20x200: What have you done for me lately?

This past spring I was OBSESSED with Jen Beckman's 20x200. (For those who haven't heard, new editions of 200 selling for $20 over the internet, http://www.20x200.com/.) I managed to get both of the special editions by the Starn Twins and re-arranged my schedule so that I was available to buy immediately when the e-mails went out announcing new works. It seemed like back in May, all the new editions were selling out quickly, some in a matter of minutes.

However, over the past month, it seems like the new prints haven't been selling that well and very few editions sell out. Even I, the 20x200 addict, stopped buying. What has happened?

I think several things:

1. While the ecomony has collapsed, I am not sure how much of an impact this has had on the market for $20 works of art. Although if people are now bringing their lunches to work, a $20 print might be considered a luxury item.

2. The birds. You all know what I am talking about. For a while, it seemed like EVERY print was somehow bird-related. If you are not a complete bird fanatic, this becomes a stale self-parody pretty quickly.

3. Quality of the work. While there have been a few good works recently, including "Hank Williams' Bed, Georgiana, Alabama" by Scott Eiden (shown here), I haven't found many things that seemed as interesting as earlier editions.

4. Enough is enough. Honestly, how many 8x10 artworks can you have? We have sort of reached our limit.

5. Larger editions. I think this is the beginning of the end. If editions of 200 have not been selling out, why do editions of 500 for $50? Although I didn't take any economics in college, this doesn't make any sense to me.

Anyway, it was fun while it lasted. Next!