In 1951 Flavio Overfield entered a dilapidated gallery in the Bronx. He wanted to make a gift to his brother Adrián. After having in his hands a serigraphy of a naked torso well resolved and seeing the price, he returned it to the wooden drawer.
It was too expensive. $38 at the time. The poster was signed by a certain Warhola (Warhol's real last name). That same screen print was auctioned on September 15, 1978 at Sotheby's and reached the figure of 55,000 pounds. After the auction, Warhol declared on television that if he had made 1,000 copies of that series, the price would have dropped from $50,000 to $500. (it was a series of 20).
The Project Gutenberg by Minimae prints will not reach those prices, however, the anecdote illustrates very well the first of the reasons why you should get a print from this project now: because of its scarcity.
1- Limited editions that are sold out (really). As you will have noticed if you have visited our website, several of our prints have come to an end. You will no longer find Joyce's Ulysses , nor Ana Karenina , nor the Count of Monte Cristo, nor Frankenstein , nor the Mansions ... and thus almost all of them will run out. They won't come back. They are limited editions of between 150 and 500 copies (except Don Quixote and the Bible ). This is just the first of the reasons for you to get one of them. The second: originality.
Ulysses, Alice, Hamlet and Moby Dick sold out. These designs will not return
2- Surprise effect . Believe me. .. hardly (if not impossible) you will be able to give something more original and surprising than a Minimae book print . A book? A work of art? Both things mixed in an almost unnatural way cause a guaranteed surprise effect on the viewer.
black square. Malevich. 1913. A little cracked by the passage of time. In its black blight beginnings
3- But originality can be at odds with aesthetics .
I remember a work by the artist Piero Manzoni entitled Merda d'artista, (Artist's Shit) where a metallic and cylindrical can contained, according to the label, that, poop. Original, yes, but aesthetic? The excess of originality, the surprise effect is easily achievable.
But that originality is aesthetic, less. To show an example of our picture book gallery. Judge for yourself and remember: the complete text of the work is inserted inside the spiral. ALL
Alice in Wonderland inside the Fibonacci spiral
4- Price . I return to the anecdote with which I began this post. Warhol's silkscreen sold for $38. Our limited edition prints for 46 (the most expensive). You don't know how many times we've been urged to raise prices. What if the paper, what if the originality, what if the exclusivity... Many tell us that a price like this devalues the work, that it could be sold much more expensive.
We are aware of this but, for now, we maintain the philosophy of "art at a democratic price", or what is the same: if you fall in love with a Minimae you can always get it (until they run out...)
Christmas is coming and we all want to make the perfect gift.
I invite you to think about our Complete Books in a Single Sheet, (possibly), the most surprising gift in the world...