Downtrodden

You know that anxiety right before the party, where you’re sure no one will show up? It’s never true, of course. The evening is always full, and everyone has a great time.

Well, what if you’re right, and no one does show up? This is essentially the outcome of a four-photographer studio sale (Mel Curtis, Michael Gesinger, Connie Wellnitz and me) that has been a month in the making. We ordered food for 150, and expected that to give out after a couple of hours. Mel bought five cases of wine. A studio full of bins of our photographs, and the walls covered with framed pieces. A thousand cards sent out. All of us have reputations and a following, and with our combined effort we expected a big turnout.

At the peak there were a dozen people in the studio, including the four artists. The sale is continuing all day today—in the first four hours five people have come through. The afternoon has seen a bit of a flurry—the closest we’d had to a crowd, perhaps 8 people in the studio—and we made some sales. It appears we will barely cover the catering bill.

I have had print sales in my home every two or three years. My first sale in 1998 was a "send-me-to-Ireland" event ("The more you spend, the longer I’ll stay away"), which was hugely successful. My sales this decade have seen a diminishing return, each one a smaller turnout and fewer sales. The recession has had a huge effect, of course, which appears to be lingering.

It makes me ponder the viability of devoting so much of my effort to fine art work for its own sake. My personal shooting, the black and white panoramics, is the most compelling work I do, and it feeds the sensiblity of my commercial imagery. But, standing on its own, it hasn’t a chance. The total amount of photographs I’ve sold in the past four years doesn’t come close to paying for my frame inventory.

Comments

[Martin Stabler]

I'm sorry about the paucity of sales, but for me, it was a visual feast. I love the work of all four of you. Keep up the good work, and don't lose heart. Cheers, Martin