Random Photographs from GTP

Thursday, January 28, 2010

I've got an idea...

As I struggle with establishing myself in the online marketplace (Etsy) I keep thinking that I'm missing a piece of the puzzle. I'm trying to keep this blog, although sometimes I struggle with what I'm supposed to write and to whom I'm writing (hi Sarah!). I'm trying to draw people to my shop by being active on Flickr, and lord knows my friends on Facebook are sick of hearing about my most recent addition. So the other day I started trying to think about the problem in a different way. What I want as a seller is the largest concentration of the buying public looking at my work as possible, what I'd really like is to have a day where all the people who are specifically looking for fine art to hang on their wall would have a central location where they could see just that. Etsy is wonderful but let's face it, it's next to impossible to weed through everything and really be able to find something you want, much less something that really speaks to you. Which brings me to the second part of the equation, the buyer. From a buying standpoint, especially a new buyer, Etsy is a maze of everything from worthless junk to really wonderful, useful, beautiful art. Don't get me wrong there are a lot of different opinions about what is art and I'm happy to let everyone have their own, but I think as Etsy grows larger there is a need to compartmentalize some things.


So I'll get to the point. I want to create a group, a team, on Etsy called the Professional Artists Consortium (PAC). The idea is simple. Basically it is a juried or by invitation only group consisting of high-caliber Etsy fine artists. Once the group has reached a certain number of members (say 200 to start) we would begin showing our work in an online art fair format in a central location at a specified time. In other words think about the look of itunes in the album cover view but instead of individual images you are scrolling through an artist's virtual booth. You can glance at it, move on to the next one, or if you find something of interest clicking on an image takes you to their Etsy page in a separate window. This "event" would be publicized by all the vendors and by PAC as a whole. That way the whole group benefits by each individual's efforts and each individual benefits by the group's efforts.
In the end the hope is that PAC becomes a badge of honor for artists and helps generate sales by combining the works of many fine artists in a format that is easily navigated by art buyers.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Here's one of my favorite new (to me) photographers Alicia Bock. Check out her Blog and Etsy sites. She has a real delicate eye and you can tell she really enjoys making photographs!
SALE -Mini Print Set- Any 4 Square Photographs- Your Choice

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

I thought an appropriate way to start this blog would be to talk about this image for a minute. I made this photograph, called "Bedsprings" in 1999. At the time I was in the midst of a project working inside abandoned houses. For me the idea of the project was to make photographs without affecting the scene in any way. In other words I never placed anything, never used artificial light, and nothing was ever removed. So in this case the springs were leaning against the wall just like this. Over the years since I shot it, this photograph has grown to be sort of iconic to me. And for lots of people I meet doing the art show circuit, it's how they remember who I am. I can't count the number of times I've heard "oh, you're that bedsprings guy" or something to that effect.
I think what draws so many people into this image is it's various juxtapositions. It's simple but it's very complex, it's old and rusty but somehow very fresh and new, it all about line on one hand but all about that color on the other, it's a photograph, but it reads almost like a pen and ink drawing from a distance. There is also something almost meditative about it that I've always noticed. In fact I have this image in our bedroom and often find myself staring at it while I'm thinking about one thing or another. It's easy to get lost in all those circles.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Welcome to the Turco Photography Blog! Please take a minute to look at my web sites:
Greg Turco Photography
TurcoArts on Etsy
TurcoPhoto on ArtFire

Thanks-
Greg