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Photography - the new painting? By Gerry Badger, from Ag25 |
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In the art market, major contemporary photographers, such as Robert Adams or Lee Friedlander - because they are perceived as photographers, emanating from the photographic tradition - do not command the prices of figures such as Thomas Struth or Cindy Sherman who, a mere generation or half generation later, are perceived as ‘artists’, emanating from the contemporary art tradition. Thus a considered distinction - and price differential - remains between photographs and photographic ‘works’, though this is diminishing greatly. Nevertheless, this ‘two tier’ distinction will remain a factor for some time to come, until the day that figures such as Friedlander or Adams are regarded as major artists, not just major photographers, and their work priced accordingly. What is absolutely clear is that photography is everywhere, and that photographs of all kinds are fetching higher prices than ever, a factor that must encourage photographers and collectors and ensure the continuing popularity of the medium. Not that photography needs to court popularity with the exhibition attending public. Photographic exhibitions are usually a sure-fire recipe for large attendances in museums or galleries, but the collecting of photographs arguably still has some way to go to catch up - despite the fact that, even today, would-be collectors can enter at all levels. For some then, photography certainly can be considered the ‘new painting’, but it seems to me there is a potential fly in the ointment. What are all those trendy corporations and collectors who have paid thousands for large colour prints going to do when their expensive acquisitions begin to yellow before their eyes? The longevity of C-type and other colour processes is something that everyone seems to push under the carpet at the moment, but it will surely become a factor both in the market and our perception of the medium in the near future. One does not expect one’s oil or acrylic to change colour quite so quickly. Gerry Badger |
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