The Brothers Grim, and why artists have it better in Canada

Attention, fans of Carlos and Jason Sanchez. Through the CONTACT photography festival, you have a chance to buy a 20"x24" photo of their stunning image "Descent" for $2,000. Now, some of you may wonder: why is this a good deal? Even though the immensely talented Sanchez Brothers were chosen for American Photo's list of the Top 15 Emerging Photographers, 2K for an edition of 25 hardly seems like a run-grab-it-now bargain. Some other artists on that list sell even bigger prints, in smaller editions, for the same price. Ah, but THEY're not from Montreal.

Let me explain.

Montreal is a wonderful place to be a struggling artist (cheap rent, free healthcare), but for an artist on the cusp of getting international (read: American) attention, it's paradise. The Canadian art world has a chip on its shoulder about New York, so Carlos and Jason Sanchez are treated like hometown heroes. Canadian Museums -- with government-funded mandates to promote Canadian art -- snap up works by les freres Sanchez and give them important shows, entirely out of proportion to what their American peers are getting.

At the Sanchez Brothers' 2007 exhibit at Montreal's Mois de la Photo, a museum director took me around, telling me which major museums had bought which pieces. The photos were all museum-size (such as 7 feet by 5 feet), available only in an edition of 5, and at museum-budget prices. Clearly, the Sanchez Brothers don't have to worry about making lots of small prints and chatting up pesky collectors at parties. That's why this CONTACT print is a rare deal. If you've been admiring their work, as I have, get a move on.

Oh, and for any artist reading this and thinking what an unfair advantage Quebec artists have, take heart: If you move to Montreal as a Permanent Resident, you'll get all the same government-support goodies (grants, subsidies, healthcare, gay marriage, the works).