3 ms·

Couldn’t museums and other art holders create their own authenticated market of accurate clones by giving copiers access?

ISL 7y ago
The ethics of such a practice would be dubious at best.
- enriquto 7y ago
  Why? This is just like selling high-quality prints of the paintings, which is already done and nobody complains about.
- jagger27 7y ago
  I don’t see why if they’re clearly indicated as clones.
- penagwin 7y ago
  If the original is now public domain and the replica is not advertised as the original, I'm not sure what the ethical issue is? I do see a financial issue though, cheap clones are CHEAP - and if you want something that can nearly pass as authentic (which I'd argue is a work of art on it's own) you'd be looking at a very narrow market of buyers. Again, as long as replicas/clones are labeled as such and the original is in the public domain.
- yiyus 7y ago
  Perfect reproductions are a goal both for museums and researchers. See, for example: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337848225_Gloss_Color_and_Topography_Scanning_for_Reproducing_a_Painting's_Appearance_Using_3D_Printing https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337848225_Gloss_Col...
kube-system 7y ago
Nobody wants to pay a million bucks for an authenticated accurate clone. The entire idea of the fraud described above is that people think they're buying the original. Prints already exist, but nobody is paying big bucks for one.
- rwmj 7y ago
  Well people pay large sums for prints of the Great Wave, of which many thousands were made and are still being made. (Of course the trick is to know which prints are the earliest ones)
  - bravoetch 7y ago
    The trick is convincing people that earlier prints should be somehow worth more.
    - rwmj 7y ago
      I think there's a genuine reason for them to be worth more since they are closer to the original painting. There's a fantastic (and long) series on Youtube about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhiMCSvtCc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhiMCSvtCc
gnopgnip 7y ago
Some museums do sell prints of public domain art, or licensed reproductions including oil painting reproductions. https://shop.famsf.org/collections/monet-the-late-years-art-on-demand https://shop.famsf.org/collections/monet-the-late-years-art-... Not quite the same thing as an accurate clone
- Someone 7y ago
  You can get 3D printed reproductions, too: - https://gizmodo.com/heres-how-to-get-your-own-picasso-for-under-200-1568706709 https://gizmodo.com/heres-how-to-get-your-own-picasso-for-un... - https://www.digitalmeetsculture.net/article/van-gogh-museum-the-relievo-collection/ https://www.digitalmeetsculture.net/article/van-gogh-museum-... (probably a bit higher in quality and price, but I can’t find a link for it) - https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/business/van-gogh-museum-edition-collection https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/business/van-gogh-museum-edi... (probably even better, but likely also very pricey)
  - Talanes 7y ago
    Interesting that Starry Night is a bestseller for the start-up, but not available from the Van Gogh Museum in either collection.

ISL 7y ago

The ethics of such a practice would be dubious at best.

enriquto 7y ago
Why? This is just like selling high-quality prints of the paintings, which is already done and nobody complains about.
jagger27 7y ago
I don’t see why if they’re clearly indicated as clones.
penagwin 7y ago
If the original is now public domain and the replica is not advertised as the original, I'm not sure what the ethical issue is? I do see a financial issue though, cheap clones are CHEAP - and if you want something that can nearly pass as authentic (which I'd argue is a work of art on it's own) you'd be looking at a very narrow market of buyers. Again, as long as replicas/clones are labeled as such and the original is in the public domain.
yiyus 7y ago
Perfect reproductions are a goal both for museums and researchers. See, for example: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337848225_Gloss_Color_and_Topography_Scanning_for_Reproducing_a_Painting's_Appearance_Using_3D_Printing https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337848225_Gloss_Col...

kube-system 7y ago

Nobody wants to pay a million bucks for an authenticated accurate clone. The entire idea of the fraud described above is that people think they're buying the original. Prints already exist, but nobody is paying big bucks for one.

rwmj 7y ago
Well people pay large sums for prints of the Great Wave, of which many thousands were made and are still being made. (Of course the trick is to know which prints are the earliest ones)
- bravoetch 7y ago
  The trick is convincing people that earlier prints should be somehow worth more.
  - rwmj 7y ago
    I think there's a genuine reason for them to be worth more since they are closer to the original painting. There's a fantastic (and long) series on Youtube about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhiMCSvtCc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhiMCSvtCc

gnopgnip 7y ago

Some museums do sell prints of public domain art, or licensed reproductions including oil painting reproductions. https://shop.famsf.org/collections/monet-the-late-years-art-on-demand https://shop.famsf.org/collections/monet-the-late-years-art-... Not quite the same thing as an accurate clone

Someone 7y ago
You can get 3D printed reproductions, too: - https://gizmodo.com/heres-how-to-get-your-own-picasso-for-under-200-1568706709 https://gizmodo.com/heres-how-to-get-your-own-picasso-for-un... - https://www.digitalmeetsculture.net/article/van-gogh-museum-the-relievo-collection/ https://www.digitalmeetsculture.net/article/van-gogh-museum-... (probably a bit higher in quality and price, but I can’t find a link for it) - https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/business/van-gogh-museum-edition-collection https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/business/van-gogh-museum-edi... (probably even better, but likely also very pricey)
- Talanes 7y ago
  Interesting that Starry Night is a bestseller for the start-up, but not available from the Van Gogh Museum in either collection.