thanks for referring to me as a trustworthy source ;-)

Actually, I am also not very familiar with administrational matters of collecting art, but can add from my experience that one (not the only) great thing about art from living artists is that you always have the possibility to get in direct contact with them.

Taking the story of the edition being bought at ebay in consideration, I think guessing around about wether it’s an original work or not is not very helpful for your decision. Also, I would think that if you take the duel seriously, you’d want to know the circulation number of the edition, so you will also have an idea about the value.

I assume it’ll be easy to just go and ask the artist himself if the work is an original and if he would certify it for you and also learn about the number of the edition. Probably the best way to get in contact with Günther Uecker would be to find out which gallery is representing his body of work and contact them. Curious myself about how this works out!

By the way, I would be more interested in discussing the trade contentwise: Given it’s an original, why would you trade a Jonathan Monk (very contemporary) for a piece of work from a big name of the 60s/70s?

Greetz,
Melanie

so let’s find a way to certify the multiple. It’s in my interest as well. Any recommendations are welcome. So, anyone out there who nows Guenther? I’m trying to get in touch with the seller lady as well.

And i’m not n a rush by myself. Let’s have a good start on this.

Chris

My position is: I want this Uecker multiple, if it is in fact an Uecker multiple and not a fake. “Trust is good,” as they say in the trade, “but control is better.”

So if there are any readers out there who have an opinion about the originality of the piece, please post it, as all input is of interest. Especially if your educated opinion or insight can help confirm the originality!

PS: I’m not in a rush and I’ll keep this trade as “accepted, provided the piece is original” until we can confirm the originality. Which means that you can still make me an offer on the Monk (or on the Uecker), but trading will commence only after we have a definite answer.

Well, you come to an interesting point. As you might saw, i got the artwork (as some of the pieces in my collection) via an auction at eBay some years ago. Actually it has’nt got any form of an certificate of it’s origin.

I remember that i had a mail exchange with the lady who sold it to me. I had the feeling, that she was trustworthy. You may ask why i trust people who i don’t know. At first: I check their activities online. I check what they have sold in the past and i check the comments. And of course i get in touch personally. My lady sold only artworks. While talking on the telephone and by reading her mails i came to the impression that the offer was not „fishy“. So i bought the work.

Later i compared the signature with Uecker’s signature on other works. My impression: it’s original. Sometimes i just trust people. Until now i haven’t been disappointed (*knock, knock*).
That’s all i can say. You decide.

Greetings from sunny Hamburg

Christian

Can you tell me a bit about where you got it and what your thoughts are on the originality of the work. Does it come with a certificate, for example? I trust you completely but it’s an interesting topic when trading artworks between collectors. With a gallery, there could also be some weird things happening but a gallery purchase is different from a trade between, let’s say, you and me. How, when you got it, did you check wether it’s original?

thanks for sharing your thoughts about not accepting the trade offer 56K vs. Monk. I think it is’nt necessary to explain more about the artist or the artwork.

Maybe just this: I was amazed about the duel and really liked the idea to participate. My first impression was, that 56 K’s „Wasted Sparetime“ seemed to be a promising candidate even if i knew that he maybe would not beat the better known Monk. I liked the idea of trading an edition of an artist, so that seemed to fit.

I like Jonathan Monk’s work, because he also puts out edition by edition. Some limited, some not. As well i like his conceptual approach and his humour. So, i think i’ll stick to the duel idea and like to offer another German artist. This time well known:

I’m talking about the sculptor, op artist and installation artist – probably most known for using nails in his artworks: Guenther Uecker.

My offer is one multiple named „Do It Yourself“ – it’s a sculpture or nearly ready made consisting of a wooden board, 2 nails and a hammer. It’s signed in the front.

It’s hard to find out, when it was made. The unlimited series of this multiple dates back until 1968. It was made by the artist and published by the „VICE-Versand“ of Wolfgang Feelisch, who also published the well known „Intuition“-Box by Joseph Beuys.

This multiple is mentioned in the „International Index of Multiples from Duchamp to the Present“, (Publ. Daniel Buchholz/ Gregorio Magnani) 1993, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne.

More Info about Uecker at Wikipedia (german) http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Günther_Uecker
or in english: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Günther_Uecker

The work in my collection: http://independent-collectors.com/profile/christian_pfaff/exhibitions/miscellaneous____/__do_it_yourself__multiple/

So, what you think, Tommi?

Yours digitally

Christian Pfaff