The rising popularity of original art reproduction prints 2 2

[Mr. Machismo]

Surprised a number of you are keen on hanging reproductions or artist edition clippings, whether for reasons of safekeeping or accessibility. For me, once I first got into originals it almost felt like a step back to collect prints. If I’m going to delegate wall space, the original will get it every time, with the exception being where we host guests, which is instead James Jean giclees. 

That said, I understand it from an art appreciation standpoint. I picked up my first artist edition in DKR and it’s very cool to look at. 

On 10/9/2018 at 4:03 PM, Carlo M said:

So I had a high resolution scan made, had it cleaned from all the imperfections, and had it printed in shining B&W on a massive aluminium sheet (approx 60x40) and had it hung in my study,.

Very cool...would love to see a photo of that. If you’re not comfortable posting publicly, could you PM me? By the way, museum glass will protect your art from sunlight. 

On 10/9/2018 at 5:48 AM, timguerrero said:

This is something that should worry Original Art Collectors as you might not be able to tell from an ebay auction if what you are purchasing is really Original Art or a print. I live outside the USA and sometimes OA gets sent to a friends house and I don't get it until 3 onths later to a year thus making it impossible for me to file a claim after such a long time since purchase has passed. Needless to say another thing to worry about when purchasing OA.

Agreed. As shared above, it’s too easy for the average person to mistake a repro for the real thing. This is why I buy primarily direct from artist/rep or well-known CAFers. It is far too easy to create a beautiful giclee repro (while I would never do it, I know exactly how and it’s minimal effort.)

Edited October 10, 2018 by Mr. Machismo

[aokartman]

If making any copy of art you own is against the law, how is it interpreted when you make a digital copy (i.e., CAF) for personal use?  Is the distinction made between digital and hard copy?  Is the legal line crossed when someone SELLS a copy (versus personal use)?  What about dealer catalogs showing copies?  Can they legally charge for the catalog?

So many questions.

I have made reference copies of original comic art, and other art, digital and hard, for personal use, but I would not sell them and hard copies are marked as reference copies NFS.  This seems reasonable to me.

[Rick2you2]

12 hours ago, rogue14 said:

In essence we cannot make copies of art that we do not have the rights to reproduce? I’d think making a photocopy of an image just for personal use would be ok. Surprised kinkos didn’t allow this. 

I’d agree that keeping the OA in safe keeping and a reprint for showing is ideal.

If it's for truly personal use, I thnk you can. As a practical matter, I can't imagine someone would come after you. Kinko's is probably concerned it would be used otherwise.

[Peter L]

5 hours ago, Mr. Machismo said:

Surprised a number of you are keen on hanging reproductions or artist edition clippings, whether for reasons of safekeeping or accessibility. For me, once I first got into originals it almost felt like a step back to collect prints. If I’m going to delegate wall space, the original will get it every time, with the exception being where we host guests, which is instead James Jean giclees. 

Would love to see your photos of the James Jean giclees.  Why do you show these where the guests are?

[Peter L]

On 10/8/2018 at 5:42 PM, NelsonAI said:

Btw - Warner Bros.' stores was doing this for years.  The store, which was also a subsidiary of Time Warner, commissioned DC artists like Bruce Timm, Alex Ross, and Jim Lee to do pin-ups which were monetized by selling limited edition giclees.  When those sold out, limited edition artist proofs were sold.

Alex Ross was smart enough to replicate the business model without Warner Bros.

Everyone else has been catching up.

 

My understanding is that Alex Ross is the only artist who was able to get a license to make high quality limited prints from DC and Marvel.  Other well known artists have tried to in the past and were unable to get the approval.  I spoke to an agent who was trying to get his well known A list comic artist client the same rights and has been unable to.

[Peter L]

A few months ago I was sent an email from a comic artist's rep with attached photos of art to buy before it was posted online for sale.  I wrote back and said I wanted one of the pages.  In the mail I got a print of the art.  It had a seal on the back and came with a certificate of authenticity.  I wrote the agent back and asked where is the original art.  

The agent responded, what do you mean?  It clearly says on the artist's website that there is no physical art and that you would only be getting a print.  

Part of me is a little upset about the attitude response from the agent.  I never saw the website and any kind of fine print because the offer was sent to me by email.  I didn't even know there was a website.  The original email offering the art for sale only has four sentences and none mention it is not original art.  

However, it is a beautiful piece of art and not that much money to me and not worth enough to make any kind of issue over it.  But I post this to warn all of you that this sort of thing exists from a rep who handles sales for an artist working for one of the big books.

[Peter L]

On 10/8/2018 at 1:58 AM, Mr. Machismo said:

 

While I dislike the idea of someone owning a near-indistinguishable reproduction (at least from wall-viewing distance) or displaying a repro, I do see the benefit of allowing an accessible entry-point to the hobby which also acts to educate the typical reader to the existence of original art. Will it bring in new collectors, increase the circulation of counterfeits, create a niche corner of the hobby which crosses prints with originals, or...?

 

I own some pieces of original art that the artist wanted me to have scanned because when he did them they didn't have high quality scanners like they do today.  So they told me where to go, and I took them to a business in a commercial area that apparently produces a lot of high quality prints for Marvel and other companies.  One of the prints sitting around were stacks of a Marvel print made for Stan Lee to sign.  I couldn't tell if it was original or a copy looking at just the top one except for the large stack.  When I got my originals back I couldn't tell if it was a copy or not because their work was so good.  Fortunately I had secretly marked the back of my art with almost imperceptible marks and I had all the art reframed by my trusted guy, and we could see the slight warping of the paper with watercolor in some, and an area where there was tape damage when it was shipped to me.

As a thank you to me, I wanted a DVD cover scanned and printed because I liked the image and wanted a poster.  He made a huge one, and even though the DVD box was small, there is virtually no disintegration of the image.  It's not like the desktop computer scanners that we all have.

 

[Peter L]

On 10/8/2018 at 1:58 AM, Mr. Machismo said:

While I dislike the idea of someone owning a near-indistinguishable reproduction (at least from wall-viewing distance) or displaying a repro, I do see the benefit of allowing an accessible entry-point to the hobby which also acts to educate the typical reader to the existence of original art. Will it bring in new collectors, increase the circulation of counterfeits, create a niche corner of the hobby which crosses prints with originals, or...?

 

Deborah Ann Woll is the actress who plays Karen Page on Daredevil.  She just posted this last night.

[Carlo M]

12 hours ago, Mr. Machismo said:

Surprised a number of you are keen on hanging reproductions or artist edition clippings, whether for reasons of safekeeping or accessibility. For me, once I first got into originals it almost felt like a step back to collect prints. If I’m going to delegate wall space, the original will get it every time, with the exception being where we host guests, which is instead James Jean giclees. 

That said, I understand it from an art appreciation standpoint. I picked up my first artist edition in DKR and it’s very cool to look at. 

Very cool...would love to see a photo of that. If you’re not comfortable posting publicly, could you PM me? By the way, museum glass will protect your art from sunlight. 

Agreed. As shared above, it’s too easy for the average person to mistake a repro for the real thing. This is why I buy primarily direct from artist/rep or well-known CAFers. It is far too easy to create a beautiful giclee repro (while I would never do it, I know exactly how and it’s minimal effort.)

PM sent

[Rick2you2]

8 hours ago, Peter L said:

My understanding is that Alex Ross is the only artist who was able to get a license to make high quality limited prints from DC and Marvel.  Other well known artists have tried to in the past and were unable to get the approval.  I spoke to an agent who was trying to get his well known A list comic artist client the same rights and has been unable to.

I don't know if they are giclee's., but Neil Adams sells a lot of his copies of original work at shows.