21 June 2005
How to sell Digital Art ? A proposal
For two years I am working in the field of digital produced images. But the first tiny animation I did in 1999, it is this one: "Best friends"
Quite a lot artists from all over the world working today completely or for parts digital. Like Steven Streight from Blog Core Values, to name one I like very much. An important question for me is the following: Ok, I painted that landscape in my studio in oil or acrylic, it is one original, and when it sells, the buyer gets it physicly to his house and hangs it on the wall next to his TV, if he likes the piece. There is no replica, the case is clear, he owns it now, until he will sell it to somebody else in the future.
But how relates a photo of my painting to the originality of art ? You could say, a photo is another medium, thus no painting. But, when I am showing a painting in my blog, it can't be a real painting, it must be a digital photo of a painting, but preferable as close as possible to the painting and without the specific character of a photo. The photo represents the painting in my blog and it is in practice more a painting than a photo. Seems a contradiction ?
With digital artwork the case is more clear. The piece is done digital and goes as it is to my blog. Everybody who likes it, can download it via right click and also print it out and frame it. Then this work could hang next to somebodies TV set elsewhere in Brazilia for example. But it would not be an authorized original by the author. And that is, what is the art market is based on - on certified individual items, wich have values because they are unique and a value, wich can be traded.
What to do, if a potential client understands the value of a Digital art piece and want to get a certified single copy of a recent specific work of mine? Why should be a difference in real value between a painting and a digital image ?
I am not a fan of the idea in our digital age, to send a print or CD with the art work via Mail to somebody. Why should the client wait, if he can download it immediatly ? So here is a first proposal, wich I figured out today. Of course this idea is maybe not perfect, just I am interested what you may think about it. I know about various solutions of embedding a Digital watermark, but for me it is a kind of a boring technologie, because it is mostly not visible, if not added with a sort of visible digital stamp. Of course I am a big fan of the prospects of digital signatures, but I wanted to think on a pure artistic solution availble for everybody like this:
The digital image is either a single item or part of a edition of a certain amount. Let's say this image I want to sell is in two copies, wich are unique, and will never joined by additional authorised copies, that for I guarantee as an author.
See my example:
Quite a lot artists from all over the world working today completely or for parts digital. Like Steven Streight from Blog Core Values, to name one I like very much. An important question for me is the following: Ok, I painted that landscape in my studio in oil or acrylic, it is one original, and when it sells, the buyer gets it physicly to his house and hangs it on the wall next to his TV, if he likes the piece. There is no replica, the case is clear, he owns it now, until he will sell it to somebody else in the future.
But how relates a photo of my painting to the originality of art ? You could say, a photo is another medium, thus no painting. But, when I am showing a painting in my blog, it can't be a real painting, it must be a digital photo of a painting, but preferable as close as possible to the painting and without the specific character of a photo. The photo represents the painting in my blog and it is in practice more a painting than a photo. Seems a contradiction ?
With digital artwork the case is more clear. The piece is done digital and goes as it is to my blog. Everybody who likes it, can download it via right click and also print it out and frame it. Then this work could hang next to somebodies TV set elsewhere in Brazilia for example. But it would not be an authorized original by the author. And that is, what is the art market is based on - on certified individual items, wich have values because they are unique and a value, wich can be traded.
What to do, if a potential client understands the value of a Digital art piece and want to get a certified single copy of a recent specific work of mine? Why should be a difference in real value between a painting and a digital image ?
I am not a fan of the idea in our digital age, to send a print or CD with the art work via Mail to somebody. Why should the client wait, if he can download it immediatly ? So here is a first proposal, wich I figured out today. Of course this idea is maybe not perfect, just I am interested what you may think about it. I know about various solutions of embedding a Digital watermark, but for me it is a kind of a boring technologie, because it is mostly not visible, if not added with a sort of visible digital stamp. Of course I am a big fan of the prospects of digital signatures, but I wanted to think on a pure artistic solution availble for everybody like this:
The digital image is either a single item or part of a edition of a certain amount. Let's say this image I want to sell is in two copies, wich are unique, and will never joined by additional authorised copies, that for I guarantee as an author.
See my example:
It is a .gif- Animation consisting out of two frames. One frame is the artwork itself, the other frame is my certificate. It names title, author, year and says that it is a certificate. This could everybody else reproduce, but not the particular background image, wich is only me as author available. The frame rate is in my example set on 12 seconds the artwork and 5 seconds the certificate. The frame rate can be changed of course like to 30 seconds and 2 seconds or whatever you wish. The download site of this "original" is only available for my collector. The collector pays the money and downloads the piece and owns it. At the download site this piece will be as a two .png's for a better printing quality. One .png the artwork- the other the certificate.
That's it.
Grijsz
Labels: Neue Kunst
ΒΆ 10:12 PM
Comments:
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The idea seems bold - and somewhat naive...
I think the problem of authenticity is very complicated - and that is why we need the "art world" - to have them do the maths :). Otherwise, you are your own agent, and unless you're a good salesman, which I for example am not, you can end up losing reputation, which counts no matter what we think about it.
I think the problem of authenticity is very complicated - and that is why we need the "art world" - to have them do the maths :). Otherwise, you are your own agent, and unless you're a good salesman, which I for example am not, you can end up losing reputation, which counts no matter what we think about it.
I agree with vvoi who said, er, lots of good things.
And now I write what we will all assume is a transcription of my transmitted thoughts, transmission modality = text, online words.
There are those who disagree with all of this.
There are those who declare that digitial art is for the digital computer screen, and must not ever be printed or distributed in any other material.
I tend to agree with this severe policy, this hard, disciplined approach.
Digital art cannot be what it is when it is separated from its home medium (computer digital display device).
Just as an online version, display, of an oil painting is not an oil painting, but represents in digital version or format an oil painting...
...even so, a paper, linen, cotton, metallic impression of a digital art specimen is merely an inferior version, and not the art itself, thus ought not be sold in most cases.
Leave digital art in the digital realm.
This is what art galleries and art museums fear and hate. They cannot control the viewing or distribution of a digital art work.
The galleries and museums cannot control, manipulate, exploit a work of digital art. It develops its own legend apart from them.
Thus, we now have digital online art galleries, like Full Digital Art, where I have an online exhibition, in France.
And now I write what we will all assume is a transcription of my transmitted thoughts, transmission modality = text, online words.
There are those who disagree with all of this.
There are those who declare that digitial art is for the digital computer screen, and must not ever be printed or distributed in any other material.
I tend to agree with this severe policy, this hard, disciplined approach.
Digital art cannot be what it is when it is separated from its home medium (computer digital display device).
Just as an online version, display, of an oil painting is not an oil painting, but represents in digital version or format an oil painting...
...even so, a paper, linen, cotton, metallic impression of a digital art specimen is merely an inferior version, and not the art itself, thus ought not be sold in most cases.
Leave digital art in the digital realm.
This is what art galleries and art museums fear and hate. They cannot control the viewing or distribution of a digital art work.
The galleries and museums cannot control, manipulate, exploit a work of digital art. It develops its own legend apart from them.
Thus, we now have digital online art galleries, like Full Digital Art, where I have an online exhibition, in France.
I think one great advantage of Digital Made Art is its greate variety of output possebilities. On screen, on printer, on thin plastic screen foils wich can be hanged on a wall, via beamer, send as MMS, and whatever offers us future technologie.
Yes, vvoi, beeing your own salesman is a big problem, but it could be sold anyway by professional gallerists. The signiture could be part of the process of creating the piece.
I know quite some Gallerists buying artstuff abroad cheap, (also carpets, antiques etc.)and selling it only online, are they now no Gallerists or Artdealers anymore, because they do not do it the classical way ? People like critic Jerry Saltz got their attention (from me) only via online processes, I could other than online never knew about him. He writes his ideas often on art, wich I never saw different than on screen.
Thus in many cases the digital media seems to be a "Helper-media", but is in fact the prior fundamental media, like it is in any case for our blogs.
Painting- is an idea formed in an concept, got output by brushes, paint on canvas. It is a sensual package of idea, concept and form.
What else is a Digital Artwork ? I think it can be free distributed, available for everybody, downloaded, manipulated and so on, but it should have a possebilitiy to sign it as as an unique and specific package of idea, concept and form too.
Yes, vvoi, beeing your own salesman is a big problem, but it could be sold anyway by professional gallerists. The signiture could be part of the process of creating the piece.
I know quite some Gallerists buying artstuff abroad cheap, (also carpets, antiques etc.)and selling it only online, are they now no Gallerists or Artdealers anymore, because they do not do it the classical way ? People like critic Jerry Saltz got their attention (from me) only via online processes, I could other than online never knew about him. He writes his ideas often on art, wich I never saw different than on screen.
Thus in many cases the digital media seems to be a "Helper-media", but is in fact the prior fundamental media, like it is in any case for our blogs.
Painting- is an idea formed in an concept, got output by brushes, paint on canvas. It is a sensual package of idea, concept and form.
What else is a Digital Artwork ? I think it can be free distributed, available for everybody, downloaded, manipulated and so on, but it should have a possebilitiy to sign it as as an unique and specific package of idea, concept and form too.
yes, there is some "watermark" service that I can access via Paint Shop Pro, but it costs a bit of money and I don't understand how it protects a digital art specimen.
So your attempt to solve this problem is to be cheered.
So your attempt to solve this problem is to be cheered.
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