Art Lecture

9 April, we have crossed into a new time zone; I am now 5 hours ahead of Healdsburg and we are about to cross the equator. It is very overcast and it rained through the night. The sea is choppy but not at all uncomfortable. The temperature is 85F and it is very humid. I find it much easier to walk now. It does take some time to adjust your sense of balance to accommodate for the rolling even on very calm days. I think perhaps I planted my right foot to hard and too often and that’s what caused the flair-up. It’s much better now.
3 days at sea??? I looked at the schedule for today and aside from attending King Neptune’s court, the only things of interest are a lecture on the last 5 ports, an art lecture [I suspect it is part of the gallery sales program], the variety show this evening and of course FOOD!
How about I give a lecture?
The gallery/art sales/auctions aboard ship are really disappointing. I guess with a captive audience you can do as you please, but promoting this stuff as “collectible” and “likely to increase greatly in value” falls just short of fraud. Professionally [I was in the art business for about 15 years] I watched the legitimate sale of original artists prints [etchings, lithographs, silk-screens etc.] deteriorate to a “used car salesman” mentality in a matter of two or three years. We are not talking about unknowns either. Calder and Dali were the first to show this loss of integrity. Their respective families and handlers saw an opportunity when these artists were on their deathbeds and were virtually unable to resist. There hands were made to hold pencils while the agents of greed [including immediate family] moved them to make a signature on stacks and stacks of blank art paper. The images were to be added later. Speculation was that there were tens of thousands of sheet “signed by the artist” and stored for future editions. Then there was the “signed in the stone/plate” scam that involved the artist signing the original piece that was to be reproduced and then never again having anything to do with it. Aside from some archival consideration this was little more that Xeroxing. We also saw the “strictly limited edition” label that simply meant that when sales slowed down they would destroy or deface the plate/stone/screen. The edition could run into the thousands. This also included the “artist’s edition” pieces. Prints designated “E.A.” were traditionally the first pulls of the piece and were reserved for the artist’s own use. They were much valued because they were done when the plate was fresh. Now it is merely a means of running more of an edition while claiming it to be limited to “500.”
Not all artists are guilty of this type of marketing but it is the rule, not the exception.
When buying an “original” piece of art, especially a “reproduction” like a silk-screen, etching etc. ask very specific questions and get documentation to the effect that the artist did, in fact, sign the very paper that the image is on and signed it after the piece was pulled and signed it without the help of others in the case of infirmity. Always inquire as to the number of images pulled including “E.A.” Editions over 500 are considered excessive. “Open” editions show a disregard for the medium. “Open” editions are numbered in succession without the total number being established until the sales dwindle. An “Open” edition can and often does run into the thousands and tens of thousands. Many popular contemporary artists and I am using that term very loosely, create a body of work akin to The Franklin Mint type of collectible. Salesmen will tell you that earlier pieces by their artists now command extraordinary premiums so buy this one and in a few years you will have a retirement fund. Have you ever tried to resell a Franklin Mint piece for the original market value? Not even on eBay. So if you must own a Thomas Kincaid, buy an original oil or acrylic or whatever medium he uses, one that he created with his own hand and signed with his own hand. The rest of his line are overpriced copies and photographic copies too. There is a process known as photolithography which involves a photo reproduction transferred to the artist’s plate or stone. If you must have a specific image find a nice poster and have that framed. If you must have the artist’s signature, get his autograph as it’s worth just about as much as if it were affixed to his work. And don’t show me a “certificate of authenticity.” If you are offered or want a certificate of authenticity you are probably dealing with someone who should not be called an art dealer.
Sorry, my lecture turned into a rant and a long one.