An Ethical Question

topic posted Tue, September 9, 2003 - 2:25 PM by  Unsubscribed
Just curious (anyone)... what are your thoughts on the ethics of say, participating in a 20 Things art swap, then deciding that you liked making the thing that you made so much that you want to make hundreds of them and sell them on your web site? In other words (Judith), is LIMITED EDITION pretty crucial to the 20 things concept?
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  • On a personal level I would not do that. Unless I made it very clear that whatever I was producing for the swap was from an edition and not a one of a kind piece.
    For me participating in 2othings is about receiving hopefully a work that is unique and not part of a mass production.
    I'd love to hear other opinions on this it's an interesting point to talk about.
    • Unsu...
       
      This is kind of the way I was leaning too... like the way a printmaker might do a signed, numbered edition (plus maybe a few artist's proofs)...then destroy the plate.
  • I don't think that it's absolutely necessary that the 20 Things work be so wholly unique from the other work you're doing as an artist that you wouldn't have other similar work in other venues. I believe that artists who have participated previously have gone on to, for example, print more of an edition originally created for 20 Things. To me, that's perfectly fine, though my preference is that the work is created specifically *for* 20 Things and perhaps then extended rather than, say, sending in prints 47-67 of an existing edition of 250.
    • Unsu...
       
      Thanks, I see the distinction. I just had been thinking that I should plan to make about 30 things (because undoubtedly a certain percentage would be lemons).

      But then, if I were left with 10 extra that ended up being good enough to say, consign at a local café or give to my aunt, I could do that with a clear conscience, knowing that I hadn't cheapened the experience for anyone else.

      Anyway I imagine that it might be, to some extent, obvious in the curatorial process whether one's work was created *for* 20 Things and was handmade as opposed to mass-produced.
      • Unsu...
         
        My own ethical question was how much time to spend making things. In retrospect I am happy with how much time I spent; but even if I got the amount of time right, it is still possible that other swappers were disappointed by what they got from me. I think part of what makes 20Things such a great piece of art in and of itself is all the issues it raises without there ever being clear answers.
        • I understand your point.
          But my issue with "how much time to spend" worries me. What ifs the process of an artist does not particularly take a long time?
          But then again what defines "spending time" like how much time?
          Also the time that is spent on producing a piece does not necessarily make it "better"
          What do you think?
          • Unsu...
             
            I think it's the integrity of the idea, or, "the thought that counts" (to invoke an old saw).

            Not much apparent "work" to Picasso's bull head that he made by attaching bicycle handlebars to a bicycle seat, but wow, what an idea!

            Or imagine a piece that was nothing more (and nothing less) than a little fortune-cookie fortune that said exactly what one needed to hear at a particular time.
            • Unsu...
               
              20Things forces you to spend time contemplating all these weighty issues and work out your own personal solutions. It as a good thing and fun.

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