Thinking, not the age-old dilemma of Art vs Commercialism, but rather the notion of simply paying the rent! The site was primarily intended to make the work visible in the hope of attracting a little business. I believe it’s every artists dream to earn a living selling their work if not just to cover the expense of materials.
My first impulse was to develop a website. I looked at several packages, one being Yahoos’ (do it yourself) and was thoroughly unimpressed. Sure it was inexpensive, but it lacked all the features I have grown accustomed to when visiting quality websites. Perhaps they were add-on features, but the drab background colours and the amateurish “whatever’s” were all a bit of a turnoff. Like anything else, taste is purely subjective.
For the moment, I am living “sans automobile” outside of New York City. Finding an adept web designer seemed an arduous task at best. To my surprise, of the few that were listed, one was relatively close. I had viewed the site and saved their link a year earlier when the concept first developed. What you now see is the user friendly interface I was first attracted to but it wasn’t cheap! Refinement never is.
The Impressions of History
Prior to the Internet, there were magazine ads selling art reproductions through the mail. When still in my teens, I purchased a copy of Bosch's’, Garden of Earthly Delight on canvas . . . didn’t everyone!
It was a pale, unembellished print and yet it still managed to capture my imagination. At the time, the concept of the Triptych story board (a visual aid that guides the viewer through the plot) was an artistic revelation. Anyway, the experience left a lasting impression which I later interpreted as “Do Not Screw with the Integrity of an Image” for the purpose of display . . . or not!
Since the original artwork was a canvas (1503-1504), it made perfect sense (but not necessarily) to buy a canvas . . . right? My point is simply this, there are a myriad of subconscious associations with visual imagery and we all connect uniquely to each one. The problem is, when a customer asks my opinion on which type of print to buy, do I bite the bullet and get philosophical or do I give them the “spiel” about taste being purely subjective.
To be continued . . .
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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