buy and print your art cheaply

January 11, 2005 9:54 AM

Artocracyis aiming to use the net to democratize yet another expensive thing in the world: the sale and distribution of art works. While the first works offered aren't that impressive and having to use your own inkjet is a limiting factor, I like the direction this is going in. From their Gallery, you can purchase prints from a dozen or so artists, in the range of $20-50, and then print as many as you wish at home. The Seattle PI has a full story. Perhaps this will spark a "long tail" of small change art sales from folks used to getting several thousand per canvas sold, while at the same time allowing any Tom, Dick, or Harry to have some nice looking apartment walls at home.
posted by mathowie (16 comments total)

I like the idea, and I wish that it was more widespread, especially with photographic stuff, I wish someone could convice more photographers to do this.

Why don't they get a nice printer and offer you the option of having them print for you and then priority mail you the print for 10 -12 bucks more?
posted by Divine_Wino at 10:08 AM on January 11, 2005

I like this idea and I might try to submit my work to something like this, but I also think that they should do the printing. I don't have a great photo printer and most people don't have a printer that will print hangable, displayable prints.
posted by crazy finger at 10:14 AM on January 11, 2005

I like this idea a lot.
posted by trbrts at 10:20 AM on January 11, 2005

print at home? bad idea.

It'd be like going to a fine restaurant and instead of eating there, you come home with the recipe to knock together the meal yourself with the half mouldy ingredients you scavange from the fridge.
posted by devbrain at 11:28 AM on January 11, 2005

What's to stop someone from making multiples and selling them? Or not even selling them, but making multiples period? Doesn't seem like a great deal on the artist's end, necessarily.
posted by yoga at 11:32 AM on January 11, 2005

What devbrain said. This is neato in theory, completely and utterly idiotic in practice.
posted by basicchannel at 12:11 PM on January 11, 2005

ART RULES -- ink jesters!!!

BWAH-ha-ha-ha-HAAAH!!!
posted by gorgor_balabala at 12:29 PM on January 11, 2005

So, this is like www.deviantart.com except without the variety of art and printing?
posted by srt19170 at 12:48 PM on January 11, 2005

The art equivalent of the vanity press.
posted by QuietDesperation at 1:15 PM on January 11, 2005

I right clicked on C. Cardinale's "Winter", put it in My Pictures, inserted it into a Word document, enlarged it a bit and printed it on ordinary paper. I could put it in my printer and have it make an 8.5 x 11" copy, but I will not.
Does it look like the original? Not really. It is a bad idea because I have blurred the nuances of the artist and stolen his/her work. Shame on me.
It was just an exercise. If I really wanted the picture, I would follow the guidelines for purchase.
posted by Cranberry at 2:32 PM on January 11, 2005

ebay already has this covered. A friend of mine regularly buys attractive, hand-painted pieces for <$50 -- he bought one piece for $1. The framing generally costs far more than the actual painting. I don't think I could, in good conscience, pay less than $50 for a piece, though.

As an aside, I really feel for the artists who are getting screwed by what is essentially the commoditization of their craft. I've painted a few pieces myself, and I'd be pretty pissed to only get a few bucks for work that took a week or more. Not to mention that whole payin-the-bills thing.

Just seems as though the "starving artists" among us will have even less to eat as this continues.

Divine_Wino & crazy finger:
FWIW, there's a (separate, unrelated) service out there that will print graphics onto canvas for you: www.canvasprinters.com -- no affiliation, no experience w/ these guys, just seems like a cool service
posted by LordSludge at 2:42 PM on January 11, 2005

Yeah, but this guy's artwork, consists of pictures he just took off the web or something - I remember when that picture of the women wearing burqas ran in the NY Times. So any money he's making is gravy!
posted by extrabox at 4:26 PM on January 11, 2005

You rang?

All those people who said: interesting concept-- bad printer, I concur.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:40 PM on January 11, 2005

Hmmm, interesting.

I might give it a shot.
posted by kamylyon at 4:53 PM on January 11, 2005

As soon as I get my computer fixed so I can access my work. *sigh*
posted by kamylyon at 4:54 PM on January 11, 2005

So you're accessing MeFi using what? A typewriter? ESP? :)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:31 PM on January 11, 2005