Okay. Let’s start at the beginning…
Yesterday Jim Nickelson and I announced the launching of
Inspired by Jen Bekman’s 20×200 venture, FOCUSMAINE.COM will feature only Maine-based fine art photographers. Friday mornings at 10 a.m. our e-mail list will be notified of the image to be made available starting that minute.
Fifty nimble collectors will be able to purchase a small print of that image for $50. But frankly, that is just the beginning and a very small part of our purpose.
Brooks Jensen, editor of LensWork magazine says: “In order to have height at the top of the pyramid, we need a very large base at the bottom.” The collector base for fine art photographs needs to be built from the ground up and we aim to do something about it.
FOCUSMAINE.COM will be the place a young or new collector can get educated about fine art photography, and then become more comfortable visiting galleries and talking with gallery staff. It will be a place to begin building relationships with artists that hit their buttons. Links to artist and gallery websites, a glossary of terms, and links to events in Maine that are featuring contemporary fine art photographers will all be featured.
One of the most important aspects of the site will be the offering of market prices and sizes for the artist’s work. Yes, every artist will allow this particular image to be sold for $50, in an edition of $50. But the image will be offered at their market prices and sizes as well. We hope the images will be compelling enough to inspire many new collectors to size up: Jim and I will set aside 10% of any sale of work other than the $50 size offered, and put that 10% of our own revenue into a Photography Fund. Every year we’ll canvass the art institutions in the state and see which of our featured artists they would like to add to their permanent collections, or which of them will be featured in an upcoming exhibit – and we’ll offer to help fund those investments.
I am the Director of VoxPhotographs – an online gallery supported by a private space in Portland where my guests can view work, sit on the terrace with a glass of wine and attend parties to celebrate Maine’s fine art photographers. Nickelson Editions is Jim Nickelson’s fine art printing company and he is one of the best digital printers in the state. Jim is an extraordinary landscape photographer. His work is represented exclusively by VoxPhotographs.
Together we plan on making a difference for Maine’s fine art photography community: the artists, the galleries, the art institutions. And soon: the collector.
So, GET READY. Sign up at focusmaine.com and stand by: we’re launching October 1 at 10 a.m. Whatever level you purchase at, FOCUSMAINE.COM will be honored to have you join Maine’s astounding community of fine art photographers. It’s the beginning of something big.
