Costco has partnered with Corbis to offer over 20,000 images of fine art, photography and illustrations to create wall décor. The cost of having these images printed is the same as if you were having your own images printed. In other words, the licensing fee to both Costco and to you to make fine art prints to decorate your home is free. When you go to the Photo Center on the Costco web site you'll see a large banner for The New Art and Images Gallery.
Larry Berman
Digital Jury Services
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
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If we get hung up on what Costco or Walmart is doing to the art market, we've lost the battle. People of bad manners and poor taste have been reminding us artists that their work is just as good as ours and they have the Walgreen/supermarket prints to prove it. Back in the early '80s "lazer prints" saturated the market, eventually they cost a buck for an 8x10 and were being sold door-to-door. The market for them died in about two years and 2D artists at art shows (myself included) suffered a bit. But most of us survived - we were selling handmade goods, not imports or factory knockoffs.
I agree with what Munks said above. Also, I believe that many people who come to an art show want to see real art (excluding the worst excesses of yard art, stuff on a stick, etc.) and want to meet real artists. We all just have to work on the positive aspects of our business of doing art shows and ignore those things over which we have no control (excluding bad weather, which never should be ignored).
I think all we can do is educate people about the value of an original whatever, bought from the artist.
However, I think it is futile as artists at an art fair to educate people about original art. If they don't know or understand the concept of original work, they never will or they just don't want to know. It's going to be really hard and probably impossible to educate anyone with a $500 photocopy of a misty mountain taken in 1972 under their arm while they walk around at the show or if they are walking around holding some $20 piece of crap that has a label calling it "yard art".
Some people just aren't our customers.