I never thought I’d be back in the bidding on The Spiral Jetty business, but here we are.
A 16mm print of Robert Smithson’s film, The Spiral Jetty that belonged to a retired art history professor is selling at Rago next week. The condition of the 50-year-old film seems fine, but who knows if it’s playable? How many film prints are there? Does it matter? Is this an artifact people want [to spend $6-8,000 on]? [update: Rago responded that the film has not been tested on a projector but that the acetate looks to be in good condition, with no physical impediments to playing. Also, by the morning of the sale, it had a bid of $4,500, so it’s an artifact somebody wants to spend money on! update: it sold for $11,520.]
Is it 20x better than just buying the DVD from EAI? Oh, wait, now you really have to be an educational institution to buy it? Are any retired art professors selling the DVDs, too?