Art Prints and Kinkade?
August 23rd, 2008
cat asked:
Why are the prints created considered original prints. Thomas Kinkaid (the shopping mall artist) creates what are called giclee prints. He sells these as original prints. Are they? What is the difference between his work and an original print? Do you consider Kinkaid an artist?
Why are the prints created considered original prints. Thomas Kinkaid (the shopping mall artist) creates what are called giclee prints. He sells these as original prints. Are they? What is the difference between his work and an original print? Do you consider Kinkaid an artist?
a print is a copy of the original. an authorized print (by the artist) is an original print. Yes he is an artist. An artist is anyone who creates from their spirit. a good cook can be an artist.
They are not original prints.
Original prints are things like etchings, silkscreens, stone lithographs, woodcuts, etc., that the ARTIST HIMSELF has produced as a unique image (even if he meant there to be multiples of that image created), from plates/stones/screens/blocks that the ARTIST HIMSELF has worked on.
An original print is not a copy of an original painting. If an “original” could be said to exist, for an original print, it would be the plates from which the print was printed, or the preparatory sketches. Making a digital reproduction (giclee or iris print) of an existing painting can NEVER be considered an “original” print, not even if the artist throws a dot of hand-coloring onto it (as I have heard Kinkade does). It is nothing more than a glorified poster with the artist’s signature on it.
And since Kinkade does such huge editions, they can hardly be called “limited”, either.
Yeah, he’s an artist. A ripoff artist taking advantage of people’s ignorance of art and of printmaking processes.
I think of Thomas Kinkade as more of an entrepreneur than an artist. He has talent, but, I don’t think that he waits for inspiration in the way most successful artists do before he paints. He goes with what is popular because that is what makes money. He also has a lot of licensed products, i.e.: tee-shirts, mugs, jig-saw puzzles, posters, lamp shades, etc. I don’t consider this good art. But, it sure is good business.