particular work, each of which is usually numbered (e.g., #16 of 100). In general, the relatively scarcity of the limited prints will make them pricier than reproductions that are available in theoreticallly unlimited numbers.
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post #5 of 14
8/12/08 at 9:54pm
Buy originals. Prints of paintings suck. I abhor them.
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post #6 of 14
8/12/08 at 9:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoSurface View Post
Buy originals. Prints of paintings suck. I abhor them.

+1000

Go to an art school show and pick up at least some prints (etchings etc.) or cheap small pieces.

Hell, make your own.
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post #7 of 14
8/12/08 at 10:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by celery View Post
I also have some work available to show. Since I am no longer a full time artist, I would be willing to sell prints for $50. PM me if you are interested. On a side note, how would the people on the forum feel if we got a collaboration of artists on SF to do a "For Sale" thread of their art? Perhaps a mod could let me know if that would be against the rules outside of B&S forum.
Good suggestion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by antirabbit View Post
+1000 Go to an art school show and pick up at least some prints (etchings etc.) or cheap small pieces. Hell, make your own.
Another good suggestion. I've been selling my work since I was 16. It's been infrequent since then, but when I started to sell, it was mainly at school art shows.
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post #8 of 14
8/13/08 at 12:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoSurface View Post
Buy originals. Prints of paintings suck. I abhor them.

I couldn't agree more. Nothing is worse than walking into someone's apartment and seeing a bunch of framed prints on the walls. Well, things are certainly worse, but I'm speaking strictly in the realm of this thread.

I started collecting paintings by going to local arts festivals. If I saw someone's work I really liked I'd pick something out and make a point of taking some time to talk to the artist. I have yet to meet an artist who isn't genuinely happy to discuss his or her stuff and make a sale or two.

You could also go to some smaller local galleries and see what's for sale there.
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post #9 of 14
8/13/08 at 1:44pm
Rule Number One: Unless you are seriously investing, buy what you like, not what others tell you to like. Some of my favorite pieces are worth FAR less than pieces I didn't care for at art shows.
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post #10 of 14
8/13/08 at 2:34pm
If you're just looking to cover a lot of wall, I recently put up a rasterbated image that was licensed under Creative Commons.
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post #11 of 14
8/13/08 at 4:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lawyerdad View Post
Well, pricing is at the whim of the market. That's called capitalism.
But in terms of pricing differentials on prints/posters, it may have to do with the differences between those two terms. "Poster" generally refers to a reproduction made in unlimited numbers -- whether a poster of Jordan dunking or of a portrait of Niagra Falls, they'll keep running off copies so long as they can sell them.

The term "print", while sometimes indicating higher production values -- or just snootier attitudes -- may also be used to refer to one of a limited number of reproductions. For example, artists who produce photographs and lithographs may produce a finite number of reproductions of a particular work, each of which is usually numbered (e.g., #16 of 100). In general, the relatively scarcity of the limited prints will make them pricier than reproductions that are available in theoreticallly unlimited numbers.

Informative, thanks.

That's interesting about the prints vs posters. Sure, prints have limited runs, but...what's to stop them from putting out another run of prints? I guess that's the confusing part. I mean, those Andy Warhol prints you see everywhere, those are prints, but they seem to have infinite print runs/copies?

I guess...I just don't really understand the pricing. I would imagine pricing would be like this: material, size, quality of print, licensing, but it often feels like this...licensing, everything else...
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post #12 of 14
8/13/08 at 4:23pm
If they print multiple times, they become "editions." At this point the pricing is based on both number within each edition and which edition you have purchased.

Don't buy into mass produced art reproductions. There are many fine artists out there who would LOVE to sell their original work for very reasonable prices. You just have to look a little harder than going to art.com and buying a poster.

It's hard to see a lot of the work that's out there because for galleries, it's all about business. Taking a chance on a no name artist is risky most of the time (they usually have to come highly recommended from someone "in the know").

But I agree with art festivals (even though you will have to wade through tons of crap) and college art shows (usually another ton of crap to wade through), you will find some gems here and there.

It's much more satisfying to know what you're getting, where it comes from and to know you have something unique.
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post #13 of 14
8/13/08 at 4:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by celery View Post

It's much more satisfying to know what you're getting, where it comes from and to know you have something unique.

That's a very good point. Some of my favorite pieces of pottery are made by a North Dakota artist who gets all her clays from in-state. The base clay is from a huge deposit and is also used to make high quality bricks, and her glazes are all from clays she finds simply by driving around with 5-gallon buckets and digging on the sides of roads. I love her sense of aesthetics, and that really is the main reason I buy from her, but the fact that she goes to all this trouble -- and that each batch of glazes is unique and idiosyncratic -- is the icing on the cake.
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post #14 of 14
8/14/08 at 5:10pm
Try buying some stuff online. You could look at loads of art pretty quick rather than going to an art gallery someplace further than you want to travel.
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