Bring great art (shows) home with you. If you ever wondered what happened with all those beautiful posters that Museums hang for exhibitions, you don't want to know the answer. Because of logistical and copyright issues, they used to go straight to landfill. Nick and Nora Weiser, who founded BetterWall , have changed that.
From an early job at the Chicago Art Institute (Nora), the couple stumbled into finding a way to preserve, sell and share the profits with the museums. Now a BetterWall is the exclusive distributor of museum banners from around the world.
You can shop by color, style or artist, and the website does a great job of showing the works in stylish settings so you can get an idea of the scope and impact the images will have. The banners run around $300-$800 and are authentic, limited-edition pieces. (Thanks, Dante!)
Not to sound like a schmuck- but $300-800 fo a vinyl poster is a bit, no it's very rediculous.
For 300-800 one canbuy real artwork.
For 300-800 one can have a photo (including of a painting) blown up and mounted to board.
For 300-800 one can hire a bunch of teenagers to climb the lightpoles and appropriate the banners...
I have to say- I do love the photoshopping of the banners into interior scene photos... classy.
view Julian's profile
I was lucky enough to find a banner on the ground and it now looks great in my home.
view Sara48's profile
That contradicts what the Met told me a few months ago. I asked them if it was possible to obtain one of the banners they had around town for the Americans in Paris Exhibit. They said all their banners were returned to the manufacturer for recycling, as it helped keep the costs down.
I wouldn't be able to pay $300 and up.... yikes.
view Trish's profile
$300 for a WEATHERED piece of plastic.
view Deb of Oz's profile
I have to agree with the "too pricey for a sheet of vinyl" crowd, but there is something to be said for the advertising as a work of art, not just the painting or whatnot it represents. Colleges are a good clearing house for stuff like this, too. I used to work for the college-system, and we'd get stacks of promotional materials from area museums--a high percentage of which mysteriously disappeared before they could be hung.
Still, I think it's great to have larger works of art in the home. It seems people are really hesitant to use prints of well-known art. They feel it's valueless because it's mass-produced. I think having posters like this is a good way to hang recognizable art you enjoy, while still keeping a unique, one-of-a-kind feel.
view Beca's profile
Not to change the subject, but does anyone know where that platform bed in the first pic is from? It looks like the Maly bed from Ligne Roset but just a little bit different.
view Matt510's profile
Too pricey but really beautiful. I would love to have some around my apartment.
view Socool's profile
I also agree that the prices on these are outrageous, but their website claims that they "partner" with museums to sell these and some of the money goes back to the museum to acquire new art, etc. So, I guess that is better than the thought of someone fishing these out of a dumpster and selling them for $500. Instead, it's rather like when you make a charitable contribution and are given a gift in return, except one that you get to choose as decor for your home.
view robyn's profile