“Who will say that Hockney’s (digital) prints are not ‘original’ prints?” Not us, certainly.

Print Workshop Central received another interesting comment from Julia Matcham recently and I think it’s important enough to bring out to the first page and address it. Here’s Julia’s comment:

“I just thought I would draw people’s attention to the fact that David Hockney has just had an exhibition in London of inkjet prints entirely drawn into the computer using a graphics pad (as I do these days). As he says in the introduction to his catalogue (Annely Juda Gallery) ‘the computer is just a tool’. It is as good as you are.

“Autumn Leaves” by David Hockney

Who will say that Hockney’s prints are not ‘original prints’? I think the hand-print brigade are on a sticky wicket here! Not that I don’t appreciate that there are differences; just that definitions other than ‘ this print does not exist in any other form’ are out-of-date.”

Art Prints: The Michigan Art Multiples Sales Act

You might like to have a look at expert  Skip Natzmer’s comments on this Michigan law dealing with art prints.  It includes this paragraph:

This clause forces the seller of ‘‘limited edition’’ ‘‘giclee’’ prints, now the most common form of reproduction, to disclose that they are not original prints. ‘‘Giclee’’ is simply a French word for ‘‘ink spray,’’ or another term for the ink jet printer. The fraud and misrepresentation in marketing these reproductions is surpassing the earlier abuses described above. To make a giclee print one merely scans the existing artwork, or a photo of it, into a computer and then prints it. Next, it is signed and numbered on the margin. Giclees are also being printed on canvas to resemble paintings. The creative input of the artist is limited to perhaps altering some colors, then pushing the print button. Discussing these prints one author states: ‘‘But these are not ‘prints’ in the way anyone in the professional art community would define them. These are reproductions—nothing more than fancy photocopies.’’ ‘‘The signed-reproduction market is a ruse,’’ says Toronto art dealer Donald Robinson, ‘‘and the problem is convincing the uninformed art buyer that these are not original prints.’’¹⁷ At prices often exceeding $1,000 per print, it is an expensive ruse.