When Working with Fine-Artists and Photographers, Ask Questions First, Print Later By Richard Romano Photo by Curtis Speer What is the definition of ‘fine “ Nike. He asked many questions art’?” asked Dan “Dano” Steinhardt, marketing manager for Epson’s Professional Imaging Division. “For 30 years, I’ve been trying to find one, and I haven’t yet.” Indeed, the question “what is art?” itself has puzzled artists, critics, philosophers, and the public in general, likely ever since the first “artist” made the first cave painting. Largely theoretical questions like “what is art?” don’t usually come up in conversations between service providers and customers, but there are questions that printers should be asking of artists that differ from the usual ones that arise when dealing with more commercially oriented customers. As difficult as, say, brand owners can be, artists and “fine- art” photographers can be an even more finicky bunch. “Fine-art photographers tend to be—and this is not a negative thing—the most demanding about how their images should be printed,” said Steinhardt. “You almost have to have a different approach and understand the vocabulary, the nuances, and the irascible nature of the fine-art photographer.” Photo Finish Curtis Speer is not even remotely irascible—at least not on the phone—but he does have particular ideas about how his work should be output. Based in Laguna Beach, CA, Speer began his career as a set designer for commercial photo shoots for the likes of Neiman Marcus, Williams Sonoma, and of the photographers he worked alongside and soon picked up a camera himself and began taking his own pictures, which were less commercial and more of a fine-art nature. “People started to respond and wanted to buy my work,” said Speer. Encouraged, he kept at it and is today a professional photographer who both does contract work for clients as well as his own fine-art photography. He’s reached the stage where he is now in demand by galleries. “I just took an exhibit down in Palm Springs,” he said. “It was so well-received, the gallery asked to keep it up for another month. Out of the 17 pieces exhibited, 12 of them sold.” Another Palm Springs gallery included Speer’s work as part of a group exhibit in June, and they are 8 Wide-Format Imaging | July 2015 MyPRINTResource.com
Wide-Format Imaging July 2015
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