I can’t forget the moment at one of my early art shows, perhaps it was the Waukee Arts Festival. A mom and her 30-something daughter stopped at my booth and the daughter picked up a print of the Chariton grain elevator and started to admire it. Her mother did too, and asked her daughter to let her see it. She handed it over only to hear her mom says “I’ll buy it” and reach for her wallet.
The daughter was incredulous. Her mom just bought the print that she planned to buy.
I tried to calm the situation be reminding them both that it was photography so I would be able to get another print for the daughter. I then showed this image, titled “Crooked,” to the daughter, telling her that it was a window on the grain elevator that her mom just purchased. She liked that idea of buying the related image and looked carefully at the print, when her mom said “let me see that…”
I thought I was going to have to separate them! Instead, I sold a pair of images that had a great story, bringing the mom and her daughter closer together in a moment of conflict!
I hope to have similar conversations at this year’s Waukee Arts Festival, July 19-20.