Archive for November, 2009
Visual Art Sells: How to Select Fine Art Media for Reproductions
November 29th, 2009 | 
Author: What makes art sell? Why are some artists making millions of dollars while others struggling to afford paint brushes? While there are many factors involved in the prosperity of one artist to another, by far the most critical is the aesthetic appeal the artwork itself. Simply put, the more visually appealing a particular work of art is, the better it will sell. Whether art is being shown as originals or prints, in a gallery or at an art show, the consumer is primarily influenced by the visual appeal of their prospective purchase and subsequently, its perceived value.
Publishers, printmakers, framers, gallery owners, and of course the artists themselves all (directly or indirectly) profit from art sales. Collectively they share a common goal of selling art; while individually they strive to create a rich environment for art sales to take place, at the greatest possible rate. The artist creates the most visually appealing rendition of their art possible so consumers will be drawn to it, the publisher prints the best possible catalogue to increase exposure and prestige; framer matches the art with a frame that becomes an visual extension of the painting, and the printmaker produces the most vibrant, accurate, and sellable print possible through equipment selection, experience, and talent. While each of these players is involved in the overall sell-ability of art, the purpose of this article is to focus on the printmaker and his/her influence on the visual appeal of a fine art reproduction.
As a printmaker there are an overwhelming amount of variables involved in reproducing a sellable print. Aside from experience, knowledge, and raw talent, which are extremely important, a profitable printmaker learns to intelligently blend controllable variables with uncontrollable variables to reproduce the best possible prints. Controllable variables are aspects of the process that can be objectively defined in absolutes values. For example, a printmaker can determine the absolute highest black density (DMAX) or widest color gamut that a particular substrate or ink is able to achieve, thus creating the most visually appealing print. These data are measurable facts, not a matter of opinion. Uncontrollable variables are also a key contributing factor in creating the visual appeal and sale-ability of an art reproduction. Unlike the controllable variables, these rely primarily on subjective opinions such as media weight, thickness, white-point, texture, and substrate type. While many artists have preconceived preferences, the most successful printmakers are those who influence this process with personal experience and industry knowledge of market trends. Mark Leftoff, President of Gallery Street (www.gallerystreet.com) in Atlanta, GA provides some recommendation on how to add as some objectivity to this process.
“First, select a media type and finish that, based upon the history of successful art pieces, will best suit a particular image. We typically recommend canvas first because with a higher perceived value to the end consumer, it can be sold at a higher price or in greater volume which in turn creates more financial reward for our customers. If a customer prefers to use matte fine art paper, we may even print some small swatches on different media in order to find a fit for their image that we all believe will result in the most success. We encourage our customers to test market these samples by getting some opinions from a handful of their own customers who will be buying the art. We believe that by including more professionals in the process we can minimize risk and more accurately assess the marketability of every print. It is in this manner that we work alongside our customers and together make educated business decisions on how to select the best media for every print job.”
The most successful printmakers typically select a standard “in house” media based upon objective testing and industry experience. Most have chosen a smooth fine art paper, a velvet finish paper, a heavily textured paper, and a canvas or two. A couple of different weights and finish are usually offered as well. This enables them to accurately match the proper media type, texture and weight, with a particular image to maximize sell-ability. It is also important for the artist to offer a couple of different options to their prospective art buyers/gallery owners to determine the most sellable option. When selecting which brand of media to permanently offer to their artists, these decisions are based upon controllable variables or hard facts such as determining which substrate produces the best colors, the best blacks, shows the best detail, and will last the longest.
“By far the most important considerations in using any given fine art media on the market are color and longevity. This means that above all, our media must be measurably superior in achieving the widest color gamut and highest Dmax possible. In this business, color can make you or break you. This guarantees MFA Talon Graphics that the paper we are using produces the best color on our reproductions. Then we must consider how long the color will last without fading or yellowing. MFA Talon Graphics chooses fine art media from a ‘quality in, quality out’ perspective. This is how we continually deliver on our promise to our customers,” says Teddy Blah (Head Printmaker at MFA Talon Graphics of El Segundo, CA).
While many printmakers may wrestle with the decision of which media to stock, or learn through a process of trial and error, the most profitable and experienced printmakers understand one important fact – art sells based upon how it looks. Those who offer a wide range of high-performance substrates and have the industry knowledge and market experience to suggest which substrate is most suitable or sellable with a particular image will be the most profitable. By offering substandard media or selecting the wrong substrate for a particular image, not only are you devaluing your own quality and expertise as a printmaker, but also that of the artists themselves. This will inevitably result in the loss of printing business to a competitor. With the exponential growth of the printmaking industry, every competitive advantage must be pursued to ensure the prosperity of your small business. Therefore, the key to success as a fine art printmaker is to produce the most visually appealing, archival, and sellable prints possible.
About Breathing Color, Inc.
Breathing Color, Inc. is a leading designer and supplier of digital inkjet media and post-print protective coatings. Breathing Color is focused on the art and photographic markets with products that maximize color and longevity. Breathing Color’s customers benefit from the highest quality at competitive prices by buying direct. Breathing Color also supplies custom canon icc profiles for the Epson 9800 printer, Epson 7800 printer
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Internet Radio Networks – the Brave New Face of Online Entertainment
Internet radios are the latest rage in cyberspace. It is but a natural culmination in the continuing evolution of the Internet. This is the era of e-mails, e-commerce, e-shopping, and e-radios or Internet radio. Internet radio networks are what everybody is talking about these days. And rightly so. After e-mails and e-commerce, e-radios are poised to be the next big thing.
Internet radio, however, is not a very novel innovation. In other words, Internet radio networks have been around for quite some time now. It is only recently, with the proliferation of Internet technology and faster connectivity, that the phenomenon called Internet radio has truly come of age. Today, the listener is pampered with a bevy of channels (or stations), catering to specific areas of interest. This is becoming a standard feature of Internet radio networks that serve music online. The listener can tune into any of dozens of stations covering such genres as Classic Rock, Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Jazz, 80s music, 70s music, Oldies, New Age, Reggae, Country, Latin, Euro, Ambient, Lounge, Progressive, Techno and what not. Hours and hours of uninterrupted music at no cost â?? thatâ??s the magnitude of the entertainment provided by Internet radio networks.
Among the most popular Internet radio networks are the ones that feature Internet Talk Radio. Streaming talk shows and discussions on a wide range of subjects have made them popular among serious listeners or those who carve for something more than just music from their e-radios. Internet talk radio programs host various talk shows with specialists on different subject matters who anchor the show.
While traditional radio broadcasters have often used the Internet to advertise or promote their shows, Internet radio technology has actually revolutionized the concept and simple programming requirements have taken it to the extent where individuals, organizations or anyone for that matter, can easily host their own Internet talk radio station from the comfort of their home.
Internet radio networks use many different methods for creating the audio stream source. Some of these include using the SHOUTcast service, which utilizes Winamp and the SHOUTcast DSP plugin to deliver MP3 audio at higher bitrates. Other methods include open source technologies such as Streamcast, stream-db, IceS, and MuSE, and patent-free data formats such as Ogg Vorbis. Using open source stream source tools allows for interesting web interface possibilities like phpStreamcast. Other applications include Broadwave which delivers audio in mp3 and relies on the listener’s default media player to open the stream.
Internet radio networks like Voice America make it easier to host your own Internet talk radio show. Such Internet radio networks not only provide you with the technology to host your Internet radio show but also give you a complete package of Internet streaming media broadcasting, proven support services in web, marketing, and interactive solutions that help you to make your mark and your presence known to the ever increasing Internet audience. If you are planning to host your own Internet talk radio, itâ??s worth contacting Internet radio networks like Voice America.
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Tags: Brave, Entertainment, Face, Internet, Networks, Online, Radio | No Comments »
Find New Music
by Jason Fladlien
Most of the best music made this year will go unheard.
We have the Jane from Boston, who wants to find new music to make her feel good. She is not finding it on the radio. Myspace isn’t cutting it for her, as it’s more of a hassle to deal with new friend requests from mediocre bands than it is to find good music.
She resorts to her collection of old classics, listening to Dave Matthews Band’s “Under the Table and Dreaming” album and 3 Doors Down. Jane thinks, “I’d love to hear a band that took the Dave Matthews Band style and gave it an edgier 3 Doors Down sound. That’d be something I’d want to check out.”
Meanwhile, The Break Room from Nashville are struggling, playing in clubs for 15-20 people a night. Those people love the Break Room, and the heck of it is that the Break Room puts on an excellent show. Maybe Nashville isn’t the best place for the Break Room’s music, which happens to be a marriage of two styles: that of the Dave Matthews Band and 3 Doors Down.
Here’s the facts. Almost 300,000,000 people live in the United States. To go platinum in the music business it takes 1,000,000 records sold. So for the Break Room, 97 out of 100 people could hate them. But if the other three bought their album, that’s platinum.
Yet Jane is doomed to miss her potential new favorite band, and the Break Room will probably die an artist death from a lackluster career, because they couldn’t connect to those 3 people out of a 100 who wanted to hear them.
I have written this article to give you some tips on how you can find the band that is writing music specifically for you to hear.
IT JUST TAKES ASKING…
How many times have you bought a CD and was disappointed when you got home and listened to it? I’ll show you a cool technique that will stop this from ever happening again.
This works especially good at Borders Book Store but I’ve had success with it everywhere. If you ask nicely, they’ll almost always let you listen to a CD before you buy it. It’s not limited to the ones at the listening pod. Just simply ask an employee if there is any way you can listen to the CD you are tempted to buy. The only time they say no is when they only have one or two copies left.
This is a very convenient way to check out new music and it’s better than downloading sample mp3s for many reasons. First, the sound quality is better. Second, it is less time consuming and you don’t have to worry about viruses. And lastly, you get the actual listening experience as it’s intended to be. This means a more pleasureable experience for you!
Experiment. When was the last time you bought an album just because it had interesting cover art? Probably rarely if ever. Simply check an album out because the man on the cover is handsomely mysterious, or because you wonder if that guy in the clown suit really can play a mean guitar.
It’s simple. Just grab a CD that you are contemplating purchasing, ask a worker if you can hear the album first because you aren’t sure if you want to buy it, and 95 times out of a 100 your request will be fulfilled. They want you to make purchases at their store that you are happy with, so they are willing to help you out.
FAMILIARITY BREEDS COOL MUSIC
Last time I was at my Dad’s house I looked through his CD collection and found the following:
Metallica: Master of Puppets
Cherry Poppin Daddys: Zoot Suit Riot
George Strait: Strait out the Box, box set
Ray Charles: Genuis Loves Company
Straiht Wikid Crew: Kali Yuga Demolition Vol. 1
Wow. I never knew how diverse my Dad’s musical tastes were until I actually looked at his CDs. What a cool guy! Everything from metal (metallica) to rap (Straiht Wikid Crew).
The Cherry Popping Daddys were a band I’d heard about for many years but I had never listened to. I was never into the swing/big band style too much. I put it in the CD player and liked it. It made me want to dance. So I went out, bought the album and I’m happy with the choice I made.
Your friends and family have a whole collection of music that you may be unaware of. Browse their music and check out new stuff. See what you like. Find out what you don’t like. Don’t spend a penny. Be in control of what you decide you should hear as opposed to what is forced upon your ears.
And do the same in return. Let others preview your music collection. This can enrich your appreciation for you favorite musicians when you are able to discuss it with a new fan who happens to be a good friend.
THE LIBRARY IS STILL FREE
It’s free and now it’s very convenient. It ‘s the library.
Most towns have their catalog online. I log onto the library’s card catalog from home looking for a certain CD. If they have it, I reserve it, and then I go down and pick it up.
Most libraries have inter-loan programs now, which are also searchable online. Because of this I have access to over 40 libraries. I simply reserve the CD I want and select my local library for the pick up location and 2-4 days later they call me and let me know my CD is in. I can’t believe how many people don’t know about this wonderful service!
The library is your musical friend. If you know this, you have thousands of albums at your finger tips for free.
MYSPACE & Beyond
In space nobody can you hear you scream. In myspace, you can hear anybody scream who has a cheap computer microphone and knows how to upload an mp3.
It’s a cesspool of music that isn’t so pleasing.
Here is what I like to do to kill the clutter. I find a great band that I already like. I then locate their myspace page. Often times I try myspace.com/bandname first. If I can’t find anything there I do a search for them on myspace and they either come up or a fan that is in love with them will come up. I then go to that person’s myspace page and 4 times out of 5 that band is in her top 8 friends. Click away.
I like Neutral Milk Hotel. I tried myspace.com/neutralmilkhotel and their page came up. Now here’s what I do. I look at Neutral Milk’s top 8. Often times these bands have bands they like in their top 8. So I check out THEIR favorite bands. I found a cool band called Donkey Boy on myspace by using this tactic. Who will you find?
CONCLUSION
I know you want to find music you love, and you want to find it quickly and conveniently, without spending a bunch of money. If you follow these tips in this article, I can assure that your life will be enriched with wonderful music with little effort on your part. All glories to you!
Jason Fladlien is a 23 year old Hare Krishna devotee from Iowa City, Iowa. He creates upbeat yet wicked hip hop under the name Straiht Wikid Crew. Visit http://www.kaliyugademolition.com for more details.
Sisqo Music
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DownloadFree Movies
Watching movies have become easier nowadays with the advent of Internet. Now you can watch movies online. The best part about watching movies online is that there are many websites that offer the viewers to watch free online movies over the net.
Few years before, watching free movies online was deemed simply as an impossible task. However, watching movies online doesn’t mean you can only watch newly released movies for free. If you want you can also watch old classics through Internet. There are many websites from where you can even get to watch many movies that are not even shown in the theatres or are available in the DVD stores.
The free online movies websites offer all kinds of movies—actions, thrillers, comedy, horror etc. So, you can watch any kind of movie that you want to. The owners of these movie sites stick on to the acts of copyright of federal government. By accessing these websites you will not only be able to watch movies online for free of cost, you will also be able to get the viewers feedback and synopsis on them. So before downloading the movie you can have a fare idea about whether the movie will be liked by you or not.
To enjoy hassle free movie watching via Internet, it is necessary to consider few things. First and foremost thing is that you must have a computer and a high-speed Internet connection. You also need to arm your PC with the latest software platforms such as Windows Media Player or Real Player to watch free online movies uninterruptedly.
However, you need to be very careful before downloading the movies from any of the free online movie-downloading site because some of the sites contain ad ware and virus. It is important to protect your computer from several online attacks. So, always be very careful before you opt to download free movies.
Online movie websites have become people’s best friend in times of solitude. It is not only the teenagers who find these sites very useful; it is also the adults who have found these sites as their good companions. Apart from saving lots of money for the entertainment purpose, these free online movies sites offer various other advantages too. You can watch the movie from the comfort of your own home in your own computer. You can even watch the movie at any time and at any place. So, don’t waste your time and money going to theatres, watch movies online for free.
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Movie Buffs On The Internet
Films, film series and film stars all have warranted websites dedicated to them by fans. There seems to be a level of cooperation among film studios and fan sites – at least, the responsible ones. Movie companies recognize the value of Internet exposure and are eager to take advantage of it: that is as long as they feel that the Internet sites are not taking advantage of them.
There are two basic types of film related fan sites, those devoted to actors and those devoted to films. Film sites are generally run or commissioned by the studios as part of the film’s marketing, whereas sites devoted to a particular actor may be more numerous and run the gamut between small, “one fan” operations to “official” sites set up by the actor or the actor’s representation. This is not to say that all film sites are run by studios, as many very successful films or film series have fan sites devoted to them that are completely independent of the studios.
For example, a fan site on Johnny Depp has photos and screensavers along with the standard filmography and biography – and a fairly active fan forum; almost entirely worshipful. Alternately, the studio-run official film site for “Pirates of the Caribbean” is nicely laid out, featuring still photos, trailers and bios on all the actors along with an active – and moderated – forum. The rules for posting: no profanity, no double posting and no insults directed at other posters. In both cases, the movie and the star get excellent exposure, while negative commentary seems limited to “they could had made a great film better if…”
The Issue of Fair Use
Here it’s worth exploring the notion of “fair use” as applied to film clips, audio bites and other representations taken from commercial movie fare. The law that applies to the use of copyrighted material by independent parties is guided by a principal called fair use. This principal holds that limited use of copyrighted material is permissible for the purposes of “commentary and criticism”.
Fair Use is primarily the concern of the private, non-affiliated fan sites. Studio-run film sites use clips without concern, as the studio that owns the clips is running the site.
Fair Use and the Courts
There have been many lawsuits over this issue and many interpretations of the law. Generally, the less material you lift the less exposure you incur. It has also been held that if you are using copyrighted material without a license, you may not take the “heart” of the product you are lifting from. Neither may you compromise the financial rights of the copyright holder; reproducing content in such a way as the rights holder is denied future commercial gain.
Video Segments Online
That said, the Internet is jammed with video segments lifted from movies. Often, you will find a fan site with film excerpts on it that has an advertisement for an upcoming studio release displayed on the page. The studios understand that these fan pages are the best example of targeted advertising that can be found. While the fan page may be about an actor or actress that has no role in the advertised film, nonetheless people who visit the site are going to be reliable filmgoers.
General Fan Sites
One of the interesting sites dedicated to a film series is the Star Wars Library at http://takeoff.to/starwarslibrary. This site contains no film clips, but instead features fan fiction, parodies, photos, fan art, and articles. There’s a fair amount of thoughtful material on the site, and some hilarious pictures as well: for example, the Krispy Kreme donut wedding cake with Luke Skywalker and the Princess on top, nested in satin hearts. The list of fan sites provided in the Library is broken into categories: movies; actors and actresses; rivalries and relationships; and groups and factions. That is a list of fan sites that should meet any need.
Some sites take a broader approach. A site like http://www.thefilmfrontier.com covers multiple franchises, including Star Trek, Star Wars, and the Superman films. The diversity in the site covers the owner’s varying tastes, so it’s not limited to a single film, actor, or even film franchise. The broad umbrella of sci-fi / fantasy applies, but it appeals to a wider cross-section of fans, providing something for anyone interested in the individual elements or all of them as a whole.
