Word: artes
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...art-vs.-commerce debate isn't a new one--Da Vinci's Mona Lisa is said to be the most reproduced painting in history--but the corporate approach of Media Arts brings the argument to a new level. "I have an N.C. Wyeth hanging in my office that was a tire ad in 1916," says Scott Usher, president of Greenwich Workshop, a publisher in Shelton, Conn., "and very few art critics are going to say Wyeth was just an illustrator." Norman Rockwell battled the same demon, and Andy Warhol took heat for suggesting it was O.K. to have assistants...
Today the shop is not only open, it is one of more than 200 Kinkade galleries nationwide. Media Arts Group, the artist's publicly traded company, based in San Jose, Calif., recorded $126 million in sales last year. Kinkade, who owns 24% of the shares, is worth $30 million. Canvas lithographs of his paintings routinely sell for as much as $15,000. "It's staggering," he admits. Equally staggering are the profits--$5 million last year--derived from slapping the images from Kinkade's paintings onto everything from calendars to table lamps. The merchandising machine will go into overdrive this...
...whale murals built a $50 million empire and won him a designation as official artist of the U.N. "This is a hidden industry," says Redlin, "and people are making a lot of money at it." Last year that industry generated an estimated $400 million in sales. "I call it art gone wild," says Wyland. "It's the best time in history to be an artist...
Artist? Says who? Critics, art historians and fine-art galleries cringe at the thought that any of these "populist artists" should be taken seriously. In the highbrow art world, accessibility and affordability are often inversely proportional to merit. The populist industry's aggressive replication strategy, on the other hand, is designed to move the merchandise. "Limited editions" from populist artists are often released in quantities of 20,000 and up, using a variety of formats that range from canvas to three sizes of paper prints. Throw in the T shirts, mugs and pillows with the same images, and limited looks...
...populists point out that it is this reproduction capability, not the art, that the Establishment fears most. "The fine art galleries saw how good the canvas prints looked and didn't want them, because they felt it would compromise the product they already had," contends Kevin Samara, president of the National Association of Limited Edition Dealers. Says Ken Raasch, Kinkade's founding partner at Media Arts: "The art establishment in this country knows there's a payoff if they keep art out of the reach of the average person...