Peter Lik

Ai Print · Dec 20, 2015

Alan Klein said:
If you want to sell your photos rather then complain how amateurs are "destroying" the industry, you would be smart to visit his galleries, talk to his sales people and see how he does it and made $440 million. You might learn a thing or two.

I think the only ones doing the complaining are other amateurs. I have a Lik gallery in my town, I like to visit once and awhile to check on his marketing.

DREW WILEY · Dec 21, 2015

I accidentally walked past one of his galleries during a business trip to Vegas, then into another one in Lahaina. I got literally nauseated. Ever
since my joke about him is how the colorization of his images is done by kindergartners on LSD. Just oversized tourist-trap postcards. Pure
kitch, with a bit of marketing BS about their stunning collector value. The photographic equivalent of Thomas Kincaid. Very very sugary and
corny, with a very heavy Fautoshop hand. Fake fake fake fake fake.

Sirius Glass · Dec 21, 2015

cliveh · Dec 21, 2015

DREW WILEY said:
I accidentally walked past one of his galleries during a business trip to Vegas, then into another one in Lahaina. I got literally nauseated. Ever
since my joke about him is how the colorization of his images is done by kindergartners on LSD. Just oversized tourist-trap postcards. Pure
kitch, with a bit of marketing BS about their stunning collector value. The photographic equivalent of Thomas Kincaid. Very very sugary and
corny, with a very heavy Fautoshop hand. Fake fake fake fake fake.

Not much integrity then?

DREW WILEY · Dec 21, 2015

The same crowd would probably spend 40K on a black velvet Elvis Rug. If you just want to make a lot of money, open a sleazy used car lot.
Why waste your life going hither and thither, yet being so utterly blind to all the beauty around you that you end up turning the whole world
into postcardy stereotypes. I sure as hell don't envy anyone like that. He's never lived. Sounds like the waste of a life. Nature's pimp, turning the world into a whore slathered with cheap gaudy makeup. No need. Yeah, he's got some real pro sales people, slicker than greased lightning. But I wouldn't believe 10% of what they say, much less that tall tale which originated with his own marketing dept that he sold a print for 6 mil. I you offered them 4K for the same thing in one of their galleries, I'm sure they'd take it. I told them they have to pay me 50K to hang one of his abominations in my house, and then I'd reserve the right to cover it with a curtain! Go admire someone like Edward Weston instead - dirt poor, but at least he believed in what he was doing; and his prints have legitimately, verifiably increased in value.

Sirius Glass · Dec 21, 2015

Peter Lik and integrity should not be in the same sentence. They exist in different universes.

DREW WILEY · Dec 21, 2015

I really don't care what he does. The reason I harp on this is the sheer pity that prospective photographers take him as some kind of role model. Heck, if making money is all that counts, why not make Pablo Escobar or Bernie Madoff you role model? And Lik's own role model,
Tom Kinkade, didn't exactly end up happy with the law breathing down his neck. What joy is there in suckering people? All that proves is the old adage that a sucker is born every day. These kinds of tourist gallery schemes have been around forever, it seems. The first time I accidentally walked into a Kinkade gallery I burst out laughing and had to run back out the door for sheer politeness sake. I couldn't help it.
I'd never seen such horrible use of color in my life. Sure, the guy deserves credit for inventing some very high reproduction process that
basically allowed himself to mass-produce fakes of his own paintings, and maybe Like deserves credit for mounting huge glossy prints flat.
But what a waste of square footage! They'll fade into oblivion soon enough.

removed account4 · Dec 21, 2015

:munch:

DREW WILEY · Dec 21, 2015

Hope you're enjoying that popcorn, which itself no doubt has artificial color and flavor!

cliveh · Dec 21, 2015

In terms of scale I once used a lecture theatre that could project images about 50' across and projected some images by Eugene Atget. I thought they looked good as contacts seen in the V & A, but at that size they were mind blowing.

miha · Dec 21, 2015

cliveh said:
In terms of scale I once used a lecture theatre that could project images about 50' across and projected some images by Eugene Atget. I thought they looked good as contacts seen in the V & A, but at that size they were mind blowing.

What an experience!

DREW WILEY · Dec 21, 2015

I found some of Atget's prints astounding even original (quite small) and all damaged by foxing (mildew). Not a obsessive printmaker by
any means, but he sure knew how to look at things, even when such subjects had no commercial market. He was basically an early rendition of a stock photographer, shooting this n' that for reasonable income, but then deliberately taking shots for himself too. Lots of the time I just like to look at things through the opalescent groundglass of my 8x10 and never do insert a piece of film. Sometimes I just sit there watching some special sunrise or sunset and don't even touch the camera, even if its all loaded and ready to go right beside me, simply because I don't want the experience interrupted. There will always be another picture, and another way to make a buck. Life it too short to close one's eyes to all the beauty out there. Soak it up. Photography is more about the experience than the end result. But if you don't experience the light to begin with, you're prints - the end result - will inevitably end up looking fake, like a mere commodity.

removed account4 · Dec 21, 2015

DREW WILEY said:
Hope you're enjoying that popcorn, which itself no doubt has artificial color and flavor!

no artificial nothin' !

removed account4 · Dec 21, 2015

cliveh said:
In terms of scale I once used a lecture theatre that could project images about 50' across and projected some images by Eugene Atget. I thought they looked good as contacts seen in the V & A, but at that size they were mind blowing.

that must have been something !

Sirius Glass · Dec 21, 2015

DREW WILEY said:
I really don't care what he does. The reason I harp on this is the sheer pity that prospective photographers take him as some kind of role model. Heck, if making money is all that counts, why not make Pablo Escobar or Bernie Madoff you role model? And Lik's own role model,
Tom Kinkade, didn't exactly end up happy with the law breathing down his neck. What joy is there in suckering people? All that proves is the old adage that a sucker is born every day. These kinds of tourist gallery schemes have been around forever, it seems. The first time I accidentally walked into a Kinkade gallery I burst out laughing and had to run back out the door for sheer politeness sake. I couldn't help it.
I'd never seen such horrible use of color in my life. Sure, the guy deserves credit for inventing some very high reproduction process that
basically allowed himself to mass-produce fakes of his own paintings, and maybe Like deserves credit for mounting huge glossy prints flat.
But what a waste of square footage! They'll fade into oblivion soon enough.

+ 1

I enjoyed that post.

mesantacruz · Dec 21, 2015

I currently live in Las Vegas - I work on the strip and see this guys work on a weekly/monthly basis.

It's overly saturated (to be exact its the vibrance slider in Photoshop).
I like the atmosphere his STORE and others like it give.

When you see the prints each one has a horrible numbering and signature on the bottom corners. Ostentatious. nonetheless, people buy into it. And an awesome sales team also helps push the envelope.

After reading that article, where an aftermarket isn't willing to pay over 4 grand for something people might have paid 3-5 times as much is a sorry ending for those who buy art as an investment.

Las vegas also has other photographers and art stores, whose style i hope will end soon.

I love art, i used to shoot more digital (now i mainly use my cellphone on instagram and Facebook) but i mainly do b/w and print at home (for myself), but if you walk into a LIK gallery, like every place in Las Vegas, it's selling more of an experience, and people buy into it deeply. They think "I'll have something artsy in my house and show my friends, AND i'll be making money in a few years because it's a limited piece... blah blah blah."

I'm in sales too.
but i would not feel comfortable lying to the public that way or any other way. There's a difference in selling a commodity and a piece of art as an investment.

Awesome salesman though! and as stated above there's something to learn from everyone, although it's not always what you might expect, definitely no photography lessons from Lik, haha.

Alan Klein · Dec 21, 2015

My wife and I were on a cruise a few years ago. They always have these art auctions. So we meandered into the exhibit, liked one particular painting, and bid it. Only bid so we went home with a $1700 painting that still hangs on the wall in our home. I was pi$$ed my bid got it. I thought someone else was going to bid higher. I did it to please my wife. But every time she's sees it up on the wall, she says how much she loves it up there. I kinda like it too. I suppose its resale value is half what we paid. It's not a Picasso. But so what? She's happy. I'm happy. Why do people insult what other people like and do with their money? Do you have a monopoly on taste?

removed account4 · Dec 22, 2015

alan i don't think it has to do with taste
i think it has to do with lik and kinkade are/were successful
had a marketing plan and sell/sold their work to people who saw it and wanted it.
its like when cindy sherman or someone else sold their work IDK 10 years ago
there was an enormous thread here that had a fistful of people who went off on some anti femenist anti art establishment
anti education harangue ...

i think it is strange that people are / were suing because they bought something with hopes that it was a good investment
and its value went down. its like suing a friend because you bought stock in a company they suggested on a "tip" and it went down in value.

Bob Carnie · Dec 22, 2015

Some people buy photographic prints because they want it on their walls and enjoy the piece.

Others purchase to hope some day the piece jumps in value as an investment.

Its not too hard to figure out which camp you belong too.

I belong to both camps where I purchase prints I want to hang on the wall, and I print and keep a PP for future investment.
Though some of the pieces I will have a very hard time giving up.

Paul Paletti sums it up pretty well when he states that you should buy what you love.

cliveh · Dec 22, 2015

Well in terms of marketing art, I received an email from this gallery the other day. They probably make more money from budding artists than they do from selling their artwork.

http://www.agora-gallery.com/artist...inemail&utm_campaign=marketing-email-sendinfo

DREW WILEY · Dec 22, 2015

Having one of his galleries in Lost Wages makes perfect sense, where everything is faux and seedy glitz anyway. I hate that town, though
there is quite a bit of wonderful desert scenery nearby. In Lahaina he's resorted to backlit transparencies. Has about as much taste as a backlit Hamm's beer sign in some dive window. Anybody who gets suckered into "investing" in Lik work is gonna be mighty disappointed.
They should learn from that whole Kinkade fiasco. The artistic merit of this kinda stuff is somewhere below zero.

Bob Carnie · Dec 22, 2015

Yes - but this gallery allows people to be seen, which is very difficult these days with a different gallery model.

I think you will find more and more spaces like this available for rent in major cities.

I have a rental gallery myself, and in the spring I am renting one in Montreal , and then one in Halifax.

I cannot wait for the call from MOMA to exhibit my work,

There is something to be said about showing your work in as many places , finally one may hit a critical mass.

Bob Carnie · Dec 22, 2015

Drew

I think it is very clear that the sales reps are not selling the investment aspect of his work , but selling the appreciation of the piece for ones home. I really do not understand the
negativity here, let him work the way he wants, you work the way you want.

I think many here should actually try to run a gallery for awhile and I think a whole new perspective would show itself.

Bob

this

DREW WILEY said:
Having one of his galleries in Lost Wages makes perfect sense, where everything is faux and seedy glitz anyway. I hate that town, though
there is quite a bit of wonderful desert scenery nearby. In Lahaina he's resorted to backlit transparencies. Has about as much taste as a backlit Hamm's beer sign in some dive window. Anybody who gets suckered into "investing" in Lik work is gonna be mighty disappointed.
They should learn from that whole Kinkade fiasco. The artistic merit of this kinda stuff is somewhere below zero.

ic-racer · Dec 22, 2015

Although they have a more limited portfolio, I think these guys are just as good:
Dead Link Removed

DREW WILEY · Dec 22, 2015

There's a difference between a legit gallery and a con job. Tourist trap galleries are often on the con, getting high prices for work that is literally worth less than the frame it is put in. I've done my share of gallery gigs; but otherwise, I'm a professional buyer (now wearing several hats training my replacements so I can retire). I can smell a sleazy sales pitch from a mile away, and those types I throw out of here in a heartbeat. Maybe Lik's work is appropriate for Tony "Scarface" decor in some Miami McMansion. But I wasn't kidding when I said it makes
me viscerally nauseated. It's that bad. No class. All slick marketing.

Peter Lik

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