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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not see the point?!

99 replies

Sallzanne · 16/02/2015 00:30

First post.

Now it may be me who is U and in fact just the uncultered idiot i suspect myself to be and id love to be corrected if thats the case.

Concerns art. Mate (good job but not mega rich) has bought a piece of art. I commented that it was v nice and asked how much she paid. £1000 and a further £150 to frame it!!!!!!!

Its a print so not even original! I asked why she wouldnt have just tried to get it printed herself and frame it with nice frame? Same thing surely? She said that it wouldnt be a "collectable" then and didnt really understand my point? She is buying a second one in a few months.

Aibu to think she has flushed £ down the toilet effectively?!

OP posts:

hijk · 16/02/2015 00:33

It is an investment. Like gold, or diamond, or something. It might rise a lot in value.

Original poster

Sallzanne · 16/02/2015 00:38

Yes but it is not original? Whats to stop people just printing it onto a canvass themselves?

OP posts:

Chessie00 · 16/02/2015 00:38

For a print?

I doubt it. A print can be reproduced endlessly if it becomes popular...and every additional reproduction will lower the value of those knocking around. YANBU op, at all.

grocklebox · 16/02/2015 00:38

YABU. She likes it, its her money, she values it. What business is it of yours?

AllYourBase · 16/02/2015 00:38

Some prints are actually very collectible, but that is by the by. If she loves it, and can afford it, then what is the problem?
YABU, she is abiding by William Morris' maxim- "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

A thing of beauty is a joy forever (Keats). I hope you have joy in your life.

AllYourBase · 16/02/2015 00:39

At that price, unless it is HUGE, it will be a numbered, limited edition by the artist themselves, and therefore collectible.
Who is the artist, which piece?

squoosh · 16/02/2015 00:40

I'd imagine if she paid £1000 for a print then the print is most likely from a limited run. So no, not money down the toilet. Of course it might tank in value but it also might retain its value or increase in value. A professionally produced print is a whole different ball game in terms of quality to printing off the same image at home on your Hewlett Packard deskjet printer!

Also it isn't wasted money if she loves it and it she enjoys seeing it hang on her wall for the next 50 years.

squoosh · 16/02/2015 00:41

I bought a print for £200 that is now worth £1000. I love it and have no intention of selling it but it's nice to now that at this current point in time it's worth far more than I paid for it.

BertieBotts · 16/02/2015 00:42

A nice quality print, taken from the original, might be worth £1000 to that person. You can't just get something printed onto a canvas if you don't have the original image, because it won't look as nice. If you have the money knocking around and can spare it, why not? Some people spend that on a handbag or a pair of shoes now that I will never understand.

LineRunner · 16/02/2015 00:51

There are limited edition prints signed and dated by artists.

How much to think a signed limited edition edition print by, say, Picasso might fetch these days?

AllYourBase · 16/02/2015 00:55

Indeed Bertie- shoes will only carry us for a certain number of hours, and indeed, the more expensive shoes last far fewer hours than cheaper, decently made shoes. Beauty can give us pleasure for a lifetime. Every time she looks at it, she will be lifted by it. Think of the cost-per-use over a lifetime?

loopylucylou · 16/02/2015 02:23

You are being hugely U.

differentnameforthis · 16/02/2015 02:36

Aibu to think she has flushed £ down the toilet effectively?!

Well, she didn't, did she? Because as far as she is concerned, she has a lovely framed print.

Unless it's your money she spent, you need to mind your own business.

EBearhug · 16/02/2015 02:59

I think something you put on your wall and get pleasure from every day when you look at it, that's not such a bad investment.

A print is not necessarily a scanned photocopy or a poster reproduction of an artwork - there are different methods of printing, be they woodcuts, lithographs, etchings, mezzotint, screenprint, etc, etc. Some forms, you can only make a limited number of copies before the quality of the reproduction is too poor. As has been mentioned, artists often number and sign them, and as they will usually have been doing the printing, I can't see any way that that would be wrong.

Many major artists have worked with prints at some point in their career - Rembrandt, Warhol, Hockney.

There are plenty of things I can't understand why people spend their money on, but I know it's mostly just a question of taste, and people will think the same about me. As long as people have the money to spare and it doesn't arm anyone else, what's the problem?

(Please can you ask your friend to post a pic of the print, because I want to see what it looks like now.)

Original poster

Sallzanne · 16/02/2015 10:41

Im not sure what the piece is or who it's by but i have slipped it into a text to her so will report back when she responds!

OP posts:

Thymeout · 16/02/2015 11:16

A print is designed to be a print from the outset. As pp have said, they are numbered. They cost a lot of money and go up in value.

It isn't a reproduction, like the ones you can buy in an art gallery shop or on the high street.

Original poster

Sallzanne · 16/02/2015 11:34

Bit of a mouthful but she said its called "nymphea in the style of claude monet" by john myatt.

OP posts:

Original poster

Sallzanne · 16/02/2015 11:35

God i hope shes not on mn!

OP posts:

Piratesloveunderpants · 16/02/2015 11:38

Yes I am on MN and I love my art....some friend you are.

only jesting but watch out, that's a lot of info!

Piratesloveunderpants · 16/02/2015 11:43

I think it's beautiful. Worth the money if you are going to enjoy it. YABU

DoJo · 16/02/2015 11:43

John Myatt already has what I would call an interesting reputation, so I would imagine works by him will probably increase in value significantly.

YABU anyway though - she likes it and had the money to spend, so writing off her taste in decor as 'flushing money down the toilet' is incredibly rude.

AllYourBase · 16/02/2015 11:48

Myatt? Well well, well. His notoriety may make it valuable in the future. But as long as she likes it that's all that matters.

Original poster

Sallzanne · 16/02/2015 11:49

DoJo, nothing rude about it. I just think the money would be better spent on other things. Matter of opinion. I have decorated myhouse with several cheapy prints (costing no more than £30 each inc IKEA frames) look just as good!

OP posts:

squoosh · 16/02/2015 11:50

Oh John Myatt's story is fascinating.

squoosh · 16/02/2015 11:50

'I have decorated myhouse with several cheapy prints (costing no more than £30 each inc IKEA frames) look just as good!'

In your opinion. That's the whole point, art is subjective. I'd rather have nothing on my walls than a print from Ikea.

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