(I figured I ought to put up a tree picture, lest you came here for my pictures. This is NOT a 20 x 200 offering.)Is 20 x 200 good for photographers? I ask the question, because as often as I hit the "buy" button, I sit back and watch the marketplace determine the relative worth/desirability of the art or artist. Predictably, the big names go fast, regardless of the quality of the offering. After all, it's my only chance of affording one--at the low bargain price of $20. I and every other person eagerly poised at their computer midday on Wednesday,
as the soft fleshy part of our index fingers wait, poised gently on that mouse for the email alert, press down and collectively think, "Well, maybe I can get $40 on Ebay." As often as I get a beautiful one from and up and comer with some accolades that make them sell out in an instant, I find something I just love, and watch as my purchase is rejected as a "good investment" by the marketplace--three hours later, still 183 available. Damn it.
When in one's career is it a good idea to be in the 20 x 200 club? Does an edition that isn't gone inside of two hours signal your gallery that maybe that one-person show next Spring isn't such a good idea? If you can't sell them for $20.... Jen Beckman sells our potential for $20, $200, and $2,000 every Wednesday, and we like lap dogs apparently keep running to the front of the line and yelling, "Pick Me! Pick Me!"
What if you don't have a gallery? You are already at a disadvantage, because history shows that there are only about 43 of us buying what we like regardless of pedigree of the artist on a regular basis. Good luck getting a gallery now. If you can't sell them for $20... Pick me.
Is 20 x 200 good for galleries? Well, it does help them figure out what in the general population will embrace. It lessens the risk, if you will, by the gallery in loaning that place in the flat files one tends to occupy for two years before they deign to put your name on their web site. Perhaps it speeds the rejection. Perhaps it fuels the fire. Either way, the gallerist becomes informed by the process, and it's good...for them.
The one question we needn't pose is, "Is 20 x 200 good for Jen Beckman?" On a good week, when the marketplace is eager, and we addicts overload Google Checkout, there can be gross sales of $24,000. One hopes the artist gets 50%, leaving a nice cushion of potentially $48,000 per month on top of the sales she generates when she, all to often, culls her picks from her own stable each month. "Well, no that 30" x 40" is no longer available, but in the flat file I have..."
20 x 200 is great for Jen Beckman. But don't forget, Jen Beckman is running a business, and she deserves to be paid for her work as well. Rent is high on the Island of Manhattan.
Nothing is forever.
Is 20 x 200 a determinate of the health of our economy? In the last two weeks, five of six editions have not sold out. If one travels back month by month, the down-trend is evident. Less people are risking the "BUY NOW" button, where in the early months, rarely could one pick up one of the small edition prints. Lately, they are plentiful. The special edition Thursdays are of greatest concern. They seem to happen on the weeks when things are either really slow, or really happening in the 20 x 200-mart. I am watching now, as today's limps slowly toward a sellout. And I find myself sitting here thinking...Two hours later, still 57 available. Whew, I didn't buy it.
We're up now, at the end of the week, but after the long weekend, will the trend continue? Will the Tuesday sell out? Will it be fast? Does the slowness with which today's special edition is marching toward a sellout...55 still available...indicate a reticence in the buying market? Will Warren Buffet (who is the art collector equivalent?) jump in and buy out the rest? It doesn't seem like the infusion of the Micky Smith a couple of weeks ago is going to trickle down. So for now, I'm going to sit on my little 8" x 10" investments and wonder: If a day comes, when Jen Beckman picks me, will I want picking?
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4 comments:
Excellent post.
20 X 200 gives me the willies in both good and bad ways. Imagine the exposure! Says half of my brain... and then there is that inner socialist-art-snob that just doesn't want to immediately make another instant commodity.
It is a slippery slope. And if I get to have my choice, I think I will continue to think of myself and my work as "rarified"... not as overlooked because I'm not the current blue light special.
Please Jen!
Don't pick me!
It's a question I encourage you to ask, but I think you'll surprised by the correct answer. Your rough numbers look rosy, and I'd be thrilled for it to be accurate. The overhead for 20x200 is considerable, and while it has indeed been successful, it's not been nearly the piece of cake that it might seem. Also consider that keeping a gallery up and running in NYC is struggle for most, myself included. I've some how managed to do it for 6 years, but it certainly has been an enormous challenge. (I've been very frank about those challenges, which you'll discover if you Google me and read some press/interviews I've done.)
The artists do get 50% and it's hard to put a dollar amount against the exposure that comes with releasing an edition. Suffice to say that it's immense, and often game-changing. Drop a line to the artists who've done editions with us to hear about their experiences. I think you'll find that they've been overwhelmingly positive. (And if there are unhappy artists, I'd be unhappy to have not heard from them directly about it.)
I don't at all understand why you take issue with my working with... the artists that I work with. Why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't they?
One last aside: It's true that there haven't been as many editions selling out immediately, but it's in large part due to external factors (the economy) and intention. A lot of our collectors were frustrated by not having an opportunity to buy work from artists, and at times there was not a single edition on the home page available in the $20 size. We dramatically increased the number of editions that we were doing. More often than not, we now debut an artist with two images rather than a single one.
I can't lie: the excitement and the revenue of a sell out edition are good for the artist and the company; the pressure of the economy's downturn have been tough on us. That said, the fact that a collector can now browse a wide variety of available works on the site is appealing to us and them. It's a lot of hard work to optimize the site for that type of experience, but it's interesting.
The 20x200 team works very, very hard, and I can assure you that money is not our motivator. We believe that art should be accessible to a broad audience and that artists should be able to make real income from their art. That's something that's good for all involved, and I believe it's also something that ultimately makes the world a better place.
http://andrewschroeder.wordpress.com/2008/12/05/critical-dialog-links/
I spilled a beverage on my keyboard Thursday, and have been forced to copy and paste in the number 6, the letters y,h, and n, as well as the question mark since then. So as I am doing so now, I will be brief. Here's a live link to the previous comment, which I enjoyed much, and will respond all as soon as I "do't ave to tpe like tis". Here is Andrew Schroeder's link!
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