Last year I bought little hand painted cards from Nakisha of BlueDogRose (wow, she even made a tarot set!)… they are lovely. I was surprised when she mailed them to me and they were in stiff plastic holders. They seemed more like objects to handle than something you’d frame.
Turns out, these cards are for collecting, hence the prices range from $3.00- $15.00 USD. Some are swapped (ATCs) some are sold (ACEOs)… and many have a very very particular style… ACEOs control quality with price and ATC communities control quality with guidelines. (I erroneously thought Nakisha’s works were ATCs… well they aren’t).
I adore fluxus art, mail art and multiples (See Monster Truck Gallery’s multiples). ATCs are not visually related, but I think the early conceptual artists would have appreciated the spirit of the work.
ATCs, Artist Trading Cards are traded and never sold.
The first started in 1997 by Zurich artist M.Vänçi Stirnemann (see some of his work). You can trade them at meet-ups on online.
The cards may be original, OOAK (one of a kind) or printed from digital artworks or scans. It all depends on the terms set out by the swap organiser. They can also be traded singly between artists.
If the cards are for sale, it is called ACEO (Artist Card Editions and Original).
Ebay looks like the more popular place for buying and selling ACEOs. While I did see some on Etsy and Artfire, the variety and quality of ACEOs on Ebay looks better (at a first glance).
Whimsical by Aylanah - Flickr (cc) attribute non commercial
I can’t tell if it’s a trend that is passing in popularity? The threads on Etsy seem less active and the
ACEO street team annual post count shows a decline recently.
- 2009 (96)
- 2008 (187)
- 2007 (165)
This could be because 2009 *sucked* creative juices out of everyone (including me). 2009 was the boring, hard working year of the Ox.
Zodiac aside, everything runs its course. From outside eyes and there’s a definite ’style’ for many ATCs and ACEOs. Or two styles. There’s collaged from vintage looking bits with text; and then there’s brightly coloured with black outline paintings. Turns out, it has a name: whimsy. The ArtTrader Mag even has online ATC workshops covering topics such as “Distorting the female body”… I think that kind of codified style… that could be one thing killing the creativity.
ATC swapping communities
In addition to the Flickr group, there are two full communities that I can see ATCS for all and Illustrated ATCs, which we could call ATC ‘for some’ because it’s a juried group. One must apply for membership, and based on their portfolio they’re accepted.
I think I understand the need for a juried space. I’d be really bummed if I painted an original card and someone swapped me a digital print. Most of IATC’s guidelines are regarding media.
I joined up ATCs for all, and I’ll try making some cards. I do love doing swaps, but I have been severely disappointed before… well, probably as many times as I’ve been unexpectedly delighted!
So I just need a ruler… got a bunch of paper to cut.
