In October, I wrote to Noam Chomsky because few years ago when Savant was 16 or 17 he did a picture that featured a quote by him. After Savant became sick I sold prints of some of his art work on eBay, including that one. Being the opportunistic capitalist / devoted mother that I am, I put the prints back on eBay for sale recently and I wanted to set my son's mind at ease about violating Mr. Chomsky's copyright. We received a positive reply from one of his representatives, giving permission and a request for one of the prints for Mr. Chomsky's archives.
Yesterday, I finally got Savant to sign some of the prints, a limited edition of fifty prints, though we were given permission for an edition of up to 100. Today, about two months later, I'm going to finally get it mailed. I hope. I think I may send a couple of extras. Maybe Mr. Chomsky will sign one and send it back to Savant.
I'm kind of embarrassed that it's taken so long, but if your artist is not himself for a while, it's a slow process just to get him to sign some. Also, my computer that fried, had the good pictures of it, and the digital camera only interfaced with the old computer, so I had to wait for Savant to provide better examples for me to use on eBay so you can tell what the print looks like. But I'm not going to do that today.
I have a question for the art savvy. I understand the reasoning, in the past, for numbering each print. The litho stone image or the image etched into a metal plate, becomes deteriorated by the printing process. The first prints have the best image quality. If you are not using an intaglio or stone litho process, each image should be as good as the first, right? Negating the need to number. We number them anyway, because it is traditional and they are nicely done, acid free paper stock, etc., but I wonder with the new media available today, if numbering prints will become a thing of the past?
I don't know. I think the numbering holds meaning for the collector in that it implies inclusivity. Numbering in a sense can be good marketing.
ReplyDeleteToo Fat, SN <---- mother is retire photog
Well, in a run of, say 300 or even 1000, I doubt any degradation occurs because of wear to the plate/stone. I always thought numbering was a way of indicating rarity. A printing press, even a primitive one, can produce thousands of more or less identical prints. But one guy can only number and sign so many in a day.
ReplyDeleteAnd if he's legitimately only making fifty, it's an authentication tool, I suppose. Or psychological reinforcement that the print you bought is not as common as the dogs playing poker.