Recently, I was on Facebook, and I saw that the photographer Kevin Abosch claimed to have sold a German business man a photograph of a potato for over $1M. This is exactly the kind of story that news agencies give to their interns on slow days. The idea is to generate views by sensationalizing something mundane. In this case, I imagine the editor figured the average reader would equate the $1M for a photograph of a potato with $1M for a real potato. Well, I clicked on the story, out of curiosity. So I suppose I'm also guilty!
My own interest, however, was not in a million dollar photograph. That is to say that the monetary value itself did not seem that remarkable, given how much blue-chip photography tends to go for. (And I believe photography is severely under-valued!) Abosch is a top-tier photographer, known for his celebrity portraits, but the price tag was indicative to me of a savvy buyer. The potato, you see, is a celebrity in its own right. It is the starch upon which many civilizations are built. My German ancestors, for example, came to Canada to farm potatoes. The soil was so rocky that it proved impossible, and, thus, my ancestors remained struggling peasants.
Anyway, when I saw Abosch's beautiful photograph, I knew that it was rife for parody. In about twenty minutes, I had snapped a few of my own potato pictures. The one you see here is the one I went with, creating a series of five 6 x 6" giclée prints. I posted, half jokingly to Facebook the following text, hoping to capitalize on the news:
Photographer Kevin Abosch recently sold a photograph of a potato for over $1M. Today, my friends, I have for you the opportunity of a lifetime. I offer you the possibility of owning my own potato portrait for a mere $100. Here is an intimate look at one of the defining vegetables of the world — the humble starch on which civilization itself is built.
Within four hours, I had sold out. Never underestimate the value of entertainment.
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