Peter Lik Set World Record in 2014

[Pieter12]

I couldn't care less if I spell it right or not.

And of course a label such as "artist" can mean absolutely anything or absolutely nothing, just like the term "art" itself.
Everyone is allowed their own definition, or to spend their money and decorate their house as they please. But their are certain rules. When someone has their favorite rap music "artist" cranked up to full volume at 2:AM in the morning, and I can't sleep, I call the cops because it's a violation of city code. When someone misrepresents the provenance, quantity, or "investment" value of pictures they sell, there are enforceable laws in certain States against that kind of thing too,
and if not, certainly interested lawsuit lawyers.

Like any self-serving crook Lik is a weasel, careful not to directly claim his work will appreciate in value. The pitch is as an edition sells, the cost of prints in the gallery increases.

 

[DREW WILEY]

I suspect the sales agents are commissioned, so, within certain parameters, can negotiate prices either way up or way down, just like car salesman. And likewise, a Jerry Lundegaard kind of car salesman might claim he has to hold to a certain minimum price because it's the last one of these he has in the dealer lot, even though there are two dozen more in the big lot across the street. And then there are all the add ons like framing and shipping from the plant, undercoating, tires, bumpers, excise tax, look at it from the front side tax, look at it from the back side tax, tire kicker tax, etc etc.

Lik's sales crew in Lahaina was distinctly more professional than the obviously shady (but friendly) high heeled, short-skirted one in Vegas. They had a good sense of humor, tiptoed around sensitive questions, and were careful how they phrased certain things they still tried to imply, like investment notions. I suspect Lik paid them well. He's not so dumb as to repeat Kinkade's errors in that respect. But because I interacted with high paid sales pros for four decades as a professional buyer, it's pretty easy for me to detect BS sales psychology. But what someone claims over the web is still pretty much a Wild West without any sober Sheriff in the town.

Of course, that particular LIk showroom is over with, and neither of the sales people I chatted with looked anything like typical Lahaina residents, so were probably out of town after hours when the fire hit late at night. A different individual had invested his life savings in a brand new gallery up the street, in an old remodeled building, for sake of his own actual oil paintings, all of them, and scheduled the grand opening for the very next day, but then lost every bit of it in the fire first. I feel a lot sorrier for him.

 

[Paul Ozzello]

All this Peter Lik bashing seems more like frustrated photographer envy and y’all need to get over it.

I stopped by his NYC gallery some 20 years ago and his work was impeccable. Most of his work at the time was shot with a 617 on Velvia and it was very impressive technically. Excellent composition, perfect metering, lighting, and exceptional prints. Most of his work was produced on some derivative of Fuji flex paper and the results were extremely high quality - most members on this forum could only dream about having such technical skills. The rest is subjective - you either like his work or you don’t - just like any other artist.

I saw a few of his films and personally I can’t stand the guy - too much of an ego - but who cares. He’s obviously a passionate photographer and loves the beauty of nature and wanted to become successful following his passion. The whole art industry is a scam to begin with and I can only respect someone that persevered by opening his own galleries and becoming independently successful.

Good for him.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

All this Peter Lik bashing seems more like frustrated photographer envy and y’all need to get over it.

I stopped by his NYC gallery some 20 years ago and his work was impeccable. Most of his work at the time was shot with a 617 on Velvia and it was very impressive technically. Excellent composition, perfect metering, lighting, and exceptional prints. Most of his work was produced on some derivative of Fuji flex paper and the results were extremely high quality - most members on this forum could only dream about having such technical skills. The rest is subjective - you either like his work or you don’t - just like any other artist.

I saw a few of his films and personally I can’t stand the guy - too much of an ego - but who cares. He’s obviously a passionate photographer and loves the beauty of nature and wanted to become successful following his passion. The whole art industry is a scam to begin with and I can only respect someone that persevered by opening his own galleries and becoming independently successful.

Good for him.

+1

 

[DREW WILEY]

I suspect some people have never even seen actual high quality color printing, or even the actual kind of lighting of certain scenes which has been disgustingly mauled for stereotypical fictitious effect. Jealous? Over what??????
He's not passionate about nature at all - otherwise he wouldn't treat it like a street whore slathered with cheap makeup. Get real. Doesn't see a damn thing. Why would anyone be jealous of that. Large format photography isn't about just making a buck. There are all kinds of other way to make a living, and probably the majority of truly skilled photographers and printmakers do choose alternatives, just so they can do their photography in the manner they want, and not what the tourist market demands.

It's more about ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING the light and composing with it than anything else. Who wants to miss it all, just for sake with walking away with something that's going to get ludicrously fake colorized anyway. Composition? LIK is a compete hack at it; a zero. Just big oversized gaudy postcards. The color consciousness is equivalent to a kindergartner with finger paints.

Each to his own I suppose. But It's an outright insult to my eyes, and an insult to actual natural beauty; and nothing of it I've personally seen was even printed anywhere near the standard I'm accustomed to seeing from serious practitioners.

 

[faberryman]

All this Peter Lik bashing seems more like frustrated photographer envy and y’all need to get over it.

I stopped by his NYC gallery some 20 years ago and his work was impeccable. Most of his work at the time was shot with a 617 on Velvia and it was very impressive technically. Excellent composition, perfect metering, lighting, and exceptional prints. Most of his work was produced on some derivative of Fuji flex paper and the results were extremely high quality - most members on this forum could only dream about having such technical skills. The rest is subjective - you either like his work or you don’t - just like any other artist.

I saw a few of his films and personally I can’t stand the guy - too much of an ego - but who cares. He’s obviously a passionate photographer and loves the beauty of nature and wanted to become successful following his passion. The whole art industry is a scam to begin with and I can only respect someone that persevered by opening his own galleries and becoming independently successful.

Good for him.

Where you hear frustrated photographer envy in previous posts, I hear disdain. A lot of people are successful at selling all manner of things, but unless you are someone who indiscriminately worships at the altar of Mammon, I see no reason to respect Peter Lik, his sales practices, or his photography. On the subjective side, I think his photographs are garish. YMMV.

 

[Paul Ozzello]

I think his photographs are garish

So is the chateau de Versailles, Mannerism…

 

[faberryman]

So is the chateau de Versailles, Mannerism…

I don't think Peter Lik's photographs will ever be confused with the French Baroque style.

My use of garish was a nod to the backlit transparencies in Peter Lik's galleries. Maybe lurid would have been a better descriptor of his work. Of course, one man's lurid is another man's spectacular, so YMMV.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Was Versailles also decorated with four colors of fluorescent spray paint? That would have landed someone in the Bastille, or worse.

 

[Pieter12]

Overpriced, giant postcards.

 

[Richard Man]

Boy, I can't wait until you guys talk about the collapse of NFT

 

[MattKing]

Boy, I can't wait until you guys talk about the collapse of NFT

That, we will use our moderator's scythe on!

 

[faberryman]

Boy, I can't wait until you guys talk about the collapse of NFT

I thought NFTs already collapsed. Did I miss something?

 

[DREW WILEY]

What does NFT stand for? Something football related? If it represents, Noxious Faux Tableau, we're already there.

Anyway .... Storm breaking up... gotta go outside and look the pretty real clouds.

 

[Pieter12]

NFT=Nefarious Financial Treachery

 

[MattKing]

Either Stop, or:

 

[Pieter12]

Please put us out of our misery.

 

[chriscrawfordphoto]

I've read all the negative articles for years about Lik and Kincaid probably included that one from 2014. They're all the same. Also, I've commented on the Phantom picture years ago in forums and believe it was probably a friend who "bought" the picture for publicity to help Lik market his pictures. Lik does what galleries do with limited editions and other ways to keep the prices up. Most photographers starve without their day job. Kincaid cheated on his taxes. Who cares? Millions of his fans got spiritual inspiration from his work and still do. We're talking about art and how to sell it. No one cared that VanGogh cut his ear off. It didn't help him sell his paintings until after he was dead. Lik is still alive. As photographers, we should be happy that there are some of us who are making a good living from photographic art. Knocking their style and art is beneath us. Associating their immoral or illegal behavior to knock their art is just a cheap shot at someone who knows how to turn his photography into big time profits. It also says nothing after their work, salesmanship, or the customers who pay for their work and hang it in the million-dollar homes. Kincaid also sells cheap stuff for the everyman.

Have you ever been to a Lik gallery? I have. In two different world class cities. They're impressive. Do you know what it costs to set up and lease space for a specially designed gallery in a dozen of the major cities around the world and manage that? And shoot pictures? First rate presentation and the salespeople are gorgeous and effective. Go there and learn how to sell and present your work. Learn a thing or two about closing a sale. In one, I think it was Hawaii, maybe Las Vegas, he had this small, dark room with a back-lighted huge chrome of one of Utah's arches like the one below. There was a couch opposite the picture so when you sat down, it was like meditating in an actual cave in the desert with you looking out onto an amazing sunrise scene. $4000. What have people here sold recently?

Echoes of Silence

This limited edition print encapsulates America's spirit, with an arch-framed Canyonlands bathed in dawn's glow, meticulously composed as collectible wall art.

lik.com

Alan,

I sell prints every week. The difference between Lik and I is integrity. He has none. He misleads people into thinking they're investing in art; they're not. His work has ZERO credibility in the art world and NO resale value. There are numerous articles in reputable news sources like the New York Times detailing the lies told to buyers of his work; who were then shocked to later find that the prints were unsaleable, that no dealer would buy them or sell them on consignment. I make no claim that anyone will make money from my work; I'm not famous enough for that to be the case. People buy my work simply because they like it. I spent a few years teaching high school to make extra income to put my son through college because I didn't want him working while studying or going into debt. Aside from that, I have never needed a 'day job.' Selling prints and occasional commercial work supported my son and I (I raised him by myself, his mother had no involvement in his life and never paid child support). Not only do I regularly sell prints, but they've sold to people in more than 30 countries.

There are several Photrio members who sell work on a regular basis and a couple others, aside from me, who make their living entirely from photography.

If Lik had simply set up galleries and sold prints direct to buyers, I'd have no problem with him. It is the dishonesty.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Matt, do you offer that Grim Reaper picture in an all-red colorized version ....

now I really gotta run fast out the door...

 

[Pieter12]

All this Peter Lik bashing seems more like frustrated photographer envy and y’all need to get over it.

I stopped by his NYC gallery some 20 years ago and his work was impeccable. Most of his work at the time was shot with a 617 on Velvia and it was very impressive technically. Excellent composition, perfect metering, lighting, and exceptional prints. Most of his work was produced on some derivative of Fuji flex paper and the results were extremely high quality - most members on this forum could only dream about having such technical skills. The rest is subjective - you either like his work or you don’t - just like any other artist.

I saw a few of his films and personally I can’t stand the guy - too much of an ego - but who cares. He’s obviously a passionate photographer and loves the beauty of nature and wanted to become successful following his passion. The whole art industry is a scam to begin with and I can only respect someone that persevered by opening his own galleries and becoming independently successful.

Good for him.

I for one am not envious of Mr Lik's work nor his success. He panders to foolish people with pedantic taste and disposable income. It is his ego and methods that are disdainful.

There is a certain strata of society that feeds on the less sophisticated by offering garish items and lifestyles at inflated prices as if the price alone is validation. They have shops on Fifth Avenue and Rodeo Drive and all the other "luxury" shopping districts around the world where the name and logo are prominently displayed on the goods as status symbols. They have hotels with gold-finished fixtures and flocked wallpaper with certain names prominently affixed everywhere. There is no art involved, except for the art of trickery and deception. The customers get what they deserve.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Alan,

I sell prints every week. The difference between Lik and I is integrity. He has none. He misleads people into thinking they're investing in art; they're not. His work has ZERO credibility in the art world and NO resale value. There are numerous articles in reputable news sources like the New York Times detailing the lies told to buyers of his work; who were then shocked to later find that the prints were unsaleable, that no dealer would buy them or sell them on consignment. I make no claim that anyone will make money from my work; I'm not famous enough for that to be the case. People buy my work simply because they like it. I spent a few years teaching high school to make extra income to put my son through college because I didn't want him working while studying or going into debt. Aside from that, I have never needed a 'day job.' Selling prints and occasional commercial work supported my son and I (I raised him by myself, his mother had no involvement in his life and never paid child support). Not only do I regularly sell prints, but they've sold to people in more than 30 countries.

There are several Photrio members who sell work on a regular basis and a couple others, aside from me, who make their living entirely from photography.

If Lik had simply set up galleries and sold prints direct to buyers, I'd have no problem with him. It is the dishonesty.

I'm sure you're a very ethical photographer and I applaud you for that. But let's not confuse art with morals. Gauguin slept with his underage Tahitian models. Who knows what Maplethorpe was doing in between photo shoots. Also, I'm sure purchasers of Beanie Babies and baseball cards thought they were investing as well. Everyone who buys these things thinks it's going to be worth a lot more later. Lik is a lot like many who say that their work could appreciate. Maybe it will. I don't know. Anyone who spends thousands and up is investing or think they're investing or really don;t care. If they have that much to spend they know a thing or two about the dollar and aren't fooled easily. Artists offer a wink and a nod to their customers' illusions. But it's all beside the point. There are people who like Lik's work and spend a lot purchasing it to hang in their million dollar homes because they are impressed the way the photo looks. The Lik gallery salemen did a good job selling. It may not be other's taste. But that's all beside the point.

Have you ever been to a Lik gallery? Did the salespeople try to con you? What did you think of the work and presentation? You did go, didn't you? Or are you judging him based on what others say?

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I for one am not envious of Mr Lik's work nor his success. He panders to foolish people with pedantic taste and disposable income. It is his ego and methods that are disdainful.

There is a certain strata of society that feeds on the less sophisticated by offering garish items and lifestyles at inflated prices as if the price alone is validation. They have shops on Fifth Avenue and Rodeo Drive and all the other "luxury" shopping districts around the world where the name and logo are prominently displayed on the goods as status symbols. They have hotels with gold-finished fixtures and flocked wallpaper with certain names prominently affixed everywhere. There is no art involved, except for the art of trickery and deception. The customers get what they deserve.

Lik's photos go for $4000 and up. He's not preying on the unsophisticated. Poor people don't buy his stuff. If you notice his index of photos, he not only lists locations of the photos, but the colors to coordinate your home's interior with. People who buy his stuff have deep pockets and rich homes and it means little for them to drop ten thousand on a couple of pictures. They're decorating their homes not investing for the most part.
photo index https://lik.com/collections/new-release
home decoration https://lik.com/pages/inspiration
soho gallery typical https://lik.com/pages/lik-soho
process: https://lik.com/pages/process

 

[chriscrawfordphoto]

I'm sure you're a very ethical photographer and I applaud you for that. But let's not confuse art with morals. Gauguin slept with his underage Tahitian models. Who knows what Maplethorpe was doing in between photo shoots. Also, I'm sure purchasers of Beanie Babies and baseball cards thought they were investing as well. Everyone who buys these things thinks it's going to be worth a lot more later. Lik is a lot like many who say that their work could appreciate. Maybe it will. I don't know. Anyone who spends thousands and up is investing or think they're investing or really don;t care. If they have that much to spend they know a thing or two about the dollar and aren't fooled easily. Artists offer a wink and a nod to their customers' illusions. But it's all beside the point. There are people who like Lik's work and spend a lot purchasing it to hang in their million dollar homes because they are impressed the way the photo looks. The Lik gallery salemen did a good job selling. It may not be other's taste. But that's all beside the point.

Have you ever been to a Lik gallery? Did the salespeople try to con you? What did you think of the work and presentation? You did go, didn't you? Or are you judging him based on what others say?

Ty (Beanie Baby company) and Topps (Baseball Card maker) do not tell people they're buying something that will appreciate in value, even though some Beanie Babies and some baseball cards actually do. Lik's salespeople lie to customers. Full stop, end of discussion, mic drop. They explicitly tell people that they're buying something that will increase in value, knowing full well that Lik is openly called a con-artist by art dealers and museum curators and that his work has absolutely ZERO resale value. That's unethical.

As for your silly attempt to make Lik look good by saying others were worse: Gauguin lived in a time and place where what he did was not looked down on the way it is today. Mapplethorpe was openly homosexual at a time when being gay was still widely looked down on, but he didn't hurt anyone. He never lied about who and what he was; the men he had sex with were willing partners, and he never lied to or cheated those who bought his work.

One doesn't need to be personally cheated by Lik to know he's scum. His operation has been exposed in detail by reputable news sources. By your argument, no one should criticize Pol Pot. "How do we know he killed half his county's population? Were you there? The testimony of those who survived the Cambodian "Killing Fields," the journalists who documented it, and the Vietnamese soldiers who put a stop to it can't be believed." See how ignorant you sound?

 

[Pieter12]

I'm sure you're a very ethical photographer and I applaud you for that. But let's not confuse art with morals. Gauguin slept with his underage Tahitian models. Who knows what Maplethorpe was doing in between photo shoots. Also, I'm sure purchasers of Beanie Babies and baseball cards thought they were investing as well. Everyone who buys these things thinks it's going to be worth a lot more later. Lik is a lot like many who say that their work could appreciate. Maybe it will. I don't know. Anyone who spends thousands and up is investing or think they're investing or really don;t care. If they have that much to spend they know a thing or two about the dollar and aren't fooled easily. Artists offer a wink and a nod to their customers' illusions. But it's all beside the point. There are people who like Lik's work and spend a lot purchasing it to hang in their million dollar homes because they are impressed the way the photo looks. The Lik gallery salemen did a good job selling. It may not be other's taste. But that's all beside the point.

Have you ever been to a Lik gallery? Did the salespeople try to con you? What did you think of the work and presentation? You did go, didn't you? Or are you judging him based on what others say?

Gaughin's--or Mapplethorpe's--love life had nothing to do with questionable sales tactics, or even about selling his work. Van Gogh did not cut off his ear to get attention or sympathy isn order to sell paintings. Mapplethorpe's biggest patron was already his lover--he gave him a Hasselblad. Up until then Mapplethporpe had been shooting Polaroids. Picasso was a famous womanizer who regularly disposed of his lovers (and his wife) as if they were yesterday's newspaper. None of that sold any work. Pandering to patrons goes back a long way, most artists could not afford to turn down a commission. But even Warhol was tongue-in-cheek about his work and its value. His work was ignored in New York until it was shown in Los Angeles by Ferus Gallery and even then the owner ended up buying all the work. Warhol acknowledged the collaboration with others to produce his silkscreen work and called his studio "The Factory." Lik pretends his oversized postcards are fine art items worthy of displaying and collecting, sure. But I have seen glued-together jigsaw puzzles on the wall of some homes, too.

And I am judging Lik on his own words and work. My guess is he opened his own gallery because no one else would consider selling his work for the prices he demands or with the tactics he uses. I'm surprised he hasn't opened a chain of time-share resorts yet.

 

[Pieter12]

Lik's photos go for $4000 and up. He's not preying on the unsophisticated. Poor people don't buy his stuff. If you notice his index of photos, he not only lists locations of the photos, but the colors to coordinate your home's interior with. People who buy his stuff have deep pockets and rich homes and it means little for them to drop ten thousand on a couple of pictures. They're decorating their homes not investing for the most part.
photo index https://lik.com/collections/new-release
home decoration https://lik.com/pages/inspiration
soho gallery typical https://lik.com/pages/lik-soho
process: https://lik.com/pages/process

Having money has nothing to do with sophistication or taste. Your argument is a dead-end.