Seth Price: Dispersion

The main idea from the article ‘Dispersion’ by Seth Price which I had the greatest connection with was the notion of reproduction and art. The essay raised the following questions in particular for me: does art rely on reproduction for its value? and can art exist without reproduction? The quote given by Dan Graham, “if a work of art wasn’t written about and reproduced in a magazine it would have difficulty attaining the status of ‘art’” was the main motivation for these questions.


The idea of reproduction affecting value can swing both ways, but I think this is intrinsically hinged on the intended use of the reproduction.
Price poses the argument that art being continuously reproduced can lose value – “does its value approach zero as its accessibility rises” - but I believe that the value of a work can only decrease when a reproduction is anticipated for a commercial outcome.

In Larry Lytle’s article Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction he argues that
“Art does depend upon the scarcity and the sacredness of the object. That object has value only because a culture determines that it has value. When we give a reproduction the same or close to the same value as the original we undercut the whole foundation of what makes the creative process important—what gives art its value.”

I agree with this statement if the work is being used for dissemination and educational purposes, not commercial. Price uses Fountain by Duchamp as an example of the way in which reproduction has created value in this context:
“The power of the Readymade is that no one needs to make the pilgrimage to see Fountain … it was actually created through Duchamp’s media manipulations”.

In my own research I have found that the reproduction and distribution of an artwork through discussions and dialogue in articles, essays and books, has greatly deepened my understanding of the artists intentions and given a much broader accessibility to their work, thus given the work greater value. Particulary for me, the work of the Fluxus group, Happenings and Dada would not have been as profound and inspirational without reproductions.

This in turn answers for me my second question, ‘can art exist without reproduction?’ Works that have become so significant, such as that of the Dada and Fluxus groups would have become lost and forgotten as many were not solid objects. In these cases the understanding and attainment of the artwork comes purely from reproduction. It would not exist to me and many others without it.



Lytle, Larry. Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction. 2002. http://www.thescreamonline.com/photo/photo2-1/digitalrepro.html.


Price, Seth. “Dispersion” (2001-2002). Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Art 2003. (catalogue). Ljubljana, Slovenia: International Centre of Graphic Arts, 2003. Rpt. New York: Greene Naftali Gallery, 2003.