3 November

Rethinking Photography and Art

by Jon Katz

Considering this photo of Rose working for my photo show, “Portraits of My Life,” January 9, Redux Gallery, Dorset, Vt.

  November 3, 2009 – Selling photography is tricky, because it costs so much to take, print, frame and show photos that almost nobody wants to buy them. For “fine art” photographers – that is not me – that’s okay, because they believe their photos are worth a lot of money. I get my props off of books and writing, and I don’t see selling photos as a way for me to make a living. When Christine Nemec asked me if I would agree to a photo show in January at her gallery in Vermont, I was, of course, pleased and excited. But now comes the practical dilemma. How much to spend on framing, and matting and printing? I don’t want these photos to be priced beyond anybody’s reach. So I talked with Jon and Carolyn, at the Image Loft in Manchester and I proposed this kind of arrangement: some of the photos will be expensively matted and framed and shown and sold as “art.” None will be sold for thousands of dollars.
  Some – especially some of the dogs and farm animals – will be printed small, and framed simply. I hope they can be sold for as little as $150, depending on what Christine thinks and how Jon and Carolyn figure it out. This will offer two ways of showing my photos – the “artistic” ones will be larger and done up, some will be presented very much with cost in mind. Hopefully this is an arrangement that will make the photos more accessible. The photos will be up at  Redux all month, and I will give a talk about the portraits and my photography when the show opens.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email SignupFree Email Signup