Paper Museums

The Grey Art Gallery is showing an exhibit entitled “Paper Museums” that highlights printmakers’ reproductions of other traditional mediums starting in the 16th Century. The exhibit demonstrated that reproduction of art is not just a 20th Century phenomenon, but goes back much farther and with surprisingly deep effects. We are shown that each of these drawings interpreted original paintings differently. Shading and lighting changed, and sometimes entirely new elements were added. For sculptures, a point of view had to be chosen, as well as an expected audience of either artists or collectors, with different styles and viewpoints selected as appropriate. Of course, we are not surprised to learn that the original and the reproduction differ. This is a lesson that a 21st Century audience should already have under its belt. After all, today reproduction is the point. But in the past, the lesson was new, and artists learned an eye-opening lesson. Reproduction of their work not only reached a new viewing public, but also secured them a place in the canon of well-known artists, fashioning a historical legacy. To be reproduced was (and is) the key to fame. Downstairs, a small exhibit by Andrea Franco has inverted the reproductive cycle.

Franco’s most interesting work “Room with a View,” is a small painting of a woman watching television. Next to the painting are some 25 paintings taken from digital snapshots of broadcast television. News, cartoons, comedy and porn are all represented. We see that the “View” is merely one of TV, but also one that is incredibly broad. By producing the message in paintings, Franco transforms momentary reproductions back into one-of-a-kind artworks. Ironically, today’s artists often need to produce unique objects to interest collectors. While modified reproductions can produce fame, precise digital reproductions ironically reduce value and often need to be avoided to ensure artistic success.