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Response to You've got to have a gimmick!

from Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com)
John, I see this somewhat differently. In fact, it seems like you are bitching instead of doing something.

Celebrity does sell, it has for years. But beyond that, we have to ask, "How difficult is it to create some great photographs?" The answer is that it is not all that hard and one of the ways to get somewhere is to build a body of work around a specific subject (and usually a specific style) that speaks to a certain audience about a certain topic. This is what Merritt has done. (Also, Merritt's work falls right into the center of what Taschen publishes.)

Success at the monograph end (which seems to be what you are speaking about here) works if you either create a meaningless coffee table book (see any book with the word "color" in the title) or a strong thematic body of work. This isn't new - it's been true for years. Weston was probably the last photographer who could get away with shooting almost anything, and at that time, it was a lot more difficult to produce a great photograph.

So I would say that instead of about worrying about how to become a celebrity, focus on building some very strong themed work. Show it everywhere and aggressively pursue top names with it.

(posted 8709 days ago)

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