NY Times - Peter Lik's Astounding Success and Marketing

[kbg32]

“I’m the world’s most famous photographer, most sought-after photographer, most awarded photographer,”

🙄

Peter Lik, no matter how successful. No one works in vacuum.

 

[YYV_146]

The prints seem to be of exceptional quality and if his customers like them enough to pay him a huge amount of money, that's fine with me. He is successful, he makes a LOT of money. I don't particularly like his work but I don't have to buy it. What's the problem? That he has success with something that is more technically perfect than artistically inspired? That he has huge economical success while "serious" artists are suffering?😉

With respect to the man, his stuff is not "technical" at all. He shoots with $30,000 digital backs that are capable of extremely high quality output. I've used those in commercial capacity and, while I admit that it takes a bit of know-how to operate them, can't give him credit for being "technical".

Real "technical" would be the likes of Gregory Crewdson. I don't like Mr. Crewdson's work per se, but the level of sheer technical finesse he achieves is far, far beyond anything I can imagine ever doing myself. Peter Lik's photos? Not so much so.

 

[Shirley Creazzo]

The investment moguls whose specialty was pyramid schemes were successful too ....... for a while. This only proves Barnum lives on.

 

[Huss]

Peter Lik's work reminds me of neon art that was big in the 80's.

But.

So what? What matters is that people are buying so good for him.
He's figured out how to monetize photography. Who here doesn't want to be able to do that?

 

[michaelwj]

I thing the thread title should be;

NY Times - Peter Lik's Astounding Success AT Marketing

To be fair, he makes some nice decorative pictures, and rich folk have big walls to decorate.

 

[Paul Jenkin]

"Self praise is no recommendation" is a phrase my dad used to use whenever someone who believed their own publicity rather too much appeared on the TV, etc. Seldom does that have greater resonance, in my opinion, than with this story. Good Lik, er I mean luck, to him as I "blame" those who are persuaded by him.

 

[Keith]

Oh God, he's Australian ... how embarrassing!

😱 😱 😱

 

[Brian Atherton]

"... I'm in Caesars. I'm God. Nailed it." 🙄

 

[Sparrow]

Oh God, he's Australian ... how embarrassing!

😱 😱 😱

... really!? ... perhaps he's taking the mick then

 

[MikeAUS]

And Vivian Maier made no money ... different aims I guess ... Thanks Vivian for your amazing beautiful work ...

 

[alistair.o]

South Sea Bubble stuff (with him being the government).

I just have to laugh at the way the gamblers start crying when they start losing. :bang:

 

[lynnb]

He has targeted his market well, and his marketing and sales techniques are obviously very effective. His saturated colour pictures remind me of velvet art of the 1970s. I liked Shirley's comment about Barnum 🙂

 

[sleepyhead]

For all we know he sold that 6.5 million dollar picture to himself through some lawyers just so he could get the hired publicity firm to document that he produced the world's most expensive photograph.

 

[Sparrow]

For all we know he sold that 6.5 million dollar picture to himself through some lawyers just so he could get the hired publicity firm to document that he produced the world's most expensive photograph.

... first off I thought it would be his mum

 

[Pherdinand]

he's well-established in Vegas :d that says enough! Fake Eiffel, fake pyramids, fake art, very, very real money.
It's indeed entertainment industry.

We've been in Vegas in August and passed through a "fine art landscapes gallery" which sounds really, really a lot like his gallery. I think it was even in the venetian. Presentation was indeed very nice. We didn't even consider buying anything but it was entertaining 🙂
A very nice article, thanks!

 

[Pherdinand]

by the way, watch this movie if you haven't seen it yet...pretty entertaining, too
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587707/
exit through the gift shop

 

[Michael Markey]

We didn't even consider buying anything but it was entertaining 🙂

Come on ..own up ...it was you who bought it wasn`t it 😀

 

[Pherdinand]

i wish it was me! that stuff sells now for 3x the price back in august! what a missed investment opp 😀

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I never bother to look at this picture on initial histeria.
Is this article about the same? I scroll it down... money, sales ...
I'm so glad I don't have to deal with this crap for living.

On the positive note, I read through the thread and noticed what my famous RFF photog Maiku is also Canadian. 🙂

 

[Lss]

I have been to a couple of galleries with those big, saturated landscape prints. Perhaps there are other big-money providers, but I bet they were this guy's. One was in Las Vegas, the other one I can't remember where, possibly San Diego. I guess this sums up the experience. Big prints, lots of color.